Today during my 35K service, I was talking to my master tech, and we got into discussions about the new mx5, and I think I distracted him from his chores, because after the oil change, he turned over the engine and BLAMO! We hit black gold.



I had a full 5W20 oil well in my engine bay. He forgot to put the filter on. At least he did not rev the engine, and we shut it down asap. But, the engine was covered in oil. So, he brings in the detailer, and together they spayed down the entire engine with carb cleaner first, then brought in the pressure washer.

I asked if everything in the engine compartment could get wet, and he said "You bet" So we pressure washed the entire engine. Then we ran it up the lift and cleaned the bottom. Once completed, my engine looked as clean as the day I took delivery. We dryed it off with compressed air after that.

Needless to say, this is the first time he has ever done this. And of course, all the other techs came over to give him grief. Since he is the head master tech there, I'm sure they will not let him live this one down.

So, the entire engine can be washed.

 

Amazing how much oil that little oil pump puts out

 

2-1/2 quarts was our best guess

 

black gold, texas tea!

 

I would have been like , I'm going to and after that by then I would have calmed down so they could kiss my .

LOL, j/k

All that water scares me....

 

didja get a free hat or tshirt or sumpin? wow!

 

I'm sure once you goto over the shock of that, that it had to be pretty funny.

I lost an Acura Integra in a flood in 1987 - we took the car in and of course the engine was full of water. They pulled the plugs, hooked up a new battery and cranked the engine (what amazed me is that the starter still worked and the electrical system still worked enough to crank the engine after being immersed in water (over the roof!) for a half-day.) - water shot out of the spark plug plug holes more than 30 feet in the air! They were aimed perfectly to miss the open bonnet!

 

90psi money shot

 

rule No. 1.........stay out of the mechanics bay....

 

I always break that rule

He felt really bad because I have the cleanest 8 that he has had the opportunity to work on. I wondered about the electrical connectors, but he said they are waterproof.

 

what about all that carpeting inside the engine compartment? did any of that get ruined/damaged?

 

Nope, it just pumped up and out like a overflowing sink. It was at idle RPM which helped.

 

Excellent post!

I have been asked numerous times how to clean the engine

now I can give them a better answer than you don't, or wet wash rag on the plastic parts.

I wondered how they were able to change the filter without making a mess. I can't see the tech punching a hole through the filter to let it drain into the pan.

 

i don't know how much i'd trust a master tech who forgets to put an oil filter on....

i mean.. isn't that the first thing you even replace when you take it off?? i know i do...

oh well.. i've seen a lot of water in the engine bay after i drive in rain or wash it down and go for a drive...

 

Great story; how the hell did he forget to put the filter on?!! I guess I could have posted about washing the engine bay a long time ago. I have fully detailed my engine bay about 10 times since I've owned her.

 

can you really take it to one of those power wash car washes and just spray the hell out of it??? or are there areas you should not spray?

 

Most engine compartments have one sensitive area - the distributor. The RX-8 doesn't have a distributor. I've also power washed an RX-7 3rd gen with no problems, a Toyota 4Runner, and a Nissan Pathfinder. Just keep the power washer spray away from the radiator, AC condenser, and oil cooler fins. It will flatten the fins. Use a regular garden hose with nossle to clean the fins. Drying isn't really necessary, but it does reduce residue (water drop marks) if you have hard water.

Every time I wash my vehicles I also wash under the hood (not a power washer just a garden hose), and have never had any problems, even over a 10 yr. time span.

 

Yep what ^he said. They also avoided direct spray on the PCM and Fuse box covers just to be safe.

 

what about that alternator, direct and center up top? that looks like it shouldn't be directly sprayed with water.

 

He went around that also - your right. But it did get hit with indirect water and it still works. We dryed it pretty well with the compressed air later.

 

I am with RX-8 friend, I clean mine pretty much every week when I wash my car and have yet to run into any problems. I always use just a waterhose though.

 

The alternator is not water sensitive. I've filled them with water and they just blow themselves out when you start the engine. It would be a different matter if you were to immerse it in saltwater with it still connected to the battery! I've seen the results of that and it isn't pretty!

 

I'm going to wash my Engine bay and car tomorrow.
Great post by the way guys

 

ok i think i woulda crapped my pants twice when i saw that oil geyser spouting out. I guess i also figured that cleaning it would have been a lot more work then carb cleaner and power washing. That's awesome that everything turned out for the better though!

On another note, great post though! I'd have never thought that it was ok to wet down the entire engine bay!

 

I have washed my engine bay at least 3 times at the coinop car wash. The area comes out clean and I haven't had any related problems.