Do you spray your engine with a hose to clean it? I'd think there's way too much sensitive electrical stuff that could get fucked up, but I see people do it and saw a Chemical Guys video where they did it to an old dadrod.
What other ways are there to clean your engine bay?
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I wipe it down by hand with a damp rag or greaser.
Like you said, lots of sensitive in there.
>entire engine bay is exposed to the elements during driving from below and above
>durr will a hose hurt mah shitbox pls respond
Short answer: no
Long answer: nooooooooo
hot damn. and I meant degreaser.
If you use a pressure washer it can potentially cuase problems but a light spray then wipe down won't hurt anything.
>will a hose hurt my shitbox
Yes it will.
Water doesn't get up in your bay while you are driving in the rain unless you drive it into a lake.
As said in another thread, just spray with some degreaser and power wash it away.
I usually block the intake first tho.
Fuse boxes and anything with a wire sticking out doesn't like it so much.
Its never directly exposed in either condition.
No it will not.
As long as the plugs are plugged all the way then your good.
Remove plastic covers
Engine cleaner on can
Dishwashing brush & toothbrush
Hose it down
Repeat on tough spots
Remove as much water as possible with the air compressor
Check fuse box
Let it sit for an hour
Voila
>Hurp a durp let me blast my vacuum lines
>let me just super soak my alternator and coilpack
>let me just pressure wash the shit out of my battery
>fuck electronics right on up senpai
Do it by hand you lazy cock.
this
Where do you think the problem is in your greentext?
in my car wash we just apply degreaser to certain areas, spray it with a pressure washer and then do the rest by hand
>too lazy to fix vacuum leak
>already shit alt, still haven't replaced worn out packs
>u srs
>who needs a cover anyways?Huehuehue
Huehuehuehue
>my car is shit
>I'm going to detail the engine bay
Why waste your time.
I'm a detailer at a high profile RV dealership and management taught me to shoot the motorhomes engines of they're dirty or not with high quality degreaser and then the pressure washer. I feel guilty every time but it doesn't seem to hurt them any
Techs at a Mercedes dealership did a clean after anything was done the car. Spray with de greaser then guerney off. They went to town too. Never hurt anything.
Power washed my miatas engine and got water in my spark plugs. Some engines can take some can't
How is that detailing u yard? Just spray and wash. No need to get your dick in the little corners and such to brush.
So you are just going to wash away the only bit of grease holding your shit box together?
Nah. I actually know what bolts are used for.
>He doesn't know about boots
>He doesn't know what happens when you get your belts wet
>He doesn't know about all the grease build up under his ancient car keeping it running
Well have fun with the shit loads of mechanical problems popping up because you wanted to "Detail" your bay.
compared to doing it the other way:
slightly easier
slightly cleaner finish
much more likely to fuck something
up to you really.
Please explain to me how Jeeps, Hummers, etc. can plow through rivers with water over the hood with nothing more than a snorkel to get air to the engine. They're literally submerging the entire engine and everything.
I guess if you own a Jeep, Hummer, etc you can wash your engines with a hosepipe.
What about everyone else?
I've always heard that a regular hose is fine, but a pressure washer can be a bad idea because water can be forced into connectors and then the heat from the engine bay can turn it to steam which will fuck your shit up.
Yeah
Most of the electronics in the car operate at 12 volts which isn't enough to conduct through water. I usually just cover up the bits that deliver spark then go to town.
A pressure washer isnt necessary though. A had a friend get some spark issues after spraying down his shitty Cleo's engine bay but he didnt cover anything up. And I think he pressure washed it
Did it to my Lancer after leaving the oil cap off by mistake. I just taped plastic bags around anything that looked electrical and it was fine.
No, there is nothing wrong with this. Would likely be a good idea to let it dry out before starting the car tho.
If this actually hurt a vehicle nobody could wash their motorcycle or ride in the rain.
>What about everyone else?
There is nothing unique about those vehicles. Keep the water out of your intake and spark plugs/coil packs and you are fine.
>There is nothing unique about those vehicles.
and this is where you're wrong.
>and this is where you're wrong.
This is about your feels.
The engines aren't magically waterproof dipshit. Powerwashing an engine is fine. 12V isn't shit.
u wot?
>The engines aren't magically waterproof dipshit.
you're right, they're not. steps are taken to add river fording capability
>Do you spray your engine with a hose to clean it?
No, why woukld I want to do that?
>steps are taken to add river fording capability
Yeah, to place the fucking intake higher in the air. That is literally all. How stupid are you?
>That is literally all.
"No"
this. i use plastic wrap on some spots but its fine as long as you blow out any water from light spots with wiring. so easy just do it.
You dumb niggers, the concern isn't with shorting something out, its with getting water into places where it can get trapped and the corrode the fuck out of your shit.
That is why power washing is a bad idea. Water can get in to all kinds of places like sealed connectors, electric motors, etc., and even though the car may seem fine for a long time, it's possible that you're gonna run into electrical issues in the future.
lol thata why you air dry then run the car and build up heat in the engine. heat makes water evaporate. litteraly been washing my can with a hose for 10 years like that and no issues
... its your fucking engine bay, who cares if its clean
A hose is fine. Like I said it's pressure washing that can be a problem because water can be forced into places where it can't get out like sealed electronics. Then it turns to steam and corrosion happens.
