I wouldn't do it -- you can get water into the electrical connections and cause all sorts of problems.

soap, elbow grease and a running hose are all I'd recommend.

 

Yes, one can and I have - many people do.

One needs to be sure not to direct the spray on electrical components; cover sensitive parts to prevent dousing, and perhaps even avoid sensitive electrical and electronic areas, such as fuse and relay boxes, altogether.

My friend's Ford pickup manual even RECOMMENDS one do it, with the areas to avoid clearly marked in the pictures!

 

Nothing cleans like steam; hot water - second place.

Cold water, even from a pressure washer does not do the job..
After the wash, one should dry- to prevent troubles AND one should also apply waxes and sealers to protect the cleaned surfaces..

Radare has recently posted some very good stuff on cleaning...

 

i have put plenty of water into engine bays of my various cars over the years, low and high pressure. I did throw a check engine light in my subaru once and took it to the dealer to check/clear it and was told it was from the tranny and was from water getting into the electrical connection!

prevention is the best--but if you inherited someone else's gunk then I wouldn't expect to remove it all gloriously in a few minutes. if you use a pressure wash just be darn sure not to use a pressure too high and be careful with your aim and use shots of water instead of a continuous spray so you can target only the spots you want and hopefully keep the electrical gremlins happy. the connectors are water-resistant but not water-proof

i have learned to always run the engine or go for a drive shortly after washing to help heat up the engine bay and cook off any remaining water as much as able from the electrical and thus hopefully avoid any problems . . .

 

LIKE EATHWORD SAID cold water does nothing....


the best thing is to buy some TFR (Traffic Film Remover) its what valeters use (i used to have to use it in the workshop when cleaning engines) it is the best stuff to use for engines and WHEELS also best thing to use is a STEAM PRESURE CLEANER basicly a power washer that pumps out rosting hot water and not cold gets that grime right off.always cover sencitive parts with a plastic bag does not matter if a little but of water gets on them just dont blast them.if you cant get hold of a steamcleaner just lightly wet the engine bay wit water (hot or cold) spray the TFR on and rub with cloths dont leave the TFR on ages or it will leave water like marks on the engine and components. then use your dads new power washer to rince off but use at distance dont want the paint on the engine covers comming off do we :roll: lol.


WHEN DOING THE RINCE TURN ENGINE ON SO IT IDLES AS THIS HELPS TO STOP ANY WATER GOING INTO PISTIONS AND CAUSEING START UP PROBLEMS do not do any of this procidure on alfa romaos or jaguar xj6's as they have crap seals and just flood the engine with water but o well who cars about them cars lol :cheesy:

 

Today I got bored so I drove up to the car wash that is a few blocks from my house. My engine bay was very 'dusty' looking. I tried powerwashing the engine bay. I was a little afraid to do it so I used the low pressure spot-free rinse mode; even that seemed like to much pressure to spraying on all the various components so I soaked most of the bay with the stream of spray that came out of the nozzel without squeezing the trigger and hit a few select spots with pressure. My car started right back up without any problems and I didn't even cover anything up. However, when I got back home I could tell that the warm water only spray down did very little cleaning. My next step will be to use some engine cleaner, then do the same thing. After that I will revert to good old elbow grease.

Until then, I am going to keep researching for quality info on the procedure. Like this:

http://autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/103554-advice-engine-detail.html?highlight=engine+bay

 

All I usually do is lightly wet down the engine bay, then spray EVERYTHING with Simple Green. Let it soak for 5 minutes, then lightly spray everything off.

This usually cleans pretty much everything, as long as there isn't an oil leak or something like that. It degreases well, and loosens that annoying layer of dirt that always builds up. This method even got the plastic wire loom in my engine bay looking brand new once, I was extremely surprised.

I don't think high pressure is necessarily the answer if you're using the right cleaning product.

 

Don't know how heavy the gunk is on the engine but I found that Brake Parts Cleaner does a great job degreasing and it leaves no residue. It works like CRC Engine Degreaser but Brake Parts Cleaner is much less expensive. The NAPA product works best for me though there is not a lot in the cans.

Picked up some Valvoline BPC on sale -doesn't work quite as well as the NAPA product but still is adequate for light to medium grease/oil removal.

Be mindful of the label instructions and avoid (or test) using BPC on plastics or rubber. I used it on the undercarriage and oil pan before I tightened the oil pan bolts.

Another tip is to spray the engine bay with WD-40 after washing. Obviously displaces water and it leaves a nice shine on all components.

 

I'd be wary of the wd40 spray afterwards, it'll degrade the copious rubber tubing around the engine afaik. If you want to use it be very careful where it's sprayed and clean up any nearby hoses immediately afterwards.

 

Im on my 4th saab and luckly I havent had any bad leaks on any of the saabs I have owned.I have detailed my engine compartment in the past with turtle wax 2001 protectant or meguiars super protectant.Iwill always try to clean cylinder head area ,top DIcassette and around sides etc. and anything plastic or rubber, except drive belt.When I show off the engine compartment people always seem to put on their sunglasses.One dude took me to court for retina burn,I warned him to put on his shades!

 

My dream

A real steam pressure washer for less than $1000..I'd use this everyplace, the concrete, the stove, the microwave, the engines, the siding (on very low pressure)....
China may be working on this now...

As to the Ford truck...way to go, Ford. This is a good feature, for those who do take care of their vehicle.

 

If you have one of those pencil jet pressure washers proceed with caution, you can clean an engine with one but as already mentioned do you know how good the electrical connection seals are? And a direct blast from the jet of water will force past a seal. I use one from time to time but with the engine running and let the inherent heat protect the unit.

 

Come on griffin9000, you can't make claims like that without pic's - we need to see the evidence!!!

Oh, hi and welcome to saabcentral!

Andrew