Hello all,

I was at the car wash and I thought about cleaning the engine compartment, man it could use it, but thought I'd ask here first.

So what should I be watching out for cleaning the engine compartment? I was thinking of just pushing it out of the way after a good cleaning and letting it dry alot just sitting there.

Who's got the low down?

 

not really anything to it. i wash every spring after the salty winter here in snowbelt state.

garden hose and some soap and a soft bristle brush.. wash a section at a time over cold engine.. rinse and use a blower to dry. might want to go easy on the water over the battery so that you dont short it out. lol

if you have an aftermarket intake i'd put a bag over the filter or make sure not to pour water over it.

 

Thanks for the reply kenchan.

Yeah I was thinking things were pretty tight, but it's always better to ask first than regret something. One thing I forgot to mention is that everything is stock on this. Also I can't work on my car here (sucks). I'll just do a b-line to the carwash. For the first time I'm just going to get things cleaned up and that is going to make things look 100 times better. Just don't want to be causing more trouble than things are worth.

Much appreciated!

 

I'm not sure if washing my engine with detergent and a hose caused the problem, but my crank sensor had to be replaced the very next day. BTW, I purposely let the engine dry overnight before driving it.

 

^^ Its never a bad idea to cover electrics like the fuseboxes and alternator with a shield (plastic bag or aluminum foil). And when spraying, use a gentle soak rather than a jet that will penetrate the connections.

At least, when you are at the car wash, the engine will be warm (dries faster that way).

 

Boots covering C-103 shorting bar connector and throttle body connector are NOT water proof. They were full of water when I saw a car on the junk yard which stayed with ope hood after short overnight rain.

 

Just wanted to echo Carbuff's excellent post. DO cover the ECU and other electronic centers with plastic grocery bags.. I use Foamy Engine Bright on a barely warm engine that's shut off and as Carbuff wrote, use only a gentle water rinse. When done, remove the grocery bags, start the car and let it run to heat up the engine and drive off the moisture.

 

I've used the same method since the early '90's...

Wet entire engine bay, spray it all down with simple green, use a rag/brush to agitate any grimy areas, and then hose it all down. Making sure to get all cleaner residue rinsed and making sure to never let the simple green dry.

Simple green, engine bright, or almost any degreaser can stain bare metal if you let it dry.

I then follow by drying with compressed air or a leaf blower depending on which ever is handy. Make sure to blow any water out of any electrical connectors and areas that collect water.

That being said, if I didn't have compressed air or a leaf blower available, I would also cover the electronics. They are made so they can get wet, but it's better if the car isn't running with them wet.

I mention early '90's because that's when most cars switched to fuel injection and distributorless ignitions. Cars that have carburetors and/or distributors are a little trickier. Water and distributors are not a good mix. I still remember trying to dry out the inside of my distributor back in the '80's. Not fun!

 

My only additional advice is just take it easy.
I use to live a few blocks away from one of those self-user High Pressure spray car wash places, and was amazed at the number of times I'd see this scenario.

A person with the hood popped, furiously HIGH pressure spraying the engine compartment.
Usually followed by that same person 20 minutes later frantically trying to get their vehicle to start.

My opinion is you just want to keep the engine compartment looking clean. As much as you can clean just wiping it down? The Better.

There are wires, sensors, and vulnerable parts under the hood. So low pressure, and caution IMO IS warranted.

I personally just use a rag, and carefully wipe things down every few months. And I'm perfectly happy with how clean my engine compartment looks.

 

PS: I like the sandwich at ~1:40, implies that the engine is clean enough to eat off of!

 

Great vid by Carbuff!

I'll aim to get there eventually.

Well I cleaned my engine compartment today and didn't work as well as I had hoped. The big thing is that I now have a check engine light on and it's running kinda rough. The engine was running a little rough before, but no check engine light. What I did was disconnect the battery and put a plastic trash bag over the battery and fuses. Also a bag around the alternator.

