Washing the engine...

[RC]

I've never washed an engine before and have no clue how to do it. In the manual it simply says cover up the air box and get after it. There's an "Engine wash" button on the sprayer at my carwash but the idea of spraying soap and water on all those electronic geegaws and gizmos under there seems a recipe for disaster.

The engine in my car is *very* clean and I would like to keep it that way so I need my hand held that nothing bad is going to happen if I do it and if there are any do's and don'ts, let me know...


http://users3.ev1.net/~rlcarver/tc1.jpg

http://users3.ev1.net/~rlcarver/tc4.jpg

[ January 03, 2004: Message edited by: RC ]

[parks911]

Your safe to wash it but by looking at the pics it is not needed.

Keep the engine running (I prefer to keep it running) & spray her down.

Everything that can't ket wet is protected & covered already.

[Dereck]

Hi RC

I am affraid I will have to disagree with parks911 on this one, I would NEVER wash the engine of a modern car with all those electrical engine control sensors, especially with a pressure washer.

A pressure washer will force water into every electrical connector there is MAF sensor, 8 injectors, 8 coils/sparkplugs, DPFE sensor, alternator, ABS cotrol unit, cruise control and the list goes on, IMHO only a madman delibritally sprays detergent laden water at his engine.

I think Charles A. posted somewhere how he keeps his engine looking good by just wiping it over with a cloth.

I am almost ashamed to say it but I never clean my engine, I leave it alone in its natural state, I hasten to point out I do clean the rest of my car, sheet metal, interior, under the fenders, trunk ETC.

Regards

Dereck

[franco]

I agree, I prefer to clean the engine area by hand. Spray cleanser(+ spray h20) and different brushes with cloths work well for me.

One of the best ways to keep that area clean is to make certain your hood gasket(s) are in good shape. They keep out alot of the dust and debris.

[Steve Moran]

I have never not power washed an engine. My only preferance is to do it when the engine is not to hot. As in NOT up to normal operating temp. I guess a good alternitive to washing is something like foamy engine cleaner of some sort. For a very greasy engine I will spray easy-off oven cleaner on the greasy spots of a totally cold engine and drive it to a car wash. Lucky for me I live 4 blocks from one. I wash the engine down first then wash the rest of my car. I look at your pictures and I will say that in your case a feather duster should clean your engine up nicely, maybe a light spray of end-dust. Just kidding looks good to me. :D

[ January 04, 2004: Message edited by: Steve Moran ]

[parks911]

The engine wash feature at the car washed in this area are low pressure & that is what I use.

It is not no where close to the full pressure wash that you use on the exterior wash.

Perhap all car washes are not the same, I've never had a problem with the electical or fuel after washing.

[Steven]

I did the dirt road drive once.

My beautiful '96 4.6 was covered in dust in every crevase. Not to mention the trans, undercariage and differential.

I just couldn't stand it, almost cried.

I had no choice but to wash the whole car, beginning with the bottom, wheel wells, frame rails, trans, then the engine.

The car was cool, up on ramps and ready.
I used mostly water on the bottom end, then soaped the entire engine and compartment with a soft long bristle brush and regular car wash soap. Rinsed the whole mess with running hose water, no pressure.

I have an air compressor which makes it easier to dry most of the engine parts and attachments when the water is done.

Came out beautiful. It was beautiful before the dirt road too.

One problem did come up though. I have one or two spark plug boots that aren't 100% sealed and allowed water to fill the plug well. This made running the engine very difficult until I was able to find the problem, and dry the plug wells.

[Anon]

RC
This is a CLEAN looking enging you have posted in this topic.
from what your showing there is little other than a little dust to clean, from what you show.

Cleaning your engine at a coin-op car wash should not pose a big problem to you.
If you just wish to RINSE off the dust...Just go for it.
Use some comment sence as WE all know you will>>> Dont fill up the Air box... Dont fill up the Break fluid rez with High pressure water as I know you will NOT open up your fuze box and relay box and hose them out.

Remember, This area does get WET and is designed to.
Cars to run in the rain!!!

Just remember there are things that just can NOT stand too much of a good thing.

I do notice on your second Pic that you still have the PVC insulation around your AC Dryer. You may wish to remove this...
The logic behind the last statement is.
it hold the condensation and "CAN" cause the dryer to rust from the outside in.

I have sucessfully cleaned every auto I have touched at a car wash.
You must either know or learn what areas to reduce your urge to clean with the high pressure wand.

Anon

Again Nice Clean Engine you have there RC

[pro-five-oh]

RC: on a motor that clean, all you need is a little bit of Simple green and light pressure from a garden hose. No more pressure than you'd use to water the lawn. smile.gif

Higher pressure and more aggressive chemicals are needed when you get into older cars with more dirt and (in the 1980s) more electrical connections for dirt to hide in. ;)

[KATHRED]

Suggestion and humble opinion. I have covered my Alternator and battery. The pictures show that your alternator cooling vents are right out there in the open? Use those plastic bags they bag groceries with. On an older car, if you want it to start afterward, I would definitely cover the distributor cap.
...another thought, I have never made it to a carwash to wash an engine. I dread the idea of putting water on a V8 engine that has been running for more than a minute. That would be of more importance to me. I have started an engine just to get a little heat in it to dry the water off better, but I would never leave it run more than a minute from cold (a V8 generates heat very well in short order). To me, putting water on a hot engine is a major risk for bad things--or so I was told. A car wash to me is not a place to wash the engine unless your residence property is right behind it--with a very short driveway to the carwash!
Those wiring harness jackets (black plastic flex jackets) can hold water. They are a potential hazard and my engine compartment has much of that. Avoid spraying those with water.

[smurph]

i use the car wash myselph i have for as long as i can rember.i use a degreacer first WITH THE CAR RUNNING then rince it off.the problems i have had over the yrs doing this is water getting under the cap,getting under spark plug boots,driving away from the car wash too fast without motor drying.i for yrs because of this problem used a plastic sealer coating [u could use a clear coat spray]on all wire conections before washing.i dont anymore i use a leaf blower before i drive the car away.the towncar has deep holes where the spark plugs go and will fill up with water and cause problems spray quickly over the plugs.i work on my own cars and keeping the motor clean is as important as the rest.once its clean its not mutch work to keep it that way.keeping the motor clean keeps the bad ellements from destroying wire conections and making everything so brittle.not keeping my motor clean is not an option for me its a must do.if i get a used car and something let go shortly after a wash well in my book it was going anyway better to find out now than miles from home.a motor that holds up to a wash is a dependable proven car to me.