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anyone here routinely spray wash their car engines? I've heard conflicting advice on this. Other than spraying directly onto any electronic computer devices I say 'yay' but just wondering how others feel about washing their engines.
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Only did it once to a friend's car he was trying to sell. You need to seal as many electrical connections as possible with tape. I actually disconnected all of them after the wash and tape removal. Applied Deoxit D5, and plug them in-&-out a few times. Just to make sure water was out of the contacts. And the contacts were clean.
Really be careful spraying the HT coil lines and the fuse & relay boxes areas.
Been doing it on every car I have ever owned using high pressure water.
wiki how to clean your car engine.
consensus is no.
I suppose if you like to look at your car's engine, it'd be nice if it was sparkling clean.
I tend to not look at it, except to check the oil, coolant and wiper fluid.
But, hey, whatever floats your boat.
:)
My wife wanted to give her car nice and clean to her daughter and had it sprayed washed. It was a Geo Prism, which is practically a Toyota. Only Toyota I ever had with problems the mechanic could not diagnose at $100 per hour!
Tend NOT to. Lots of electronics under the hood these days and a million connectors / fittings.
In the 'old days'? Fabricate a cover to keep water out of the carb and have at.
Too much is never enough
I buy new cars. I do not find much dirt in the engine bays.
And whatever you do, do not hose down the underhood insulation mat or other padding. They get soggy and can rip out.
Hmm, good point. My older truck has no padding on the underside of the hood, just metal.
You might visit a reputable car detailing shop and ask them how they clean (and/or detail) the engine bay and the engine itself as to their methodology, and which cleaning products they might recommend. Since all cars are certainly not the same they will probably have some helpful input as to which makes/models are problematical and should be avoided by the amateur.
Just keep in mind that when looking for this kind of advice it's all in your approach :-)
Cheers,
SB
...for obvious reasons.
The rule of thumb with them is to never use a highly pressurized water stream like you'd find at a "DIY Car Wash" or from a pressure washer at home, because the pressure can get past gaskets, potentially ruining them.
Although I've never washed any of my car's engines, I'd say the same rule would apply. For my bikes, I use foaming engine degreaser and a nylon brush on any problem areas.
I don't see why the same shouldn't apply to a car's engine, just avoid a high pressure spray. I like Abe's idea of running the engine as you hose it off, listening for any bogging down, while obviously avoiding the air intake area completely (while it's running).
The nose-piece under my supercharger has a small grime spot, so I'll be trying this myself soon. Good luck with yours, just take your time, and be careful.
"Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be. 'Cause now I'm an amputee" J. Lennon
My opinion? Depends on the car, and whether the myriad of sensor and other electrical connectors are sealed, potted, or booted. For instance, all the engine bay connectors in my wife's Lexus are sealed or potted where the wire enters the connector body. My Mazda? Not. Some are, but many aren't, and there's nothing to prevent water from entering the connector at the wire entry. Getting water (or detergent) in there may not cause a short or immediate failure, but would quite likely cause corrosion to begin or occur at a much faster rate. I'm not fanatical enough about the engine bay appearance to risk the potential problems, but that's just me. :)
I've had repair shops tell me they won't do it w/o signing some sort of waiver. I've done it myself with just a garden hose and pressure nozzle but only on a cool engine.I start the vehicle up in the driveway then begin hosing off the under side of the hood and then the engine. Again, the engine is still cool because it's been off all day I just started it up. While hosing it off, if I hear the engine start to bog down, I know I've watered something I shouldn't have and immediately back off. I let it run for a while afterwards when I'm done so as it heats up it evaporates some of the water.
I'm not advising you do this, just mentioning what I have done with my older pickup truck.
Edits: 05/28/17
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