To Wash or Not to Wash.

[teambadguys]

Question:

On a regular car (not a offroad

Topic

[jbone]

Personally i wouldn’t..just grab a rag and some biodegradeable degreaser and go to town..theres too many sensors on engines now that i wouldn’t want any connections getting corroded or wet or whatever..If u feel the need to just use a reg garden hose,not a power washer, and just be careful on what you sprya down and then go for a good ride on highway to try to dry it off, and then pop hood and see if any water settling in any nooks and crevices and dry it out..But a little elbow grease and some time will get it done too. Just my opinion..

[Trcustoms719]

I just use brake cleaner and a rag.
I do not recommend using water!!

[3SheetsDiesel]

Engine bays aren’t sealed from the elements, so small amounts of water aren’t going to hurt anything. Here’s what I’d do if it was mine. Go get yourself some Simple Green (or some other biodegradable cleaner), some rubber bands, some plastic grocery bags and a garden hose with a nozzle on it that will make a wide, low-pressure spray.

Cover the alternator and the distributor assembly with the plastic grocery bags and use the rubber bands to hold the bags in place. Then, spray the Simple Green all over the engine bay and let it soak for a while. You can take a plastic-bristled brush (like what would be used for cleaning wheels/tires) to scrub the places where it looks like some scrubbing would do some good, then after the SG has had a chance to soak in and do it’s work, take the garden hose and using the wide spray, rinse the engine bay. Use compressed air and a blower nozzle to blow dry everything, or if you don’t have access to an air compressor, you can use a leaf blower to achieve the same effect. if things aren’t as clean as you’d like them, repeat the process until everything is clean.

For those tough to clean off areas, like under the distributor where the leaky O-ring left a long trail of oil, you might want to use some foaming engine cleaner, which is available at just about every auto parts store to loosen the oily scuzz and then spray it with the hose, but I’ve found that hot water out of a spray bottle works good too when used in conjunction with the foaming engine cleaner stuff. It’ll make a huge mess under the car though, and your local laws might prohibit you from leaving oily foam all over the ground. I know that the oily foam is OK at my shop, but that’s only because there’s an oil/water separator that the floor drains lead to.

Popular mechanics has a good article on their DIY Auto section. Here’s a link. http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/ho … -an-engine

[380]

I use Carb cleaner and a rag. when i did a valve cover gasket replacement i just sprayed down the whole the cover and wiped it up with the rag and then let it dry before removing the cover. i would strongly recommend not spraying down your engine with water at all. if your still determined to then use a garden hose with low pressure as mentioned above. theres so many wires, connectors, sensors, and harnesses that could be shorted out. then you’ll be left with the huge headache of going back through and finding the short and then replacing it. but with a rag and a little elbow grease you can get your engine pretty dam clean it just takes time and work. plus your far less likely of ruining something.

your not guaranteed to ruin anything by spraying it down but i just wouldn’t risk if it were my car.

[Trcustoms719]

Oh yeah. I forgot about simple green, that stuff is great. I use it for cleaning my shop floor.

[yarddog1950]

I like 3 sheets recommendations. I’ve been using the same methods on cars with electronics under the hood since there have been cars with electronics under the hood. The underside of the hood including the cover that reduces noise can also be cleaned up with Simple Green and a light spray of water. I save some plastic clothing covers from the dry cleaner to cover the engine and the fenders when I clean the underside of the hood. I have an old 4″ paint brush I use to loosen dirt or grease after spraying Simple Green. It has long soft bristles that get into nooks and crannies.

[teambadguys]

I was thinking about disconnecting the battery and cleaning that too (with baking soda) I figure if the electricity is gone, there is no way to blow the circuitry, right?

[EricTheCarGuy]

I don’t recommend it, there are more dangers than benefits especially if you’re going to be using pressurized water. For me if I have a dirty part I take it to the parts washer and replace whatever gasket is leaking and move on till the next leak, if it’s too big to take to the parts washer don’t worry about it it’s probably not hurting anything anyway.

[Author]

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