HERO

iTrader: (3)

I have searched, but didn't find the answer to my question.

There is alot of sand under my hood, so I am wanting to rinse out my engine bay without the use of any degreasers. My question is this, I know I will have to to cover up the electrical connectors, but what do I cover them with? Tape? Thanks in advance for the help.

army_rx8

i'd cover them up with some electrical tape myself. granted most of the already are, except for the connectors. should be okay for a quick rinse. i need to do teh same thing i have a sand box in my engine bay from the winter my baby is getting mad she is so dirty under the hood.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

I spilt some oil on my engine while removing the oil filter. I just went to a manual car wash, left the engine running and sprayed the engine down. No problems.

G8rboy

A disposable baby diaper wrapped around the filter base will keep that from happening again... those things can hold a lot of crap

Texas 8

Literally and figuratively

TCReedy1

I`ve carefully cleaned my engine twice in 1.5 yrs. All underhood electrical connectors are designed to be very waterproof nowdays - its an electrical design standard and they use double or even triple lip seals inside the connectors. I did however cover a couple of the really exposed connectors with a poly bag held in place with an elastic band. Engine should not need a degreaser unless you have either got an oil leak high up or like me, every time you top up the oil, the first bit out of the bottle splats out over the engine (i`m too stingey to buy a funnel). The main thing is if you use the jetwash, try to keep it on its low power setting like with the trigger not depressed, you just get a mild spray spurt - which is still powerful enough to get most of the cack off yer engine bits.

The big problem i`m having now is that one of my ancil belt pulleys is squeaking at idle. the belt is fine and not slipping but i`m starting to think i got water into a pulley bearing...whoops...

Good luck

Tom

Kicker774

It's probably wortyh to note that if you have an aftermarket intake to cover that up as well.

I'm no mechanic, but water up the intake can't be good for your car.

Labop

You can use a citrus product like orange clean. Let the engine cool then cover things up. Kicker brings up a good point, if you're filter is exposed, now would be a good time to cover it. To cover connectors you can either use plastic bags or aluminium foil. Either way secure it either with rubber bands or tape. I don't cover all the time, if I'm just doing a quick wash... but if I plan to spend some time spraying I'll cover things.

Now you can spray it down with orange clean (people use simple green, I'm not crazy about using something that harsh). I leave it to sit while I wash the rest of my car and then use the pressure washer (on low) to clean it out. If you have any tough spots that are away from wires, give the sprayer quick burst on high.

I follow with a thorough wipe down with a terry cloth or two, that step should take you some time. It takes me 20 minutes to get everything. If you still have sand in the hard to clean bits..., wait until it's fully dry and use a can of air on it. Otherwise you'd go mad using a q-tip.

I carry a funnel for the oil. I keep it in a zip loc baggy. They also sell disposable funnels at autozone, it's a 3 pack for less than two bucks. I haven't picked them up yet, but have heard good thigns.

If you're showing the car: once you're all done and the water is all gone...

Wipe the metal parts down with spray detailer (I use black magic). You can use Mother's Back to Black on the plastic peices, and/or go for a hi-shine with interior detailer like Armor All or Meguires Cockpit Shine. You can also but the cockpit shine on the hoses. Don't spray the parts as it will get everywhere, spray a cloth instead.

Hope that helps.

tskeltonPGA

holy dead thread revival! sorry...this was just exactly what i was looking for!

the stig

it is a dead thread and i just saw this. other than baby wiper, if is somewhere hard to get. use tampon lol thats what James may said on Top gear =]

TrochoidMagic

the absolutely best way.... buy some(and you should already have some if you do work on your car) simple green. and get some concentrate and buy a spray bottle. although some simple green already does come in a spray bottle...

spray all over the top part of the engine and everywhere where dirt needs to be removed. and get a brush...work it in to the engine covers or whereever needed again. use generously, and spray down with a low pressure hose like the gardening hose. high power hose is fine too..as long as its not a hot spray/steam clean. and stay away from the alternater and you'll be fine. i've never had any problems... and i do it when it gets only dusty.

TrochoidMagic

don't concentrate any high power jet spray over electrical connectors, and near intake openings... pretty common sense.

DOMINION

You dont have to "power wash" it. That just adds rust.
Go to any place that sell Car care stuff and get the one from Meguiars that has Silicone in it and it cleans your Engine with a sweet shine.
Spray let it sit and wipe it down
-Gil

Rotarctica

Procedure at work, used on new and old cars without fault:

1.) Prop up the hood
2.) Obtain degreasing can and spray nozzle, set them aside.
3.) Give the engine bay a very quick wet down
4.) Go to town with the degreaser. Get the underside of the hood, and all around the engine bay, anywhere that dust, dirt, sand and oil manage to get.
5.) Take a soft bristled brush on a long handle and get the underside of the hood, the fender gaps, and then the engine bay. It's doubtful that you're going to hurt anything and only a serious idiot would be able to do so. Brush EVERYTHING!
6.) Pressure wash the engine bay until it's free of any leftover degreaser.


I've used this on all of my cars and all of my customers' and the dealer's cars. It is standard procedure. Unless you start spraying water up INTO the intake like a blithering idiot, or try very hard to destroy something with high pressure water, then you'll be alright.

It can also pay to pressure wash the fins of the radiator to remove any bits of junk that lodge themselves in there.

Razz1

Would a toilet brush work?

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

hmm, might have to try this soon.
You mean I can't just ZAINO the whole thing????

Razz1

Kid of hard to Zanio the carpet in the rear wheel wells.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

I'm sure they make a zaino for that.

Razz1

Really?

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

Yup, Z6

Razz1

That's weird.

heyarnold69

iTrader: (1)

Im all about cleaning the engine .. but i think a pressure washer is a little bit of an over kill ... i use a little 7 n one nozzle on the shower setting. before I do wash it ... I disconect the battery, remove the air box, duct tape a zip lock bag around the intake and throw a bit of tape around any bulk connectors I see .. just in case.

i usually use a combonation of oxyclean and orange clean to clean off the dirt ... im not a fan of degreesers form a can ....


also I let it the car air dry for a coupel of hours while i work on the rest of the car ...

invasion08

iTrader: (7)

Spray some engine degreaser on and use the hose without the nozzle on to rinse it off

invasion08

iTrader: (7)

And to dry it off faster use a leave blower

Rotarctica

We use industrial grade concentrated degreaser that we have to dilute ourselves, pour it in a pressure can and charge it with the air hose. Pretty much, this stuff can just look at grime and it falls off. But that being said, it's perfectly safe. Seriously. Stop being so paranoid! It takes a serious dumbass to harm an engine trying to degrease it and power washing things...

A toilet brush will not work. That's considered stiff bristle. Use something softer...they sell them at Autozone.

Degreaser in the form of a can is fine. Again, quit being paranoid.