engine bay power washing...
engine bay power washing... Hey fellas, just looking for some advice. My engine bay is pretty clean for the most part but i have noticed some really dusty spots that are hard to get to in order to clean them.. I hate dirty engines period 
Anyways to the point.. would you guys recommend Power washing it down a little bit.. i did it to my "beater" Saturn when i got it and it was fine, also on my old DSM i believe and on my buddies. but theres more electrical wires under the hood of my 98 Camaro.. any advice or past expieriances to share with me would be great. Looking to clean er up this weekend
Anyways to the point.. would you guys recommend Power washing it down a little bit.. i did it to my "beater" Saturn when i got it and it was fine, also on my old DSM i believe and on my buddies. but theres more electrical wires under the hood of my 98 Camaro.. any advice or past expieriances to share with me would be great. Looking to clean er up this weekend
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I haven't had any problems with any of the power washes in the Camaro, or any others but one older vehicle. I can't even remember which one it was.
One must be prudent, though. Don't stick the wand right up into everything and spray it like you're washing away your ex-wife's bad mojo. Hold the wand a ways back wherever there are wires and connectors. I even let the car sit a while to cool off the exhaust manifolds. I cracked one on an older truck of mine, I think because I didn't let it cool before I started spraying.
Good luck. Have some towels handy. WD-40 might not hurt, either.
One must be prudent, though. Don't stick the wand right up into everything and spray it like you're washing away your ex-wife's bad mojo. Hold the wand a ways back wherever there are wires and connectors. I even let the car sit a while to cool off the exhaust manifolds. I cracked one on an older truck of mine, I think because I didn't let it cool before I started spraying.
Good luck. Have some towels handy. WD-40 might not hurt, either.
I would carb clean it then wash down with a garden hose. I've heard alot of bad things coming from spraying it, however not everyone and there are some that do it all the time and are fine. Not a risk I choose to take, you can get it pretty clean without using a power washer
Oh yeah not electrical, dont really even want to get anymore water on that then you need to of course, and for the rubber just take the time to wipe down or spray it with soap and water. Either way, soap for rubber but oil on the block/heads/covers just hit that **** with cleaner and hose off. Thats what i do at least.
The purple stuff is a really good degreaser also, just as long as your carful i guess is the main issue. I wouldnt just spray the whole engine with anyone thing unless just som mild soap, i think the best thing to do is just take your time and detail it. Or be lazy and do it quick, but you do take a risk whether its big or not or worth it is up to whoever doing, ive heard enough to decide to just take my time, normaly takes less than 10 min anyways..
The purple stuff is a really good degreaser also, just as long as your carful i guess is the main issue. I wouldnt just spray the whole engine with anyone thing unless just som mild soap, i think the best thing to do is just take your time and detail it. Or be lazy and do it quick, but you do take a risk whether its big or not or worth it is up to whoever doing, ive heard enough to decide to just take my time, normaly takes less than 10 min anyways..
I take a a garden hose and lightly spritz the entire area under the hood with the engine cold. Then spray simple green all over and take a big brush and scrub everywhere you sprayed the simple green. Finally rinse everything down, spraying more vigorously on non electrical areas, and avoiding spraying directly at any electrical components. Next I get a big bath towel and dry everything, this helps me to remove any dirt/ debris that wasn't wash away by the water. Lastly I use a small hand towel and a bottle of detailer spray to comb over the entire engine and spot clean any little spots or small areas that where missed, finally using compressed air and a jet fitting to blow off and dust/ dirt in tiny little areas that couldn't be reached.
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X2 on the simple green!!! Dont use purple power or anything else like that. It will corrode all the aluminum parts. Like he said spray it down with simple green with a cold engine and hand wash every thing u can get to and hose it off.
Last edited by keith102371; Mar 23, 2011 at 06:30 PM.
Just to clear one thing up, it's Simple Green Automotive. The plain Simple Green was a household cleaner forever and doesn't do **** to engine grease.
Also be aware of the TSB about water getting in the knock sensor wells under the intake. You might want to look it up.
It says knock sensor corrsion and failure in cars is caused by excessive underhood washing (or something to that effect).
I found that TSB after the second time I washed my engine with simple green automotive. I even used hp tuners to shut the fans off and let it run at factory set temp for a while trying to get any water to evaporate out, if it did get in there.
But apparently it didn't work because in a week it threw knock sensor codes, the front one was rusted bad. This is on my SS that is garage kept and had 33,000 miles at the time.
Right now I have a set of intake gaskets for my Z28 so I can take it off, seal the knock sensor boots and be able to clean it with no worries.
Also be aware of the TSB about water getting in the knock sensor wells under the intake. You might want to look it up.
It says knock sensor corrsion and failure in cars is caused by excessive underhood washing (or something to that effect).
I found that TSB after the second time I washed my engine with simple green automotive. I even used hp tuners to shut the fans off and let it run at factory set temp for a while trying to get any water to evaporate out, if it did get in there.
But apparently it didn't work because in a week it threw knock sensor codes, the front one was rusted bad. This is on my SS that is garage kept and had 33,000 miles at the time.
Right now I have a set of intake gaskets for my Z28 so I can take it off, seal the knock sensor boots and be able to clean it with no worries.
