Engine Bay Cleaning/Washing?

[WhiteGTB]

Does anyone know if there is a right and wrong way of washing your engine bay?

I am guessing that spraying the engine bay with water is not a smart thing to do?

How do the pro's do it?

[sinist4]

im not to sure, but i tihnk steam is used ?

[SkoobyGT]

You can degrease it, but I don't really have much/any oil over the engine bay.

Just make sure you dont wet your electrical stuff like fuse box, plugs etc etc.

Steam is the way to go.

I am getting a guy to do my car soon, $180, 5 hours, polish wash steam clean blah blah.

[[j]]

There are a number of ways you can do it and yes, steam does work well on the metal parts, but you do run a greater risk of melting some plastic parts or damaging electrical components it you blast the steam into the wrong places.

When I cleaned the engine bay in my brother's Civic, I used a pressure cleaner, along with different chemical cleaners and what not, however I wasn't to confident in using that on a Subaru engine as there's a few parts which are a lot more exposed.

What I did was;

Disconnect the battery and tightly wrap foil around any electrical components, or exposed parts of the engine/ connectors etc. which I did not want to get wet or get any product on.

Then I used a spay bottle of water to wet and dampen the areas I wanted to clean (that way you have a lot more control over the stream of water, and which parts you want wet)

I personally find it easier to work in sections - So I would spray down a section to wet it, then spray on an engine cleaner/ degreaser.. Leave this to sit/ dwell for a minute or so and then agitate it with a paint brush, tooth brush, rag - what ever worked best for the part I was cleaning - then follow up with another good spray of water and final wipe down with a clean rag.

Finally I dressed all the plastic and rubber parts with a plastic cleanser or protector and then waxed all the exposed painted metal parts.

I used some total auto cleaner stuff which I've purchased from specialty detailing places, but I have also heard very good reviews about Autoglym 'Engine & Machine Cleaner' which you can get at Autobarn (was at Autobarn Bankstown the other day and they have a good range of Autoglym products if anyone is interested..)

For the plastic and rubber areas, again I used some stuff which I bought off the net, but a natural look dressing for the interior or some sort of plastic/ rubber/ vinyl cleaner or protectant would work fine.

Not sure whether you Gen IV guys would remove the engine cover piece to detail, as I've never really had a good look as to what parts are exposed or covered in a Gen IV, but just be careful and don't drench any electrical or exposed mechanical parts.

Hope that helps a little!!

Cheers,
Jonno

[Mo_GT]

I am guessing that spraying the engine bay with water is not a smart thing to do?

Thats actually ok to do - just make sure the motor is cold and you don't get water into your airfilter box.

I wash my engine bay every now and then - i just use a mild solution of car wash and a microfiber cloth and clean everything that i can reach. I finish it off by rinsing with water and blow drying the whole thing with my garden blower/vac.

[WhiteGTB]

Thanks guys, great info, exactly what I was looking for

[yipming]

I am getting a guy to do my car soon, $180, 5 hours, polish wash steam clean blah blah.

Hmm ... who are u going to get to detail your car? I have been looking around too. Hard to work out who's good or bad though.

[EJ25]

I am getting a guy to do my car soon, $180, 5 hours, polish wash steam clean blah blah.

Hmm ... who are u going to get to detail your car? I have been looking around too. Hard to work out who's good or bad though.

group buy..LOL

[LIBER8ED]

I am guessing that spraying the engine bay with water is not a smart thing to do?

Thats actually ok to do - just make sure the motor is cold and you don't get water into your airfilter box.

I wash my engine bay every now and then - i just use a mild solution of car wash and a microfiber cloth and clean everything that i can reach. I finish it off by rinsing with water and blow drying the whole thing with my garden blower/vac.

i just had this image of you standing there with a hair drier, giving your engine bay some bounce and a metrosexual kind of pampering.. ha ha ha

ok ill get back in my box now

[Mo_GT]

I am guessing that spraying the engine bay with water is not a smart thing to do?

Thats actually ok to do - just make sure the motor is cold and you don't get water into your airfilter box.

I wash my engine bay every now and then - i just use a mild solution of car wash and a microfiber cloth and clean everything that i can reach. I finish it off by rinsing with water and blow drying the whole thing with my garden blower/vac.

i just had this image of you standing there with a hair drier, giving your engine bay some bounce and a metrosexual kind of pampering.. ha ha ha

ok ill get back in my box now

Hahahaha! imagine what my neighbours think!

[EJ25]

I am guessing that spraying the engine bay with water is not a smart thing to do?

Thats actually ok to do - just make sure the motor is cold and you don't get water into your airfilter box.

I wash my engine bay every now and then - i just use a mild solution of car wash and a microfiber cloth and clean everything that i can reach. I finish it off by rinsing with water and blow drying the whole thing with my garden blower/vac.

i just had this image of you standing there with a hair drier, giving your engine bay some bounce and a metrosexual kind of pampering.. ha ha ha

ok ill get back in my box now

Hahahaha! imagine what my neighbours think!

LOL

[buggermedumplings]

Does anyone know if there is a right and wrong way of washing your engine bay?

I am guessing that spraying the engine bay with water is not a smart thing to do?

How do the pro's do it?

Easy, done this with all my cars...

1. Work with a cold engine.
2. Spray degreaser over all dirty parts
3. Grab yourself a beer.
4. When finished, use a high pressure spray.

I normally start the car afterwards in case of residual water near injectors etc but never had an issue.

Cheers
Daniel

[Mo_GT]

2. Spray degreaser over all dirty parts

You need to be carefull with degreaser - it can discolour plastics /paint and also strip bits that need to be lubricated.

[Dan@dmsdetailing]

I know this is an old thread but just some tips.

I do not do high pressure engine bay cleaning for the fact modern engines have far to much that car get wet and damaged.

If you feel the need to do it then do as was suggested and cover all items you dont want wet. I suggest cling wrap as foil has the potential to short if applied wrong. Try not to use high pressure as you dont want to force water into the wrong spots.

Things like coil packs and ecu's are very expensive and dont like being wet.

The easiest way to keep it clean is to do it regularly with a microfiber soaked in general purpose cleaner or degreaser

[suff]

If your ECU gets wet whilst cleaning your engine bay, you should stop what your doing, hold the high pressure cleaner to your head (preferably your ear) and pull the trigger!