Engine cleaning

ebackhus · 06-15-2007, 11:17 PM

Hi all,
I wanted to give my engine a good power washing to bring it back to its original splendor. The local car washes have an option on the dial for engine cleaning, but I don't even know where to go from there.

I'm wondering what to disconnect/cover/remove/etc. Also, is this something I should do at home or is it ok to wash and then drive?

**Rashiki** · 06-16-2007, 01:51 AM

ehhhh hit or miss really with washing an engine, especially a newer model with a multitude of electronics residing under the hood. In theory the connections should be water tight, and under normal usage i'm sure they are, however I doubt they ever intended to have a pressure washer aimed at them. My camaro is especially intolerant of water under the hood in certain spots, particularly the poorly designed ignition system, a costly repair. I've used enginebrite and a hose on my previous winter beater car, and it came out very well. I just used plastic bags and tape to cover ignition coils/fuse boxes before I started, and didn't aim the water stream directly at any electrical component, I specifically stayed concentrated in the metal areas. Some recommend keeping the car running when doing this. Also stay away from the air intake, I had a friend who inadvertently sprayed a stream in the air assembly and got about half a mile before the car quit. I remember taking spark plugs out and turning the car over to be greeted with a fresh stream of water coming from the empty hole.

All horror stories aside, I think if you stayed away from electrical components, used a pre-treat de-gunking spray, and used low pressure to wash, you should be ok. If you have qualms about it, just do it at home and take a few minutes to cover some of the larger electric components and take your time :)

**Tony.b99** · 06-16-2007, 01:53 AM

Best to leave the engine running, and better if you could find a steam cleaner. but rash is right

ebackhus · 06-16-2007, 11:44 AM

I'll upload one more with some basic descriptions in another post.

ebackhus · 06-16-2007, 11:45 AM

This image shows some of the areas I'm more worried about. I'm not entirely sure of the pressure of the sprayer at the car wash so I'll try to measure that soon.

**Rashiki** · 06-16-2007, 10:49 PM

Everything looks pretty well shielded, you shouldn't have much of a problem. What you labelled "MAF" is actually the throttlebody, the MAF is the connector next to the air box. The MAF looks like it has a pretty good weather pak on it, and everything else looks shielded pretty well. The only thing I would put a bag over would be the alternator. They're pretty adept at working well when wet, but you can't take too many precautions. I wouldn't aim at the fuse box, instead I'd hand clean that with some armor all or similar and a rag. Anything plastic, as a matter of fact I would advise you to use a rag to hand clean them. Some engine cleaners will do damage if they're left on plastic very long. The head area near bank 2's exhaust manifold is pretty grungy :P I'd also clean the PS fluid resivoir by hand, and be sure to clean around the cap before removing it. I find a spritz of cleaner and a used toothbrush works well for the small raised lettering stamped on the caps, most of it will stay behind if you're just using a rag.

i really don't forsee a problem if you just don't hit the fuses, intake or alternator with a direct stream.

ebackhus · 06-17-2007, 11:55 AM

Yeah, I realized the error with the MAF as soon as I posted...

The only area I'd really balst would be the header area. It's nastizay down there! I have used cleaning solution on the distributor cover and other areas and got good results. I'm concerned about the PS tank because it likes to shake loose. Need to fix that someday as well. I'm still at a loss as to how pine needles entered my engine bay. There aren't any pine trees like that for about 50 miles! My alt has seen plenty of water with all the rain we've had lately. Hitting a good puddle throws water right into the belt area and the alt stops spinning due to lack of friction. Hopefully my next post will be a pretty picture!

**Rashiki** · 06-17-2007, 03:29 PM

Excellent, happy cleansing!!

**Kalim** · 06-19-2007, 09:50 PM

Yea, newer vehicles are OK to clean, most will be pressure tight around there. Some have a factory designed oil leakage to prevent rust BTW, but that's usually distinct to a few German vehicles.

It helps to prevent rust, detect oil leakages and any belt damage, so it's good to do.

Start the car, let it warm up for a few minutes (warm not hot, the engine should be warm to the touch) so the gunge and grime can soften and melt and then shut it off. Cover areas such as air intake/air filter, the coil, the oil dipstick, the distributor/plug wires and so forth when washing; you can wrap plastic bags around them sealed with rubber bands as water can cause damage there. Some of these caps are waterproof by nature but it's a good preventative measure. Once the engine is a little warm and you have the caps tightened, the gaps sealed, spray the entire engine bay with a non-petroleum based degreaser, something that's effective like P21S Total AutoWash, but also something that won't damage your paint/aluminium finish. Leave it sprayed on for about 8-10 minutes to work and then use a soft brush/full cotton towel to move around the dirty areas around the compartments. You can use the degreaser again if need be whilst scrubbing without any waiting time. Rinse it all off with water, keep the pressure at mid-level, and you should be brand spanking teethy when seeing that engine after the work. Dry all parts after rinsing with cloth and paper towels, and after that start the car and let it warm up as that will evaporate any moisture anywhere.

