Engine Detailing Problems

BLACKWRX said:
HAVE any of you guys damaged or messed something up while detailing an engine
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Never. Many there are mixed feeling about ways of doing this process. I myself, use a pressure washer. Though I do not stand 3 inches and blast away, I stand back at least 2 feet and move the wand quickly. Others use regular water pressure, and some use good old rags and elbow grease.

Al long as you cover what needs to covered, and keep the water off of sensors and electrical parts, there should not be a problem.

Like I said, I have never had a problem.
 
Its always a risk but I have never had any problems detailing an engine. Just make sure to cover an filters, cool air intakes, and any electrical boxes. If you are going to pressure wash be very careful. I have used my PW on engines and I make sure to give plenty of space between the Wand and the engine.

Greg
 
BLACKWRX said:
HAVE any of you guys damaged or messed something up while detailing an engine
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Only two problems I've ever encountered in close to 20 years of doing this were a '72 Cadillac Eldorado that cross-fired due to a set of old cracked plug wires -- and one of those early 80's Cadillac diesel's where the computer "brain box" shorted*. In both cases though, it was deemed (by certified GM mechanics) "not the fault of the detail process, but moreover faulty equipment."


*The "Brain Box" was replaced under warranty.
 
I have never wrecked an engine but when i first did a clean of mine i was scared. I also found that the adams polishes web site helped. Go to www.adamspolishes.com and go the videos. He has one on how to be an engine detail. It helped me get through mine. He also has a list of which cars not to do. Check it out im sure it will help
 
Nope, never any problems, but I always disconnect the battery, cover all electrical parts, and am very careful when working with them. And, after I finish I always use a leaf blower and then an air compressor to dry the engine very well before I reconnect the battery and start it up. Plus a little wire dryer on the major electrical stuff always helps.
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
Nope, never any problems, but I always disconnect the battery, cover all electrical parts, and am very careful when working with them. And, after I finish I always use a leaf blower and then an air compressor to dry the engine very well before I reconnect the battery and start it up. Plus a little wire dryer on the major electrical stuff always helps.
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The battery disconnect can be a little iffy on lots of cars.
You reset the ECU, can lose the radio pre-sets, and I have been told that on those with a "Theft-Lock" type of security system on the radio, you can put the radio out of operation until a security code is entered.
Not necessarily a big deal, but a customer might not be too appreciative.:)

Charles
 
A clogged MAF sensor, twice. Now, I KNOW to cover that area up.

I use a 1300 psi pressure washer about 3 feet away as well. Just keep the nozzle head moving (think like damage with a rotary) and you should be fine.
 
I honestly can take no blame for this, but I had a friend who wanted me to show him how to detail his engine. He decided to start without me, so I don't know what he did to begin with. All I told him to do was spray degreaser around the perimeter of the engine focusing primarily on the plastic bottles and the paint that he could see. So I get there and he is finishing up with that part. I show him how to rinse it off and start scrubbing by hand to get everything clean. I gave him a can of CD2 to shine up the plastics and hoses with while I put away my stuff. We were standing there admiring our handy work when...

...the alternator started on fire.

I have no idea what he sprayed on it or how long it had been sitting there, but needless to say the alternator was FUBAR. The good news is that he had just bought it less than a year ago and it was replaced under warranty. :) Whew....

My advice to everybody else is exactly what I told him before he even started:

1) NEVER detail a hot engine. It needs to be totally cool and not driven recently.

2) NEVER spray any degreasers on the alternator.

3) Avoid hosing down the engine as if you were putting out a fire. Concentrate the water and degreaser around the perimeter of the engine avoiding sensitive electronics when possible.

4) Do most of it by hand with spray bottles and brushes. It might take you 45 minutes to detail the engine that way versus 10 minutes doing it the sloppy way, but it is a hundred times safer and the results always come out better.
 
CharlesW said:
The battery disconnect can be a little iffy on lots of cars.
You reset the ECU, can lose the radio pre-sets, and I have been told that on those with a "Theft-Lock" type of security system on the radio, you can put the radio out of operation until a security code is entered.
Not necessarily a big deal, but a customer might not be too appreciative.:)

Charles
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I always get the theftlock code from customers before I do anything like that, as well as writing down radio presets. Past that, I've found that the ECU on most cars I've dealt with don't reset that quickly since there's a bit of residual voltage left over. If I get done within 30-45 minutes, usually I've had no problems.

The theftlock code is no big deal to me, really.... I figure as long as I ask, if they say it doesn't have one and it turns out to have it, that's not my fault. They were warned beforehand and waived me of the liability from it.

