How many of you degrease your engines im going for the first time this month i go every 2 or 3 months to do this mine gets kind of bad cause i have an oil leak that is not fixed yet

 

If you spend a little to fix the oil leak, then you won't have to waste money cleaning the engine, even if it is once every 2-3 months. One steam cleaning lasts me around 9-10 months with me just hosing down the engine everytime i wash it.

 

I would think it wiser to spend that time and money fixing an oil leak instead of continuously cleaning it up and buying oil to replace it....

 

speaking of cleaning engines has anyone ever had an engine boiled? i heard that really cleans them but i would like to know what is involved in prepping the engine, if any prepping is even neccessary.

 

i was quoted 1100 to fix my leaks and i kno im not getting overcharged becouse me and my dad have known the guy for years and he always fixes my car it doesnt cost much at all to degrease all i do is buy engine degreaser and go to those car washes and spray my engine its not hard or costly but the reason my 2 oil leaks cost so much is cause they have to drop the trany and the labor is what cost alot i was planing on getting it fixed but im going to try and buy another maxima for 500 buck for parts i will just have to degreasing it if i buy the other becouse i need other parts more.

 

ummmm, exactly which part needs replaced, and why will it cost $1100 to drop the tranny?
I can pay local goons to pull my tranny out for $100. they'll put it back in for another $50.

 

1 of the leaks is the rear main oil seal and the other is up front but like i said me and my father know the guy that owns the shop and he is cheaper than anywhere else he has also fixed lots of other things on my car

 

...yeah, but $1100???

Take it to Matt's place and let his "goons" do it for ya. Heck, no matter where you live, you'd still save on just taking the trip alone...

 

My Operations Management Prof doesn't even trust his cousin and has been over quoted (he knows mechanics, part of his degree). Personally I'm starting to think close mechanics are more corrupt because of the trust factor

 

Once a month I take my car into work on a saturday and use the Detail shop's steam cleaner on the ol' engine. Looks sweet but runs like sh** for a few minutes. Every 3 months I detail the whole car. I used to work back there (in detail) and they let me get away with it. I pay like 5 bucks for all the armorall and degreaser and I drive away in a car that looks like new.

 

Well if you think im getting overcharged, im going to go to another machanic and see what they say is wrong and what they quote me on price so ill see if im getting "screwed" but anyway thanx for your input

 

What do you mean "steam clean" ??............

 

When I say steam clean I'm talking about a power washer that uses high pressure boiling water to dissolve deposits.

 

Oh ok that is what I thought

 

those work great to get the car clean, but they're very hard on the rubber parts under the hood. they cause the vacuum hoses and stuff to get hard and brittle fairly quickly. not a problem if you know what to watch for and replace it every couple of years, but when you use such harsh cleaners on the car, expect it to cause stuff to screw up sooner or later.

 

When I degrease my engine I dont spray on rubber hoses or electrical equipment I spray it more on like the firewalls and such also all electrical equip. when I degrease is coverd so it does not get hit hard by water and chemicals.

 

Yes, that is definetly something to watch folks.
You will however find that steam cleaning is not necessary very often at all, and that combined with a little care will minimize the detrimental effects to your engine.

 

When you guys spray down your engines... specifically the VG's, aren't you worried about water collecting up where the spark plugs are? I wanted to spray my engine down with just water but thought it over because I don't want that water sitting in that trough over the intake plenum.

 

you could probably just cover it up with something

 

I've never really had any problem and as long as you leave the engine running during/after the degreasing it should all steam away.
When I first did my old Infiniti With the plugs straight down on the top of the engine, I didn't leave it running and it wouldn't start after I was done. It continued to stall intermittently until the water was removed. So far, no prob with the VG.

 

When i clean my engine i never let it run all i do is covre all wires and electrical hoses with plasctic bags and my car starts up right away no problem