i was wondering if i can powerwash my engine at a DIY carwash places. any precautions i need to take. ive seen other people do it but just spraying water all over my engine just seemed scary to me.,

 

I've done thousands of engines as a detailer and what works for us is spraying the engine down with an all-pupose degreaser and then powerwashing it all off. If there is an excess amount of grime build up somewhere that just degreaser and a power washer won't get off, spray some degreaser on it, let it sit and scrub it with a brush then power wash it. Next wipe the engine down with a towel real quick, mostly just all the black pieces like the battery, air intake snorkle, engine cover, etc. After this, spray all the black pieces with tire shine and wipe it down to get the excess off. Your engine will look brand new. I've never ran into a problem with any electrical shortages, or anything like that and I worked at a high end detailing company, where we did the local Mercedes dealership, BMW dealership, Lincoln, etc. Hope this helps out a little.

Alex

 

Hmm good question. I was curious about this too. My only problem with doing this is my CAI. I don't want to flood water down onto the filter or anything. Also don't want any leaking into the piping with its connected to the MAF, though I suppose since its air tight it should be water tight too. Im just going to give it a go and see what happens. If my car breaks I will blame you, Anj and send the bill accordingly.

 

if you drive there and the engine is pretty ho, will blasting it with cold water cause any harm. i personally use this lil steamer thing i bought through a HSN type place, it kills the grime instantly and is alot safer than shooting water out. its a nice lil investment that i made. i got it for like 60 bux and i clean rims, underbody, engine, and alot of other stuff around the house with it.

as far as blasting water, ive done it a couple times and only had trouble once where the car took 3 turns to get it running. i cant say you will/wont have problems its just one of those things you gotta test out.

 

I remember working at a detailing shop and they would spray the degreaser on and than powerwash it off, but Timing belt would make a squeak afterwords and I always seemed leary of that. But no ones car ever really got messed up so i guess its ok.

 

our cars dont have timing belts...

 

Don't you have to cover those electrical parts, distributor or spark plugs area?

 

The sparkplugs are already covered by the valve cover and you dont have a distributor. The only thing that I would so is to put a plastic grocery bag over the alternator and intake tube to avoid getting them wet.

 

The detailing forums explains all of this. Tape off and cover the electrical parts with a plastic bag, then go crazy with the power washer.

 

Cover the aternator as well...and your battary...

Dont make your engine hot before you go and wash it...start it, get it warm then go and clean it...the 95-99 engines are aluminum so if you run it hot, then go and wash it, you risk cracking something

BTW: I wouldnt powerwash anything under the hood...have your house there without a nozzle and just use water on low. spray everything with simple green, let it sit, scrub alittle bit, then rince it off...afterwards, take a nice long ride to drive everything off...powerwashing, in my mind, would get water in places that shouldnt be

-matt

 

start your engine right afterwards

 

i was always told power washing can be harmful cause it is forcing water into your engine. a simple garden hose, all purpose degreaser, and some elbow grease works just fine. i also use foaming wheel cleaner, found that works good too.

 

the way I do it:

1. car off being washed by me.
2. when done i start the car and let it warm up till normal temp.
3. then open the hood and cover the MAF with a clean thick rag.
4. then go crazy spraying SimpleGreen Automotive Degreaser. (notice cars still idling) and leave it for 1 min.
5. then use the same garden hose i was using to wash the car and put it on spray and vertically from top of engine in a left and right movement i sweep the whole engine bay area.
6. let it dry for 5 min and if desire repeat steps 4-5.
7. When done let the car idle for 15 min with hood closed so remainings evaporate.
8. the belts do squeak right after but nothing WD-40 doesn't take care off.
9. tips: spray some wd40 also in any rubber-plastic hoses. then take a picture.
10. Short local ride <=30mph and then Highway 80mph>

DONE

edit: that car stays on idle during the whole process

 

what i would recomend is leaving the car running as you powerwash

 

What about a product called EngineBrite, how does that work?

 

well i work in detailing at a lexus/toyota dealership, and all i do (works every time) is spray it down with spray-nine (very useful for everything) and powerwash it. done it to 120k benz's, and done it to my max, never once had a problem. i tend to avoid the holes in my airbox (Hacked) just out of common sense, but dont worry about anything else

 

Ive seen that..its a two step process...one step cleans, and one details. seems pretty good to try

-matt

 

Dont waste your money on expensive cleaners. Buy a $1 bottle of brake cleaner, it will get off any dirt, grime or grease.

 

Dollar Tree's got this degreaser called "awesome" for (what do you know) a dollar... Great stuff...

 

I would let a pro powerwash my engine, but I wouldn't trust myself. What I've done in the past was apply engine degreaser, wait 10 minutes, then take a garden hose and increase pressure with my thumb and spray it all off. Worked pretty well...

 

I own my own Auto Detailing Business, been involved for 4 years. All I do is cover all electrial and belts and go to town. A power washer will not hurt anything. I make sure the car is warm and start spraying. Never ran into any problems with starting a car or and kind of belt problems. After your done spraying down some kind of degreser, they wipe down and spray on your engine dresser and it looks like new!

walshy