Yes. Its a god damned snorkel you dolt.
Actually that's why you don't use high pressure water.
yes. just warm your engine up before you do it and keep the engine running. when it stalls from water getting into contacts you just wait 5 minutes for the water to evaporate then go again until its clean. high pressure hose though.
then you know you need to repair your car. the only reason it would break anything is if its already broken.
well we arnt all little bright sparks who hose down our batteries.
coil packs are sealed. you just dont degrease your alternator or get it wet. and you dont directly spray your hoses with a hp hose.
>get belts wet
you just have a functional timing cover and there's no reason to high pressure hose your belts.
at the same time you never submerge the exhaust they engine doesnt actually get dunked in water and this is well known to 4wders that submerging your engine is a good way to get hydrolock.
pic related is a bout how deep a 4wd can safely go.
any deeper and there's a big risk of getting stuck.
>he doesnt use dielectric grease on all of his connectors and has broken grommets
>turns into steam
yes. but steam is a gas. it doesnt stay trapped. if it got in as liquid it's going to get out as a gas.
/thread
If you don't have a snorkel. An engine can't get hydrolocked if you don't get water in the intake. I've never seen a vehicle where the exhaust back pressure wasn't able to overcome the water behind the pipes but I'm sure at a certain depth this may be an issue. Unless your vehicles intake/vacuum system leaks like a sieve you are fine.
Do you seriously go through your entire engine bay and apply dielectric grease to every single connector? Not to mention all the electrical sensors and other shit in the engine bay. Sounds like it would be way easier to just not pressure wash your engine bay.
Also, I'd like to see how well dielectric grease stands up to a 2000psi pressure washer.
>if it got in as liquid it's going to get out as a gas.
I dont know why you assume that.
Just saying, Land Rover mad a ton of mods to Jag V8s to make them off road worthy
a leaky seal or gasket will also let water in. unless you know the vehicle is well maintained and has good fresh seals it's best to avoid. water getting into the oil is what gets into the head which then gets into the hydraulic lifters.
so a not completely tightened sump plug, a bad sump gasket, a crank seal can let water in. oil is thicker than water so even if the engine doesnt leak oil, water can still get in.
all gas tight seals are water tight.
not all water tight seals are gas tight.
I can agree with this. It would still be unlikely to cause an issue I'd imagine. Condensation in oil occurs all the time and is a normal.
I'd assume he is saying that a pressure washer could dislodge a seal where water could become entrapped and not escape, even as a gas.
Nigga I've blasted that shit with a pressure washer. Just don't hit the alternator and you're golden.
yes an engine can cope with a small amount of water. in the oil. but it can't cope with a liter of water in the sump. water sits at the bottom and the oil pickup tube does as well. so when enough water gets in, it pumps straight water to the head and this displaces the oil. I clean my engine by spraying water into the intake. water injection is a thing as well. but you only use a little at a time. it's fairly common. so there are two ways water getting into the engine can break it.
lots of water getting into the intake which floods the cylinders and bends the rods. or water getting into the oil making the hydraulic lifters malfunction.
nearly all modern engines use hydraulic lash adjusters. older cars used adjustable shims that needed to be tuned. modern lash adjusters dont require maintenance. however they are filled with oil which is how they operate. when they get filled with water they dont perform normally and instead of being able to squeeze out the oil, they get stuck full of water which they cant dislodge. this makes the valve clearance fuck up and you can get bent valves from it. so it's fairly risky introducing any amount of water into an engine.
>yes. but steam is a gas
Nope, not below 705 degrees, and given the oporating conditions of a petrol engine you arn't going to get that at into the water.
I agree but you would have to have a massive leak to ever accumulate such water via introduction through a seal. It would probably be blatantly obvious you were leaking oil. I've never heard of someone having that happen on a seal that was oil tight. I've never even known someone to destroy their hydraulic lifters either tho mind you.
>my modern BMW uses shimmed valves
pita. my bike with hydraulic lifters and a belt drive is a god send.
Mercedes, Lexus, and BMW dealerships all power/pressure wash engine bays before giving cars back to customers after a service.
I've seen them do it. Kind of insane to watch but it doesn't hurt anything. My car has 180,000 miles and I've taken it to Lexus for every check up. So there's your proof.
Even if the seals are water-tight, most of them are not designed to withstand high pressure water. Water may get by them under high pressure, and once the water is inside it is trapped there.
Not to mention that most power washers use such high pressure that it could actually break stuff in your engine bay. It just seems like common sense to me that its a bad idea. You can use a foaming cleaner and a regular hose and get similar results. Hell I've used just plain old simple green and it works great.
>12 volts not enough to conduct through water.
Try holding the battery terminals and crank the engine. Then tell me 12 volts doesn't conduct through water.
>drive car to car wash
>apply degreaser everywhere avoiding distributor cap/carburettor if present and paint if I can help it
>let it sit for a little bit (like 30-40 seconds)
>Pressure wash it off
>If car wash has their own engine degreaser coat in that and high pressure off as well
I've done it for all my cars and my old man's done it for as long as he can remember. Pic related, a couple of weeks after a clean, always comes up looking great for just water and degreaser.
