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I noticed that my local do-it-yourself auto wash place allows you to clean engine bays. However, would I have to park my car in the cleaning bay, and let it sit until it cools off? Wouldn't that take an hour+?
My only problem is there's a fair bit of oil and grease in the engine bay and wouldn't feel the best about letting that run in to my driveway/grass with a hoseNot a good idea. Engine bay should be cold. Pressure washer also bad idea. Clean by hand. Here's a great guide:
How to SUPER CLEAN your Engine Bay - YouTube
Don't use a hose. You need to use a quality degreaser, spray it on the oiled areas, let it soak, scrub with a good brush, rinse, spray more degreaser, soak, then rinse. You really shouldn't be using that much water at all.My only problem is there's a fair bit of oil and grease in the engine bay and wouldn't feel the best about letting that run in to my driveway/grass with a hose
If you're strategic about it, it's fine I guess. Most people would just go to town though. Adds unnecessary risk to an otherwise simple job.I have been using a pressure washer for years on all of my cars with never an issue. On older cars I had to cover the carb and distributor. On newer cars I have never had to cover anything.
Right. Don't do that. Cold engine only. Hot metal does not do well with cold water.I'm less concerned about pressure washing (probably won't use it) rather than my main question about putting any sort of water on a hot (or warm) engine
+1,000yep, cold engine and water, and not much of it.
My approach is to put a big piece of cardboard under the car, liberally hose everything down with purple power (i read some comparisons, it's the best bang for the buck), use some harbor freight wire brushes all over the place, wash it away with more purple power, then a little bit of water to clean up. Cardboard turns into a gross mess, but generally leaves the ground clean and contains the waste. You really need chemicals and elbow grease for this task - a pressure washer won't emulsify the goop well enough to actually get rid of it... It just moves the grease and oil somewhere else.
What is the risk? My wagon I have owned for 10 years and I clean the engine about once a month with a power washer. I do not use chemicals on the engine to clean it. I use the actual hot water from the power washer.If you're strategic about it, it's fine I guess. Most people would just go to town though. Adds unnecessary risk to an otherwise simple job.
Main risk would be water getting into any electrical component, pushing past any weather seals. These cars have enough gremlins on their own. But, definitely impressive that you haven't had any issues powerwashing the engine for so long.What is the risk? My wagon I have owned for 10 years and I clean the engine about once a month with a power washer. I do not use chemicals on the engine to clean it. I use the actual hot water from the power washer.
The only thing i can see it doing it maybe breaking a hose that is weak. At that point the hose should have already been replaced.
My wife's 06' I did the same to it up until I sold it last year and we owned it 9 years. My 99' and 00' got the same treatment. If the weather seals are going to leak I would suspect it would that from even driving in a heavy rain.Main risk would be water getting into any electrical component, pushing past any weather seals. These cars have enough gremlins on their own. But, definitely impressive that you haven't had any issues powerwashing the engine for so long.
wow.....I would absolutely not advise using water on a cold engine. For me it has to be hot.
Keep it mild, say Simple Green or the like. You might even want to disconnect the battery before hand, then use some rags to wipe down some of the harnesses, etc after you're done rinsing before reconnecting the battery. I think you're wise to be cautious on an older car.My car is pretty old, so now I'm nervous about using my 'aggressive' Gunk engine cleaner after what you say about plastics/aluminum
The car has 195k miles. How nervous should I really be about using it? It would definitely be a one time thing - the engine bay looks like it has never been cleaned, and afterwards I'd maintain it. But for the initial cleaning, should I avoid Gunk?
I actually just took a look at the bottle of the Gunk cleaner and it's the 'Foamy' version. Out of 3 different options 'foamy', 'regular', and 'heavy-duty', it's the weakest of the 3. Now I'm thinking it might be light enough to not have too many issuesKeep it mild, say Simple Green or the like. You might even want to disconnect the battery before hand, then use some rags to wipe down some of the harnesses, etc after you're done rinsing before reconnecting the battery. I think you're wise to be cautious on an older car.
Another option for a very dirty part or two would be to take it off the car for a good scrub down, then dry and reinstall.