Should be done and looking nice.

bandit109 · 06-22-2007, 09:46 PM

Another trick to use after the engine is clean & dry is to spray the compartment with armor-all (or any water soluable tire shine). Spray liberally with the engine running then shut the hood for five minutes. You'll need to spray the car off after you shut the hood (mist will get on the paint). Turn the car off after you've rinsed it & open the hood. It'll look brand new & gunk will be easier to remove next time.

kendallt · 06-25-2007, 05:06 PM

scrape heavy deposits of crud grease dirt etc, spray down with something like castrol superclean or purple power, let soak for a few minutes, then spray down with a garden hose. super clean breaks grease and oil down quickly.

will discolor oxidize aluminum if left on too long, so rinse thoroughly

Good stuff, one of the few products I've found that does exactly what it claims.

Ken.

06-15-2007, 11:17 PM	#1 (permalink)
ebackhus Asst. Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 12,707 OS: WinXP Pro SP3 My System Blog Entries: 25	Engine cleaning Hi all, I wanted to give my engine a good power washing to bring it back to its original splendor. The local car washes have an option on the dial for engine cleaning, but I don't even know where to go from there. I'm wondering what to disconnect/cover/remove/etc. Also, is this something I should do at home or is it ok to wash and then drive? __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

06-16-2007, 01:51 AM	#2 (permalink)
Rashiki Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 878 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	Re: Engine cleaning ehhhh hit or miss really with washing an engine, especially a newer model with a multitude of electronics residing under the hood. In theory the connections should be water tight, and under normal usage i'm sure they are, however I doubt they ever intended to have a pressure washer aimed at them. My camaro is especially intolerant of water under the hood in certain spots, particularly the poorly designed ignition system, a costly repair. I've used enginebrite and a hose on my previous winter beater car, and it came out very well. I just used plastic bags and tape to cover ignition coils/fuse boxes before I started, and didn't aim the water stream directly at any electrical component, I specifically stayed concentrated in the metal areas. Some recommend keeping the car running when doing this. Also stay away from the air intake, I had a friend who inadvertently sprayed a stream in the air assembly and got about half a mile before the car quit. I remember taking spark plugs out and turning the car over to be greeted with a fresh stream of water coming from the empty hole. All horror stories aside, I think if you stayed away from electrical components, used a pre-treat de-gunking spray, and used low pressure to wash, you should be ok. If you have qualms about it, just do it at home and take a few minutes to cover some of the larger electric components and take your time :) __________________ ASUS P5WD2 Premium v0709 \| Intel Prescott 3.2ghz \| 2gb Corsair XMS DDR2-800 PC2-6400 \| Sparkle Power 550w PSU \| ATI All-In-Wonder X600 Pro \| Sound Blaster Audigy 4 \| CoolerMaster Aluminum Case \| WD Raptor 76gb 10K RPM SATA HDD \|ASUS CD/DVD RW Combo Drive \| Mitsumi 7-in-1 Floppy Combo Drive \| Coolermaster Copper Heatsink

06-16-2007, 01:53 AM	#3 (permalink)
Tony.b99 Tony (Burnley FC) Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Burnley uk Posts: 1,278 OS: xp	Re: Engine cleaning Best to leave the engine running, and better if you could find a steam cleaner. but rash is right __________________ *TONY SPYBOT & COMODO*

06-16-2007, 10:49 PM	#6 (permalink)
Rashiki Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 878 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	Re: Engine cleaning Everything looks pretty well shielded, you shouldn't have much of a problem. What you labelled "MAF" is actually the throttlebody, the MAF is the connector next to the air box. The MAF looks like it has a pretty good weather pak on it, and everything else looks shielded pretty well. The only thing I would put a bag over would be the alternator. They're pretty adept at working well when wet, but you can't take too many precautions. I wouldn't aim at the fuse box, instead I'd hand clean that with some armor all or similar and a rag. Anything plastic, as a matter of fact I would advise you to use a rag to hand clean them. Some engine cleaners will do damage if they're left on plastic very long. The head area near bank 2's exhaust manifold is pretty grungy :P I'd also clean the PS fluid resivoir by hand, and be sure to clean around the cap before removing it. I find a spritz of cleaner and a used toothbrush works well for the small raised lettering stamped on the caps, most of it will stay behind if you're just using a rag. i really don't forsee a problem if you just don't hit the fuses, intake or alternator with a direct stream. __________________ ASUS P5WD2 Premium v0709 \| Intel Prescott 3.2ghz \| 2gb Corsair XMS DDR2-800 PC2-6400 \| Sparkle Power 550w PSU \| ATI All-In-Wonder X600 Pro \| Sound Blaster Audigy 4 \| CoolerMaster Aluminum Case \| WD Raptor 76gb 10K RPM SATA HDD \|ASUS CD/DVD RW Combo Drive \| Mitsumi 7-in-1 Floppy Combo Drive \| Coolermaster Copper Heatsink