Cranking the engine would make no difference, you are already short circuiting the battery by holding both terminals.
This.
>spraying water into the intake,
that's fucking stupid and unnecessary.
it works though. this can is just full of water and a tiny amount of soap.
it's less messy than using a rag for mechanically cleaning though. sure banging your injector terminals with a hammer would break them as well. use common sense. thicker grease like baked on sludge from an old long term leak or thicker nlgi1 grease like around cv joints in hard to reach places needs mechanical removal because degreaser wont shift it very well. i just use degreaser for cleaning off the little bits that are left.
If spraying your engine with a hose fucks it up you already got problems, it shouldn't hurt anything unless there are some fucked rubber bits/plugs.
Spraying my distributor with a hose will make the car stop running, the distributor has a leak,
can confirm. just a snorkel. nothing else. absolutely no issues ever. water on its own it not very conductive.
Or Clorox wipes.
easy
You're scared of 12 volts
>Tfw detail the shit out of interior
>to keep interior from getting worse
>already had product to do it
Was better than nothing.
My friend wants to ghetto build some UEL headers for a Corolla out of an old exhaust/header for the same car, just for shits an giggles. He can bend pipes but has no way of joining them together, is there anything outside of proper welding that'd hold them together while tolerating the heat?
The engine gets a considerable amount of water from above, below and the front when it rains, you drive over puddles or someone is raising a ton of water in front of you. Also heavy condensation when it's cold outside and when driving in fog.
If you check random connectors all around the engine bay, you will see they are sealed connectors designed to keep water out of them because, you know, they are constantly exposed to the elements.
Everything from the lamest connector, to the fusebox, to the ECU is sealed shut and no water will leak unless they are damaged.
Unless you blast the shit out with high pressure water or get a lot of water in the air intake, there is literally no risk for damage if you hose your engine down.
If you are feeling really paranoid, you can disconnect the battery in case it has exposed terminals.
>he thinks cranking the engine will result in more power between the battery terminals
what is voltage droop?
Nigga your car isn't a submarine.
lrn2weld m8, its just a fucking handy skill to have.
Well I am, he lives interstate so no go there.
Also I realise in my drunken stupor I posted this in some unrelated thread instead of QTDDTOT, holy shit kill me anytime.
What purpose could this possibly serve?
cleaning?
Air intake cleaning, can't you read?
steam is a gas no matter what its temperature is
>Be me last summer
>washing up my mother's 2009 Focus TDCi with my father
>My father enlightens up and decides to open the hood
>''Pass me the pressure hose son''
>Wtfdad.jpg
>Its my father, I trust him but I have my doubt this time
>He sprays fucks the hole engine bay with the pressure hose of the gas station
>''Done'' he said
The next 3 days the car runned with a lot of weird noises coming from the engine bay
I wouldnt do it again for my car, I spent 2 hours cleaning up the engine bay of my mx5 by hand, its now clean as fuck. Sorry for my english.
If I'm going to spray down my engine bay, what should I cover with plastic?
Just pop your hood and let the engine cool if you plan on detailing shit. Lightly spraying a degreaser on it and letting it soak will remove most of the grime and dirt. Use an extended brush to work between gaps and scrub heavily accumulated areas. Then simply use a garden hose or a light stream of water to flush your engine bay. Water won't hurt anything unless you have an exposed water or there is too much pressure and it works its way into electrical components. Other than that, these engines are design to be exposed to the elements which includes moisture, so don't worry.
Also, don't run the car while cleaning the engine. If you're afraid, just disconnect the battery and let the engine dry for about a good hour if you're that concerned.
>getting serviced at a stealership
Lol
Your engine bay is designed to get water in it.
Yes, you dont want to pressure wash your fuse box, or coil pack. Hell, you got a bad wire somewhere, and get it wet it will start acting up.
Old electrical connection aside, you can pour water anywhere on the engine bay.
What you should never do is pressure was. Just spray your engine with engine degreaser, and use a normal pressure shower head to rinse it off. use elbow grease in tougher places.
I use no touch or some other tire foam on my engine cover or any black hoses etc. Then I use degreaser on the blocl if needed or just water from hose. Only pressure wash under side of car
Also cover alternator and remove battery right?
>no one has mentioned covering the brake fluid reservoir
The cap is vented folks.
Are you saying that anyone on here would be stupid enough to own a car where the brake fluid reservoir is not seperated from the rest of the engine bay by a wall?
Spray a hose right at your fuse box then you fucking mongoloid
Why the fuck would you want to cover an alternator that is already designed to take water on it for every single day of its existence
I know better than to reach in there and wipe off protective coatings of oil.
Besides, I'd have to unscrew all the plastic covers on everything, which would require finding the right screwdriver.
it cleans carbon from your intake and throttle body
this is how you power wash the engine
>carbon in throttle body
how?
I have an engine sprayer attachment for my compressor. I use mineral spirit.
wow youre fuckin dumb
thanks 4 the help