wondering if I were to use a pressure washer in my engine bay if and what i could mess up? -if this is a retarded question... *hides* plz dont hurt me 0-o

 

Aside from closing off the intake, I think it'd be fine. Don't take my word for it though. Look in the stickies, I think I've seen it there before.

 

i think your suppose to cover somethings, like air filter, alternator and some other electrical stuff, im not sure...kinda curious myself

 

I actually had mines steam cleaned & washed about 2 months ago. It wasn't too bad. If u have a aftermarket intake, that would have to be covered, and the alternator just to be safe.

 

i used the "scuzzy" steam cleaner that my mom bought.....didn't really work that well.

 

Try to not use gunk, if you do keep away from all electrical systems. You will be fine. Use least amount of water. Goodluck heres mine after i cleaned it.



Good luck....

 

i do this often, grab some tinfoil to wrap up electric stuff with everything else seems to be addressed.

 

never pressure washed my engine before. I just take a hose and some orange degreaser and it works pretty good. I also use little dash washing pads, i forget the name of those jaspers but they do wonders on oxadation.

 

SIMPLE GREEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cover alternator and whatever stuff that was already talked about....spray it all over and let it sit for a minute.. then pressure wash...mmmmm.. simple green...... gooood stuff

 

should the battery be taken out or is that just common sense not mentioned?

 

battery? i do no think water will hurt it unless it is open. take the simple green method...

 

you dont need to cover the battery, dont directly spray it but its fine if water is on it..

 

Don't use a pressure washer. It will allow (force) water to get into places where it shouldnt be. All you need is a regular garden hose, some degreaser, and a brush. Thats how you get it clean, its all in the scrubbing. Only use a pressure washer if you have a lot of experience with it, because you can easily mess up electrical stuff with it, mainly because it will force water into areas where it shouldnt be.

Cover up the air filter, alternator, and the fuse boxes to be safe. Id probably cover the battery to be safe aswell.

 

I used some simple green and a regular hose to wash out my engine bay. The only thing I covered with the intake and I did not focus the water on any one spot for a long period of time.

 

ok thanks, just wanted to make sure about everything. now my engine will look good again! with a little polishing it will be what i want. finally.

 

I use pressure wash, but make sure to cover with a towel or something the bridge under the intake to protect the knock sensor, and of course the normal things to watch for like electrical and intakes.

I don;t do it anymore with my 4th gen since the VI has been there, too many electrical connections to phukk up.

 

I didn't use any water; Just a little Simple Green and brute man power with the scrubbing. Came out pretty good. The Valve cover is a b*tch to clean though.

 

I use castrol degreaser. I spray it on everything ( everthing) except for intake. Let it sit for a few minutes than used the hose with no adapter to just let the water run out. I rinse really good. The only place I try not to flood is the rear 3 coil packs cause water can get down in there. After that I use a towl to dry the big stuff off. Then (trade secret here) I get out the shop vac, use some duct tape to attach a smaller clear rubber hose to vaccum. I get ALL of the water out of electrical plugs, under intake manifold, basically every last drop of water gets sucked up or out.
After that I use this stuff called 303 you can find at boating stores. It's not like armorall, it's so much better. It has uv 40 spf sunblock and is good for all of the stuff in the engine bay such as hoses. This stuff makes your **** nice without the sticky nasty feel. I spray this stuff on everthing(including intake manifold , throttle body, battery, fuse box's) except the belts and air filter. Then you let that dry for about 30 min and go back and wipe off whats left if you want. I also use this 303 on the dash and doors, windows seals and it last alot longer than the leading brand!

 

Probably you got most of the question answered; I cover fenders and bumper with big garbage bags and some tape, as per last time I used something very strong to wash engine and damaged paint, so becareful.

 

If you are using a pressure washer on a stock intake, I'd leave the engine running to prevent water from collecting anywhere. Thats how we would do bays at the dealership I used to work at. Of course, this is no good for an intake w/a cone filter b/c it will suck in the water. In that case, you could just cover the filter and do the same.

 

definately cover the alternator. i powerwashed my engine in my old corolla and sprayed the alternator. it died about 2 days later. you aren't supposed to spray water directly at it. if you can't cover it, just try not to spray around it too much.

 

this has to be the 5 billionth time this has been coverd!!! uou dont have to cover anything when washing the engine ba!. just get some CD_2 engine cleaner and FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS!!!! THATS IT!! there is no need to cover the intake or the alternator OR EVEN THE FLUX CAPACITATOR!!!!! youll be fine.

 

thats exactly right blackwind just make sure not to spray directly into the intake and then start up engine right away (could possibly suck in water). I've done hundreds and hundreds of engine bays (i've been detailing cars for about 5 years now). You can use a pressure washer like we do or a regular garden hose, its not gonna matter really. We just use some heavy duty all purpose for most engines and spray it completely down, then brush off heavy grime and dirt, and then pressure wash the **** out of it including the underneath of the hood. Then we dry it down quick with some towels, spray some tire dressing on it and wipe excess dressing off. Looks good as new. Just make sure when your washing the all-purpose off of the engine bay and underside of hood that you dont let the excess sit on your fenders or other parts it might contact for too long, it can leave streaks in your paint which you will have to buff out. We clean engines this way for high end Mercedes dealerships and BMW dealerships to name a few and they are meticulous with looking over the cars when they're done. Never had a complaint with the engine and never had a problem with a car not starting or such.

Hope this helps

 

Yeah that's what I thought. On my old Maxima, I'd just use the engine degreaser and then pressure wash it off. The car wouldn't start for a few minutes, then it'd start up and everything would be fine. Now that I have a new security system, I'd just pressure wash it down in ph33r of the electrical system for the alarm were to be exposed to the degreaser and such.

 

I always make sure my engine is up to operating temperature before I pressure wash it. It helps evaporate the water faster after youre done and keeps things from messing up.