So if I did just use a high pressure washer to wash it, is it ok if i just spray it without taking the engine out? I'm talking about literally...pop open the hood, and spray it..or is it bad if all that liquid drips down (but most of it prbly falls on the floor underneath the car)

 

a lot of people here have gotten into the habit of just spraying a high pressure hose into their engine bay and cleaning it quick. obviously, if you do that, you cant keep the hose in one spot too long, keep it moving frequently. however there are a lot of things that can go wrong by just spraying your engine with water - alternator, knock sensor, battery and MAF, etc.

to be safe, the "i truely love my maxima" way is just get 20 rags and spend many hours wiping stuff down using engine degreaser. i cant afford to replace an alternator or MAF so i did it that way.

i started a thread on this a while back.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=541596