engine washing

[thomasandrewwilliams]

is it possible to open my hood and wash everything under there with a power wand and soap, like at the car wash? ive wanted to for years but have always been afraid of water getting into places it shouldnt, like the engine or air intake or who knows where else. everything seems pretty covered up to me. i have a 2001 te. thanks!

[crusierdad76]

Well this will probably have a ton of replays so here goes

I have done that to most of my cars, yes it gets everything really wet , way wetter than driving in a heavy rain---however if you don't stick the pressure wand right on the hoses,and lines, I have never had a lot of problems,, it will clean off the oil and grease and dust then go back and wipe it all down with what ever you like to make it look nice and shinny---I would have to say the one person on here to ask would be crewzin ,I have never see a cleaner engine compartment than the pics he post and he drives his daily
so in short I would do it just be a little carefull and all should be good to go

[Teekypt]

Originally Posted by thomasandrewwilliams

is it possible to open my hood and wash everything under there with a power wand and soap, like at the car wash? ive wanted to for years but have always been afraid of water getting into places it shouldnt, like the engine or air intake or who knows where else. everything seems pretty covered up to me. i have a 2001 te. thanks!

Thx for this post, cuz I've always wanted to know the answer to this question....I hope you get lots of replies.

[eklipsis]

ive done it a few times and never had problems..i usually keep my car running and dont spray directly on anything electrical or the air intake... but if you want to really clean it i would steam clean it

[Teekypt]

Originally Posted by eklipsis

ive done it a few times and never had problems..i usually keep my car running and dont spray directly on anything electrical or the air intake... but if you want to really clean it i would steam clean it

.....how??? Where could I do this?

[crusierdad76]

I do not think there are any steam cleaning places around where, i live I have rented a steam cleaner a few times, the one i rented ran on diesel and had a 7 hp engine to run the pump ,it did a killer job but it is still a lot like a pressure washer you have to be even more careful where you point it . it has pressure and is freaking hot it will rip the skin off your hands in a second

[Teekypt]

Originally Posted by crusierdad76

I do not think there are any steam cleaning places around where, i live I have rented a steam cleaner a few times, the one i rented ran on diesel and had a 7 hp engine to run the pump ,it did a killer job but it is still a lot like a pressure washer you have to be even more careful where you point it . it has pressure and is freaking hot it will rip the skin off your hands in a second

sounds tedious and scary!

[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.

[Teekypt]

Arkansascarnut!!!!

You're awesome! Thanks for the detailed description!!!!

[cleverklutz]

A bit more info on the steam cleaners. The ones I've used are pressure washers with a diesel burner that heats the pressurized water. We have one at home, it's electric one made by Karcher, and it does about 2500psi and then I believe about 300*F water temp. That's more pressure than most home pressure washers, and the heat makes it that more deadly, I haven't removed paint with that one, but you'd want to be careful.

At work I use a gas powered pressure washer made by Landa. It does 4500psi and the boiler goes to 320*F. This will take paint off if you hit at the wrong angle and can do LOTS of damage. I do liquid manure injection during the summer. Some of the equipment we wash sits in a lagoon fully submersed during it's use, and may only get washed once a month (it's washed for bio-security reasons, not to keep it sparkly). There can be sometimes several inches of manure sitting on a piece of equipment and then it has a film on it that sticks worse than mud. A few passes with the pressure washer and it's down to bare paint. But that's not something I'd want to spray at anything electrical (like the fuse compartment by the airbox) due to it's heat and power. I do wash the engines on the tractors with that, but I'm sure they're water proofed better than a car.

My take, if steam cleaning, be careful, you have the potential to create lots of damage.

Ben