Washing engine parts?

[ragingfish]

Ok, I know this sounds strange. But I opened the hood of my car the other day, and the top of my engine was FILTHY! The valve cover, the exhaust and intake manifolds, etc. etc. etc., are covered in dirt. Now, I've been told by many I can't take a hose and just spray down the engine to clean it off. They say it could corrode parts, or rust them, or screw with the electrical system. Now, my question is, could this be true? I mean, I have to believe the engine is essentially waterproof, because if you go through a deep puddle, or tons of water just splashes into the engine, nothing happens. So can I take a hose to the engine to clean it out, or am I, in fact, SOL? Thanks all.

[Geo]

Steam cleaning might be the best bet, but with all the electronics, who knows.Advice I would give here (coming from a father who is a mechanic) would be to take it to a shop and have em do it - that way if they screw something up, you don't have to pay for it! And if that doesn't work, wet paper towels and lots of elbow grease

[ragingfish]

LOL! Good advice about the auto shop...But would places actually do that for me? Sounds like the kinda thing that I would get told "don't waste our time with that..."

[Geo]

Well, I would find it hard to believe if there was no one in the area that could help ya out, but you never know. Try callin' around and see what happens, and if nothing works, buy a box of shop towels and get to know your engine inside and out!

[ragingfish]

quote:buy a box of shop towels and get to know your engine inside and out! You have no clue how tempting that is. But I don't have the tools to disassemble/reassemble an engine, let alone the knowledge to know what the hell I'm doing to it. Plus, especially with ABS and shtuff, I'd be so afraid of compromising the integrity of vital safety systems, I steer way clear of them...ya know?Too bad silver or nova or nick - someone who could build this car from scratch - don't live nearby and we could make a weekend project outta it.

[lordyogi]

im pretty sure you wont have to worry too much about corrosion unless you have some copper in your water, and it is salt water coming out of the hose. then because of the battery you will create you may have problems. you have to remember the only thing on our engines that is cast-iron is the exhuast header. everything else from the intake manifold, heads and the block are all aluminum. rusting is not an option.yogi

[ragingfish]

So essentially, you're saying it's safe to hose down the engine?

[Stang2Vibe]

I have washed the engines of my cars many times. Never had a problem except on my 94 GP. I got some water in the case for the underhood light and the bulb blew. (Shorted out, did not blow up, just put in a new bulb and everything was fine.) I wash the engines of our work trucks fairly regularly with a high pressure washer. Some of our trucks are over 20 years old and have over half a million miles on them. No problems from washing underhood, I just have to aviod directly spraying the fuse boxes and into the alternator. There are even engine cleaning products on the market that you spray on the engine, wait a few minutes, and hose it off. I've used one of them before too, with good results. I would suggest that you take a plastic grocery bag and tie it off covering the alternator before you go hosing the engine compartment and aviod directly spraying the fuse boxes under the hood. I haven't yet had to hose out under the hood of my Vibe yet, I have just used the damp towel from drying the car off to wipe everything off under the hood.If you do use a product for cleaning the engine, make sure that the engine is COMPLETELY COOLED off before you start. If the engine or its components are hot, many products can permanently stain some of the metal parts. Make sure that you rinse thoroughly and let the engine compartment dry very well before driving the car. I suggest that you dry off the engine and related parts with some sort of towel or sponge as best you can and leave the car sit for a little while to let it dry even better. Also, don't let the direct sun dry parts off under the hood either, as this will leave water marks everywhere just as if you left your car out in the sun after washing the outside without drying it.

[rasermon]

Try some WD-40.

[GT_03]

The best stuff to use is Castrol Super Clean, just spray it on and wipe it off, any dirt, grease, or oil will just wipe away. Trust me it is the best stuff i ever used, and you can get it at Walmart for like $4.00

[kaybeejay]

When I take my Xterra off-roading and I go splashing in the mud, my engine is basically brown from the mud. I usually take it to a coin operated car wash and just spray it down and get the surface mud off of it. Then later, when the engine cools, I wet it down and spray a mist of SIMPLE GREEN. I use generous amounts all over the engine. I wait a few minutes and let the SIMPLE GREEN soak in and work. Then I rinse it off. I pay special attention to the electrical wiring and the distributor cap area.As someone pointed out, he engine is essentially "washed" everytime you drive in the rain, and its not waterproof, however I figure it's not supposed to have a jet of water sprayed directly at it, so I try and keep the water pressure under control in the sensitive areas.I have made cleaning the engine a regular maintenance item on all my cars. I probably do it once every couple of months or right after every off-road trip.