This is going to the shop tomorrow, so I'm hoping things will work out with visit. I'm getting the Ignition coils and plugs replaced. Also getting the brake fluid and MT fluid flushed. Plus the drive belt and tension pulley replaced.

I was just hoping I could give the guy a fairly clean car to work on.

 

Did you use a high pressure sprayer? I've hosed down the entire engine bay in our Fit multiple times with zero problems, but I don't use high pressure. Don't cover or protect anything. Just simple green it all and hose away. However, I then use compressed air to dry everything before starting the car.

I'm betting that either a connector came undone or you have water inside a connector. Check as many connectors as you can find and make sure they are dry inside. Good luck!

 

Yeah it was high pressure used. There just wasn't that many good options available (carwash). Hopefully next time I'll be at someone's house where I can take some time and do it right. The compartment didn't turn out bad, but it came at a price. The car is at the shop right now and I'll see how they work it. These guys seem pretty easy to talk to and I'm trusting their work. See how it goes today and would tell me alot about them. 2nd time using them.

BTW, I have no compressed air, so it would have to be air dry for me.

 

Chrisfix on youtube is full of good stuff. That video of cleaning engine bay is how I learned to clean engines. Only argument I have is, don't remove the airbox -- that just lets water get closer to the cylinders (eep!)

I think using low pressure spray in the engine bay is low risk if the weather is hot and dry. Don't try to force water places it doesn't want to go and you'll be ok ... probably. After all, there is some amount of moisture coming in from the road so it's not like they have bare wires hanging out all over the place.

 

right, garden hose, soap, and soft bristled brush is all that is needed.

but if one doesnt have access to a hose, id even recommend getting like 5 one gallon bottles filled with water and just use that.. maybe a smaller water bottle for tight areas. nothing fancy needed.

and blowing out the water with a blower or even a leaf blower or shopvac in blower mode is recommended, but not required.

 

Yeah, you're right! I thought for sure he was going to stuff a sock or something where the air intake was, but nope. I like the advice on using the paint markers too.

 

Here's an older Jetta I cleaned this summer, BEFORE



And , AFTER

I've been doing this for decades. Get the engine warm, 2 cans of engine degrees and let it soak for 10 min. Then (this is where you'll cringe, lol.) I use my electric power washer to clean the crud off. The left over dirt I use a terry cloth rag / brushes and D3 degreaser.
Start the engine, let it dry off, go over it with tire foam use a clean towel and wipe everything down. Wait about an hour and hit it again with Son of a Gun. And that's what it looks like when it's done.
I save this till last when the customer picks up the car, and it drops their jaw every time!

 

Wow that looks real impressive! What does something like this cleaning and detailing run for the customers? I was thinking there might be a business here, after seeing some of the examples.

 

Any updates on rough engine? My guess, water got into spark plug wells

 

Hello doctor, my deepest apology, but I addressed this in another thread. I knew this was going to be a problem getting more than one thread started. Next time I'll try to keep everything on one thread and see how that works out.

Anyways I went to the car wash and did a kinda weak job on cleaning the engine compartment. The next day I took the car in for some work to get done. This shop was doing the brake flush, install ignition coils and plugs, also new belt and pulley. He was happy that I was doing the right stuff here and everything was something needed. Did have the car running kinda rough before and it's running a bit better after getting it back.

The belt was looking kinda on it's last leg, old pulley was noisy, plugs weren't the right ones and the ignition coils look like they were the original ones. This car has over 190k miles on it.

I'm going to see how well the car is running now and up to 200k. Then I'll see about getting the valves adjusted or even maybe do them myself. Just want to get some idea on well the car is running after a few things done and see if that might tell me how the valves are adjusted right now.

Sorry for not getting back to you guys on this thread, my bad. The car is running pretty good right now, it does seem to run just slightly rough. Could be it's characteristics, or something else.

Thanks to everyone and it's very much appreciated your help around here!