washing the engine

[zoran119]

hi people,

the engine on my vs is a bit dirty (had a bit of a coolant and power steering oil leak). i want to give it a wash so i was wondering on how to do it

1. can i do it at a local car wash place
2. by the time i drive to the car wash the engine will be hot, so will washing it with cold water 'hurt' the engine (sudden change of temperature is not good as far as i know)?
3. do i need to protect anything with plastic bags (coil pack for example)
4. anything else i should know

[accentstencil]

I would avoid washing the engine while hot and also with high pressure. I use degreaser on a warm engine and wash with normal hose pressure. Also cover electrical components as best you can, particularly the alternator and coil packs.

[PSYKO PHOENIX]

why dont you give it a "sponge bath" so to speek,

take a sponge/towl or somthing like that, and ad degrecer or water or soap or whatever your using directly to the sponge/towl, then just rub and wash the engin bit by bit by hand, its not as fast as washing it in one go but its a lot safer for all the electrics etc cuz theres no un neciceray water goin all over the place and your incontrol of were the degrecer goes

i had a bad experiance degrecing engines on my last car, now i do it this way and it works beautifully, with no damage

[Morton]

Put it this way - nobody would recommend it, but all the big automotive service garages do it. Most cars have been hit with a high pressure hose at some point. Go figure

I personally prefer to spray some decent degreaser onto a hot motor, let it soak in for a while, then use spray bottles to wash the rest away. A small wire brush is excellent for loosening up the really gritty bits

[kopper69]

Just make sure you cover the electrical sensors with a plastic bag. Only takes a second to wrap a plastic bag around them. Particularly the oil pressure switch near the harmonic balancer. If you get water in there (which seems to happen fairly easily) your oil light will start coming on. Otherwise you just use common sense with the pressures - high pressure is fine if there is nothing sensitive, but no high pressures when your around the sensors/electrical.

I would do it at home, at least if you do have troubles you dont have to try and get the car home - the first time you wash it anyway.

Just use a can of degreaser. Engine should be warm but not hot. You are right: hot engine + cold water = not good.

When your done use a multipurpose cleaner spray and give the larger bits a clean and wipe with a rag to give them a bit of shine. Something like armor all or a tyre shine product, just check first as some may not be safe on plastics.

[Morton]

It's true, hot engine + cold water is fail. That's why I use piping hot water

[StockoVRWagz]

Steam cleaning works good? A mate bought one for $40 and his engine came up shmick as, but is it safe to use?

[greenacc]

I use those $2 aerosol cans of degreaser. spray it on the dirty bits, brush it like morton said where its real dirty and then hose it off. If you use a trigger nozzle on your hose you can control the water a bit better, or just a hose with ya thumb on the end LOL. Plastic bags on the coil packs/DFI also ^^^

[Scooter79]

Another tip I can give is remove the drive belt before cleaning. Get degreaser on that and it will squeal.

I've don't mine. I had a gallon of Kenco degreaser. Cheap but works great. About $8 for the gallon. Fill up a spray bottle with the degreaser, cover the fuse box in the engine with a plastic bag, spray degreaser around the engine liberally. Around rocker covers, around sump, chassis rails, ps reseviour, injectors etc. Use a cheap paint brush to get rid of stubborn grease and oil. Let it sit for a few minutes and wash off with trigger nozzle on light spray. Repeat until you're happy with it. I never had any problems.

[boonga]

get some degreser that dosent hurt ruber or plastic and spray it on a wet engine with a nap sack or a spray bottle then leave it for bout 5 mins then rinse it of with a garden hose it worked with me cuase i had a leaking power stering pump

[ucrvme]

is it true that highpressure on engine bags can seep into gaskets ect ?

[sweefu]

the export brand wet look tyre shine works on ever kind of plastic/hose in my engine bay, makes it look schmick as

[s1knt]

i use that horrid smelling degrease and tare remover from big w and hose it of with my garden hose and i haven't had any problems yet.