[ragingfish]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. As to covering the alternator, can someone tell me where in the engine it is (or if you have a digital camera, can you take a pic of the engine and show it's location)? Thanks again!mike

[satur9]

dude you should be fine . i pulled up to one of those diy carwashes the other day, washed my car popped the hood and sprayed it down, WHILE the car was RUNNING.closed the hood drove off no problems.although i dont recomend using the soapy brush.only problem i had was cacked on mud in the wheelwells that wouldnt come off.i was thinking a hard brush but that would probably scratch it. oh (WHEEL)well.lol.

[ragingfish]

Try a light-duty power washer. I borrowed my neighbours to clean the wheels off...did wonders!

[Stang2Vibe]

Power washers are great for the wheel wells. The alternator is right on the top area of the engine. If you are standing in front of the Vibe, it is on the left side of the engine right in the front. Look to the right of and behind the coolant fill cap (the cap has an orange/yellow label on it warning you not to open it when the cap is hot). The alternator looks like a silver canister turned on its side (about the size of a can of Planter's peanuts). It is completely covered with slots and if you look inside the slots, all you can see is copper wire. The front of the alternator has a small pulley attached to it that is driven by the serpentine belt that winds all the way around the left side of the engine. I have washed out my engine compartment many times on my other cars, as I stated earlier, and I believe that I prematurely wore out my alternator because of it. (Needed replaced at about 40,000 miles). Splashing some water on it will not harm it, but you should not spray water directly into it, especially when the engine is running. That's why I like to cover it with a plastic grocery bag before squirting water directly into the engine compartment. Just slip a plastic bag over it, and spray away. I just wipe off the alternator with a damp cloth when I am all done.

[ebslopp]

I noticed the same thing after all the snow melted, I had salt deposits all over my engine cover, intake manifold cover, fuse cover, etc... I took some armoral and wiped all the plastic covers down. It looks sweet! Better than the day I bought it!

[Mr. Poopypants]

When I used to detail cars, we would cover up the distributor cap, crank up the car, spray on some degreaser and take the high pressure hose to it. We never had any problems with doing that.

[dmitri]

meguiars has a product for cleaning dirty engine bays...its the Meguiars EXTRA All surface cleaner http://www.meguiars.com/store_...ory=1

[Caretaker]

I always wash my engines out just as if they were the outside of the car. You will not have a problem unless:1. you squirt the water at one particular location (like the distributor cap) for more than 5 seconds2. your plug wires are over 5 years old. I had a problem with washing my 626 engine which had wires over 6 years. When they get older, the wires begin to absorb moisture. I had to get new wires; the car runs perfectly again. So, go ahead and wash it. I've washed my Vibe's engine about 4 times so far. Enjoy the clean!!

[Stang2Vibe]

As discussed in another thread recently, the Vibe does not have spark plug wires. It is a coil-on-plug ignition.

[Mr. Poopypants]

One thing that we used to do after washing the engine was to spray vinyl dressing on the engine, but you want to get the stuff that is a clearish liquid, you don't want to use anything that is milky like armor-all, you should be able to get some at a local detail shop for a decent price, plus it treats the rubber and vinyl components under the hood, don't worry, it won't hurt the belts.

[ebslopp]

Quote, originally posted by Mr. Poopypants »One thing that we used to do after washing the engine was to spray vinyl dressing on the engine, but you want to get the stuff that is a clearish liquid, you don't want to use anything that is milky like armor-all,...Why don't you want to use armor-all?

[Stang2Vibe]

I think it would probably cook off too easily and may leave yellowish stains behind. The clear products are often silicone based and last longer. Silicone will also have much more restoritive and protective abilities for rubber parts than Armor-All would. Silicone products will not only last longer, but also make the parts they are applied to look shinier. The downside to silicone based products in the engine compartment is that they will attract and trap more dirt which prompts more frequent cleaning.