engine washing

[soonercruiser]

Been there; done that...... many times a year.
Listen to the Candyman! Warm up the engine; Spray cleaner; garden hose work just fine!

[ptbeard]

Well I'm going to do some spring cleaning!

But first, a few stupid questions:

Since the car is just now out of warranty, I haven't really bothered to look under the hood much, except to replace the air filter. A lot of things are cramped, and the battery is covered by the air filter housing. Is it still necessary to cover the battery when cleaning the engine, or does the filter housing take care of this?

Also, where are the fuse box and relays located? (It is an 04 base model.)

[Candyman]

Hey their ptbeard,

Nope. No need to cover your battery, or anything else unless you have an aftermarket alarm, or other aftermarket electronic components under the hood at which point you would just need to cover them with ziplock plastic bags to avoid getting water into those areas.

Just go over my post in this thread and it will give you pretty much everything you need to do a good job.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Candyman

[ptbeard]

Cool. Thanks!

[ChicagoPT]

Originally Posted by arkansascarnut

1. Warm the engine up, then kill it.
2. Use aluminum foil to cover any parts you don't want wet (fuse block, relays, whatever).
3. Spray the engine compartment with engine cleaner (the foaming kind in a can...can pick up at Walmart or any parts store). This is petroleum based, but I would try to avoid getting it on the fenders when spraying...it would spot or streak the finish....not permanently but you may have to touch up the wax.
4. Wait 5-10 minutes
5. Using a garden hose, spray off the engine compartment
6. Remove the aluminum foil
7. Start engine up
8. Let it run for a good 10 minutes - this will ensure water didn't get down in any places you don't want AND will help dry the engine.
9. You can also use an air compressor with a blower nozzle to aid the drying process.
10. Once dry, I spray the entire compartment with WD-40. There are several "engine dress" sprays available, but I've always liked the results of the WD-40 and it's cheaper!
11. Since WD-40 has a tendency to create over spray I usually do this process when I'm about to wash the car.
12. I'm a bit anal and actually wash my engine everytime the car is washed!
13. Once WD-40 is applied, use a shop towel to wipe down everything. It will leave a nice glossy look without having a wet residue everywhere.

Thanks for the detailed procedure! This will be my project this weekend. I always blasted my engine with a power washer and felt like I was gambling everytime I did it.

[Hooligan]

A power washer uses less water and if you move the wand fast you can do the job without drowning the engine area. I usually use a leaf blower to dry the engine as well as the whole car. It blows most of the water off so you have less to chamois or towel off.

[PT_Cuda]

shopping bags cover up anything you don't want soaked. You don't need a high pressure to clean the engine bay, you want a high quality degreaser and let it sit and work. Don't forget to treat all your rubber hoses with a good dressing, not amor all get a good one.

[Cal Cruzer]

A spray bottle with Simple Green at a 50/50 mix with water, a garden hose with nozzle tuned to a mist and an old paint brush does the job for me. I have never found a need to "blast" anything, just take a little time and do it a couple times a year. I dry it with my shop vac with the hose on the exhaust end for a good volume of air. Very little towel drying to do after that.

[soonercruiser]

Originally Posted by Hooligan

A power washer uses less water and if you move the wand fast you can do the job without drowning the engine area. I usually use a leaf blower to dry the engine as well as the whole car. It blows most of the water off so you have less to chamois or towel off.

Whaaaaat!!??
Leaf blower on my baby? She has her own hair dryer....complete with logos!

[Candyman]

Hey Guys,

Yep Frank, when no Air compressor is available to blow off some of the water used during the rinsing process, you can use a leaf blower as a good alternative to do the job. Another good thing you could use is canss of compressed air normally used for cleaning computer keyboards which is also what I recommend for blowing out mirrors, and ather related area's which can accumulate water after washing and can streak a good cleaning job.

So, an air compressor with a water trap is best, but anything else you can find that will provide air, and get the job done.

And, just for reference once sake, here is my post from earlier in this thread which lays down the basics of Engine Cleaning.