I can certainly see where you're comming from, though.
 
yeah heres why i ask.........i did a 2002 mercedes s500 engine.....and one of the headlights went completely out, i dont know if it was the car or something i did...i have done like atleast 30 engine details and have never had any problems, any suggestions or comments
 
water could have shorted out the headlight. Check the fuses. If that doesn't work then check the bulb. If it was a 2002 then it probably had HIDs. I really hope you didn't break one of the ballasts. That can get expensive. I always wrap my HID ballasts with foil to protect them from the water, but I have aftermarket ones and they aren't really that well protected anyway.
 
is that located in the back of the headlight?......... it just shocked me that something that expensive would not be protected
 
CharlesW said:
The battery disconnect can be a little iffy on lots of cars.
You reset the ECU, can lose the radio pre-sets, and I have been told that on those with a "Theft-Lock" type of security system on the radio, you can put the radio out of operation until a security code is entered.
Not necessarily a big deal, but a customer might not be too appreciative.:)

Charles
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One thing to save you from resetting everything is using a secondary 9v battery backup to save your presets and ECU. All you have to do is go to radio shack and get a cigarette lighter plug and a thing that plugs into the top of the 9v battery. Wire them together and voila your presets are saved when you disconnect the battery!
 
BLACKWRX said:
is that located in the back of the headlight?......... it just shocked me that something that expensive would not be protected
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Well, it technically "is" protected, but probably no moreso than the fuse block under the hood. Under normal driving conditions, it can withstand the rain that may get into the engine area, but when detailing the engine you're flooding a LOT more water into the area than it was designed to handle. :)
 
Mine are definitely behind the headlight. The ballasts are most likely just secured to the side of the engine bay somewhere. Getting them too wet when they may already have exposed wires somewhere could cause the problem. It isn't a nice problem to have either because HID bulbs can cost a couple hundred bucks a pair. The ballasts will cost even more. An OEM HID set for a Mercedes can put you back $600 or more.
 
GregCavi said:
Its always a risk but I have never had any problems detailing an engine. Just make sure to cover an filters, cool air intakes, and any electrical boxes. If you are going to pressure wash be very careful. I have used my PW on engines and I make sure to give plenty of space between the Wand and the engine.

Greg
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With that said, one weekend would you want to come over and show me how to do this? I will give you $$ for gas and provide lunch. Both the fiance and I want to do this very badly to our cars. Pick a weekend and we will make ourselves available.

BTW where is Lake City?
 
CharlesW said:
The battery disconnect can be a little iffy on lots of cars.
You reset the ECU, can lose the radio pre-sets, and I have been told that on those with a "Theft-Lock" type of security system on the radio, you can put the radio out of operation until a security code is entered.
Not necessarily a big deal, but a customer might not be too appreciative.:)

Charles
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Lord if this is not the truth. My fiance has a 2002 Mits Eclipse and I swaped in a hefty battery before the start of winter last year and the radio was locked out. We couldnt figure it out for the longest time even the dealer would not give it to us over the phone, we had to go in and prove ownership. Makes sense but at the time
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This is something I posted for my Legacy board when they had some questions. I'm working on some Legacy specific detailing articles for them and engine detailing seems to be a concern for them over there..

Avoid the following areas with degreasers and high pressure water:

Engine-Avoid.jpg


A- Because that is where your air filter is and you don't want to necessarily force water in there.

B- Duh.. you don't need to be bending fins with high pressure. You certianly don't want it to get melted either, right? ;) (inside joke on LGT.com)

C- That is a dangerous area for just about everything, but especially for anything flamable. Keep degreaser away from that. I'd keep water pretty much away from it too just to prevent corrosion.

D- Cars have been known to have problems when the battery gets too wet. If water puddles on the battery then it can cause corrosion on the terminals which cause problems. You also want to avoid the fuse box there as well as any relays. Water and electricity don't mix.
 
BLACKWRX said:
yeah heres why i ask.........i did a 2002 mercedes s500 engine.....and one of the headlights went completely out, i dont know if it was the car or something i did...i have done like atleast 30 engine details and have never had any problems, any suggestions or comments
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Huh. One would think that a Merc would be engineered well enough to withstand something like that. Are you sure it has HID's? Check the wiring to the headlight. It may be corroded and the water just put paid to what was going to happen in the future anyway.

This is probably bad, but I've always just shot the engine with Gunk Engine bright and then rinsed it off with a hose. Perfect every time. My friends can't believe how clean the engine is on my 97 Aspire with 200,000 miles on it. It really looks like new. I'm not brave enough to do this on my WRX though. :bump
 
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