06-17-2007, 11:55 AM	#7 (permalink)
ebackhus Asst. Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 12,707 OS: WinXP Pro SP3 My System Blog Entries: 25	Re: Engine cleaning Yeah, I realized the error with the MAF as soon as I posted... The only area I'd really balst would be the header area. It's nastizay down there! I have used cleaning solution on the distributor cover and other areas and got good results. I'm concerned about the PS tank because it likes to shake loose. Need to fix that someday as well. I'm still at a loss as to how pine needles entered my engine bay. There aren't any pine trees like that for about 50 miles! My alt has seen plenty of water with all the rain we've had lately. Hitting a good puddle throws water right into the belt area and the alt stops spinning due to lack of friction. Hopefully my next post will be a pretty picture! __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

06-17-2007, 03:29 PM	#8 (permalink)
Rashiki Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 878 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	Re: Engine cleaning Excellent, happy cleansing!! __________________ ASUS P5WD2 Premium v0709 \| Intel Prescott 3.2ghz \| 2gb Corsair XMS DDR2-800 PC2-6400 \| Sparkle Power 550w PSU \| ATI All-In-Wonder X600 Pro \| Sound Blaster Audigy 4 \| CoolerMaster Aluminum Case \| WD Raptor 76gb 10K RPM SATA HDD \|ASUS CD/DVD RW Combo Drive \| Mitsumi 7-in-1 Floppy Combo Drive \| Coolermaster Copper Heatsink

06-19-2007, 09:50 PM	#9 (permalink)
Kalim Roaming To Help Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5,609 OS: Many	Yea, newer vehicles are OK to clean, most will be pressure tight around there. Some have a factory designed oil leakage to prevent rust BTW, but that's usually distinct to a few German vehicles. It helps to prevent rust, detect oil leakages and any belt damage, so it's good to do. Start the car, let it warm up for a few minutes (warm not hot, the engine should be warm to the touch) so the gunge and grime can soften and melt and then shut it off. Cover areas such as air intake/air filter, the coil, the oil dipstick, the distributor/plug wires and so forth when washing; you can wrap plastic bags around them sealed with rubber bands as water can cause damage there. Some of these caps are waterproof by nature but it's a good preventative measure. Once the engine is a little warm and you have the caps tightened, the gaps sealed, spray the entire engine bay with a non-petroleum based degreaser, something that's effective like P21S Total AutoWash, but also something that won't damage your paint/aluminium finish. Leave it sprayed on for about 8-10 minutes to work and then use a soft brush/full cotton towel to move around the dirty areas around the compartments. You can use the degreaser again if need be whilst scrubbing without any waiting time. Rinse it all off with water, keep the pressure at mid-level, and you should be brand spanking teethy when seeing that engine after the work. Dry all parts after rinsing with cloth and paper towels, and after that start the car and let it warm up as that will evaporate any moisture anywhere. Should be done and looking nice.

06-22-2007, 09:46 PM	#10 (permalink)
bandit109 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: SC Posts: 52 OS: XP	Re: Engine cleaning Another trick to use after the engine is clean & dry is to spray the compartment with armor-all (or any water soluable tire shine). Spray liberally with the engine running then shut the hood for five minutes. You'll need to spray the car off after you shut the hood (mist will get on the paint). Turn the car off after you've rinsed it & open the hood. It'll look brand new & gunk will be easier to remove next time.

06-25-2007, 05:06 PM	#11 (permalink)
kendallt Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 65 OS: xp64	Re: Engine cleaning scrape heavy deposits of crud grease dirt etc, spray down with something like castrol superclean or purple power, let soak for a few minutes, then spray down with a garden hose. super clean breaks grease and oil down quickly. will discolor oxidize aluminum if left on too long, so rinse thoroughly Good stuff, one of the few products I've found that does exactly what it claims. Ken.