Lets start off with Steam Cleaners. First off, a true Steam Cleaner runs at 200 PSI at 400+ degrees, and produces just vapor, and are pretty rare these days. The machine you guys are talking about is a Hot High Pressure Washer, but the industry keeps refering them to a Steam Cleaner. As a couple of you guys have already pointed out, and I will attest to, a Steam pressure washer of 3000 PSI at 320 degrees with a zero tip on it has enough pressure to cut through a 2 x 4. I used to have 2 of them for cleaning under carriages, and yep, they are great under certain conditions like cleaning under carriages, or cleaning gum, and oil off of concrete, but it if you take that kind of pressure to your engine compartment, you stand a good chance at damaging electronics, etc in a heartbeat! That's not to say you can't use a Steam Cleaner, but if you do, I would not recommend going over 1000 PSI max pressure. If you have a machine with 2500, or more PSI, you can get pressure tips that have less restriction (produce less pressure) like 25 degree fan tips, 50 degree fan tips, or more which should reduce the pressure making it somewhat safer.


Here is my rundown on engines from a consumer standpoint.

Materials: Foamy Engine Cleaner like (Gunk) or some related brand from Walmart, Pep Boys, ect, a bottle of degreaser (Simple Green), a soft Bristle brush, water hose with spray nozzle, a couple of old bath towels, two paint brushes, Water Based Dressing. a can of Mag & Aluminum Polish, and a bottle of wax.

I recommend:

1. Gunk Foamy Engine Cleaner.

2. Simple Green

3. Meguiar's All Metal Polish:
Meguiar's Direct All Metal Polish

4. Meguiar's Hot Shine High Gloss Tire Spray mixed 50/50 with water
Meguiar's Direct Hot Shine High Gloss Tire Spray



A couple of notes:

I usually don't like working around a hot engine, and don't like to warm an engine up prior to cleaning, but have known guys who have done it. It is up to individual preference, but not necessary.

It is a good idea however to start the engine whenever you are hosing it down to ensure you do not get any water anywhere you do not want! As you rinse, if the engine bogs down, stop spraying, and let the water evaporate, and you will be fine!

I recommend using a spray nozzle on your hose to help control the flow of water, and always be sure to use as little water as possible when cleaning your engine. Try to avoid drowning your engine!

And lastly, before you begin, if you have any aftermarket electronics like an alarm, etc, be sure to cover over it with a ziplock bag to try to make sure not to get any water into the electronics.

Now, lets move onto the process.

1. Lightly spray down the engine bay with my hose to get rid of any large particles and loose dirt. Avoid directly hitting any of those key components with direct water pressure.

2. I like to either wet the front fenders, and grill down with water, or wet down a couple of bath towels and cover the fenders, and grill of the car to avoid any chemical splatter from potentially damaging, or staining your Paint.

3. Spray your Engine with your Foamy Engine Cleaner, and use a soft bristle brush to get extra dirty areas, and areas that are not scratch sensitive like the paint. After you have agitated the surface, and allowed the Chemical to react for a couple of minutes, Start your PT and spray down your engine compartment with water. Again, if you hear belts squeel it is normal, and will go away in a minute, or two. If you hear the engine bog down, simply stop spraying, and let it go back to normal before you finish rinsing, and after you are done, turn the car off, and its time to move onto the smaller details.

4. Once you have gotten all the bad areas with a Bristle brush its time to move to the smaller details you cant reach by hand. Grab a bottle of Degreaser (Simple Green works fine) and a Paint brush, and spray, and agitate all the tight areas good to break loose any grease, and grime from all the nook's, and crannies where dirt loves to hide. Then, restart your PT, and give it one final rinse to make sure you get everything nice, and clean!


5. Now its time to dry things off a bit. If you have an air compressor, this is an easy, and fast job of just blowing the water out. If you don't have a Compressor, you can also use a Leaf Blower, or those little cans of compressed air used for cleaning Computer Keyboards, or even small rags. The idea is to soak up as much water as possible..

6. Next I usually grab some Mag & Aluminum Polish, or Jeweler's Rouge, and do a quick polish over the AC Lines, and other polishable metal surfaces to give them a nice clean shine.

7. Finally I grab my other Paint Brush and apply a good Water Based Dressing diluted 50/50 with water on all the plastic and rubber components. Then I finish up by waxing the underside of the hood, strut tops, and all related painted surfaces to complete the job.


Quick Tip: To apply Dressing to your Engine Compartment, spray your dressing directly to your paint brush, and apply it to any plastic, or rubber components throughout your engine fro a nice new looking appearance.

If you follow this procedure, your engine will look excellent for as long as you own your car, and as an added bonus, if you ever have a leak, or related type of problem, it is way easier to find on a clean engine!

As always, remember, if you have any further questions or need more advice on this, or any other subject on Detailing, please be sure to check out my complete guide here in this section of the Forum, or feel free to drop me a line and I would be more than happy to help out anytime.

Go easy, and I will catch ya later.

Candyman