Ok, so i always wash my car at those "spray it yourself" carwashes... and what i always see is people just open their car hoods and simply wash it without covering anything in there... Everyone i have seen started their car with no problem
Since engine bay is filthy (has never been cleaned) i have been thinking if i could do the same thing safely... or would that be a bad descision? I dont have CAI or anything like that...

 

i was pondering the same thing since i redid my valve covers and everything has oil and dirt on it. just make sure u warm up your car first and u should be fine. ill let you know after i do mine tommorow. some ppl say to put a garbage bag on the alternator.

p.s. by the way u might get flamed since theirs a bunch of threads on this, depends if everyone feel like an e-thug today. lol

 

whenever i wash mine i wash out the bay without covering anything and never had a prob eb=ven though everything gets soaking wet.

 

I washed my engine bay with 2 cans of engine degreaser and a rag and a bristle brush.

 

bag your alt before doing it. i'v lost multiple alts after throwing on degreaser and power washing it. other than that you should be fine...

 

thanx, yeah i know there are bunch of threads like this... oh well, my flame suit is on

 

thanx guys, 1st thing monday i will do it

 

I've been washing mine for years (I bought my car new in MAR 1999) and I have never had any problems.

The one thing I will recommend though is that you use compressed air or a leaf blower and blow the water off once you're done.

The one potential problem area I've found is the center of the lower intake b/t cylinder banks... it's just a big valley and water about 1.5" deep will sit there unless it's sucked or blown out. It wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that if you don't remove the water somehow, the knock sensor and it's connector will sit submerged = bad.

Also, don't use anything but car wash soap or some other fairly mild detergent (Dawn). Most other cleaners/degreasers will etch and discolor all of your raw aluminum (I actually have some of this type of damage as you can see in the photos). I found mixing Dawn and water in a spray bottle, spraying the dirty areas, letting it sit, and then hosing it all down works the best.

I never wash a warm engine... always, always stone cold.

This engine bay is almost 10 years old. In these photos there is no Armorall of any other prep or protectant on anything:

 

Dawn FTW, if not i used simple green. I personally wouldn't recommend the high pressure (pressing trigger) in any area where there are sensors, wiring etc ( which is just about every where.

 

Wow, super clean. Will you come and clean mine?????????????????

 

sweet bay brotha

 

I'm in CT and never seen such self carwashes.

Usually in my country I had my engine bay power washed after a tuneup. They covered the alternator, battery and fuse boxes.

Just make sure the engine is cold because some types of metal may crack.
Also they power washed with some detergent (I was told it's a mix of solar and water) and engine was super clean.

 

I agree. Bag your alternator just to be safe. Cover it in degreaser and set the cleaner in the bay on steam.

 

no need to cover the alt. or anything else. just get yourself a can of your faveorite engine degreaser and if you can find it, a can of c-d2 engine detailer. and call it good.

 

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Very clean engine bay, I need to do mine but been putting it off the last couple of days.

 

so i finally cleaned mine. still needs help but its a big improvement. and this was without a brush. just a rag and the engine cleaner at the do-it-urself carwash.
before
after

 

looks good, a lot better from before.. i still need to do mine, never have the time...

 

wow, first thing i did was detailed the crap outta the car inside and out including under the hood. took a piece of steel wool to the block and scrubbed until clean. what type of engine cleaner/ degreaser is good to clean with?

 

i used the engine cleaner at the car wash, it was a green liquid that smelled like degreaser.

 

if doing it with the car wash sprayer i would just be careful cause our plugs are made of platinum and like the others said cover your alternator. i know you dont want to have it all nice and clean and not be able to drive.

 

I've been washing motors for years and there no need to cover the altenator with a bag. Just don't stand there spraying it directly forever. If they were that sensitve to water the Nissan Engineers would have installed them in the trunk. Believe me the splashsheilds only are really there to keep the big things out, minimize belt squeal from water splashes, improve aerodynamics and aid in heat extraction of the engine bay!
I've found that most japanese cars are great for cleaning the engines cause the distributors were sealed really well and always cranked right up other washing. Now the cars I'd be scared to wash are of the Ford brand. They've had the worst sealed distributors in the world, next to MG's. If the car was outside and the humidity was extremely high or it rained that morning. I had to break out the WD40 and spray inside the distributor cap to start the vehicle... It sucked! Anyways clean them up! A clean engine is a HAPPY ENGINE!

 

For some extra spice if you will, some polishing (valve covers, timing chain cover) would be nice.

 

Not bad. I might need to clean mine again soon.

 

im going to clean in a couple of days now that i found my brush. to polish should i use the polish for aluminum rims? would that work?

 

Yeah, something like Mothers Aluminum and Mag Polish would be perfect.

 

i just did mine, with mean green and wheel cleaner. came out awesome. didnt power spray just used a garden hose on the shower setting. pics soon

 

What did you cover up? i really want to clean mine, but scared i might f*** something up. So basically you spray the mean green and wheel cleaner and wash it off using the gardening hose?

 

I didnt clean the top of my motor off, cause it was already clean and was being cautious as well. I sprayed the cleaner on everything, trying not to concentrate on wire connectors. After letting soak for a few minutes a rinsed with garden hose on the shower setting, so as to not have so much pressure. I didn't cover anything up, but I did not spray the cleaner on anything such as the alternator or starter. It came out really well.

 

I washed mine before with a garden hose.............the valley where water can sit as mention in previous posts shouldn't be a problem since that water should vaporize when the car is driven and @ normal operating temps.

 

i didnt thank about that, now I have know worries

 

I've been detailing cars for three years and never once have had a problem spraying down a motor. Once in a while on older cars water may get in the distributor, but that is pretty rare and I've only had it happen once(no worries for me with the Max here!). Most of the cars I detailed were Acuras(I worked at an Acura dealer) but also did countless used cars of nearly every make and model. Just don't concentrate a large amount/pressure of water on the alt, electrical connectors, air intake, MAF, etc. Use common sense about how an engine works and where water is bad and you'll be good to go! A nice silicon spray that will displace water will also help stop a squeeking belt, which can be a nice thing to have handy when pressure washing an engine bay.

 

my cousin actually did that at s self car wash with high pressure and toasted his alternator within 30 mins after the car wash

 

beautiful bay...but its nothing wrong w/ doing a warm engine...i personally dont EVER recommend doing a hot engine. warm has some of the grease softened/loosened up

 

That happened because he didn't dry the alty/other engine components off before driving the car, never clean your engine at the self serve car wash unless you plan on letting it set there for a good while to allow drying time.

Or do this --> http://videos.streetfire.net/video/W...ine_138890.htm

 

I just washed mine, went to Wally World bought 1 can of Engine Brite Degreaser and 1 of Carb and Choke cleaner, yes i know, before i get flamed, my car doesn't have either, i just sprayed the TB springs with the carb and the rest of the bay with Engine Brite minus the alt, covered nothing. Turned on the soap then the rinsed. Turned the car on and took it for a serious air drying session, alls well that ends well. **Note** i did notice that after a few times of turning off and then back on for a few more trips there was a little noise i hadn't heard before coming from the UDP, so i took some WD-40 and sprayed the wheels, and waala. No more noise.

 

wow, this is still alive???? i washed the engine bay like 2 days after i asked this and had no problems

 

yea ive heard washing it hot makes steam and gets into sensors and crap i need to clean mine as well