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I agree with outdoorsman310, there is a Youtube video from Scotty Kilmer where he says that you should never wash your engine, the most obviouse is because you don’t live in there, and also because on older cars the dirt accumulated acts as sealant and lo
It depends on the age and condition of the engine. If your concerned about electrical connections, cover them up._x000D_
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But this is the “How To…” section where people have made there own DIY threads to help others, not to ask questions.dirt and grim on engines can prevent the engine from needing to cool itself down to the operable temperature. so even if you didnt want a clean engine, a properly cooled engine is a good thing to have, IMO. i give kudos to this guy._x000D_
I agree that it does help keep it cooler . Guys im not a licenced auto tech, but im a licensed electronic tech, im 63 and have been washing my engines with gumout foam cleaner for YEARS never had any problems. If you look and any connection on most cars they are sealed quite well against moisture. my 2000 jeep grand cherokee has the computer in the engine compartment , thats the only place i dont soak to much, but it gets wet. the acutal unit is sealed with a rubber gasket… all this im just sayin…and i dont like working on a dirty engine…. Oh by the way she has 200 thousand mile on her
i’m a car detailer, and in my line of work we have to clean the whole engine bay/engine before the car goes onto the car yard for sale.
in the time i have been doing this, all i have used is a general purpose degreaser and a high pressure washer, (gernie). i have never had an issue with any electrical parts or sealing problems, i say wash the engine, its designed to hold water inside it, and water splashes on the motor when it rains from the bottom of the car, its going to get water on it if you clean it yourself or not, give it a go…i’m a car detailer, and in my line of work we have to clean the whole engine bay/engine before the car goes onto the car yard for sale.
in the time i have been doing this, all i have used is a general purpose degreaser and a high pressure washer, (gernie). i have never had an issue with any electrical parts or sealing problems, i say wash the engine, its designed to hold water inside it, and water splashes on the motor when it rains from the bottom of the car, its going to get water on it if you clean it yourself or not, give it a go…oh, and it you werent suppose to get an engine wet, you wouldnt be able to drive a 4wd through water….
oh, and it you werent suppose to get an engine wet, you wouldnt be able to drive a 4wd through water….
[quote=”tehsnoodie” post=32245]i’m a car detailer, and in my line of work we have to clean the whole engine bay/engine before the car goes onto the car yard for sale.
in the time i have been doing this, all i have used is a general purpose degreaser and a high pressure washer, (gernie). i have never had an issue with any electrical parts or sealing problems, i say wash the engine, its designed to hold water inside it, and water splashes on the motor when it rains from the bottom of the car, its going to get water on it if you clean it yourself or not, give it a go…[/quote]I will not argue with your experience. However in my experience when someone pressure washes an engine these conditions exceed the design parameters of just passive water splashing up from under the vehicle. I personally have seen times when the vehicle CAME from the detail shop where they just washed the engine and now there is some electrical problem. For that reason I don’t recommend pressure washing an engine, to me it serves no purpose other than to hide the dirt and leaks before you sell the car.
[quote=”tehsnoodie” post=32245]i’m a car detailer, and in my line of work we have to clean the whole engine bay/engine before the car goes onto the car yard for sale.
in the time i have been doing this, all i have used is a general purpose degreaser and a high pressure washer, (gernie). i have never had an issue with any electrical parts or sealing problems, i say wash the engine, its designed to hold water inside it, and water splashes on the motor when it rains from the bottom of the car, its going to get water on it if you clean it yourself or not, give it a go…[/quote]I will not argue with your experience. However in my experience when someone pressure washes an engine these conditions exceed the design parameters of just passive water splashing up from under the vehicle. I personally have seen times when the vehicle CAME from the detail shop where they just washed the engine and now there is some electrical problem. For that reason I don’t recommend pressure washing an engine, to me it serves no purpose other than to hide the dirt and leaks before you sell the car.
You can use a little common sense when you use the pressure washer and lay off the sensitive parts. In another life we use to soak the engines with Kerosene mixed with old motor oil ( CAN YOU SAY EPA?). After a good soaking we would drive the car to the local car wash and wash off the engine with the high pressure water. Just had to be careful with the distributor or make sure we had a shop towel and screwdriver.
My personal reason for using the pressure washer is to clean before repair. Just keeps you from getting so much grit in your eyes. Also used it to clean the carbon out of my intake on the Saturn while I had it off the car replacing the gasket. Worked pretty well.
You can use a little common sense when you use the pressure washer and lay off the sensitive parts. In another life we use to soak the engines with Kerosene mixed with old motor oil ( CAN YOU SAY EPA?). After a good soaking we would drive the car to the local car wash and wash off the engine with the high pressure water. Just had to be careful with the distributor or make sure we had a shop towel and screwdriver.
My personal reason for using the pressure washer is to clean before repair. Just keeps you from getting so much grit in your eyes. Also used it to clean the carbon out of my intake on the Saturn while I had it off the car replacing the gasket. Worked pretty well.
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