Long Term Engine Detailing Issues?

I think it's fine if it's something you do once or twice a year. Doing it at every wash though, that's just overkill and you're just increasing the risk of possibly damaging some kind of electrical component. There are so many expensive sensors in new cars and I'd hate to pay for it if something were to go wrong.



If there are pros out there doing engine detailing regularly, I hope they have some kind of insurance. Sooner or later they'll run into a problem. Even if it wasn't something that you actually broke or did wrong, I think it would be hard trying to get out of being blamed when the customer brings in a working car, and it leaves broken. If you didn't touch the engine, at least you can probably get away with that.
 
you keep your engine detailed for a number of reasons, just the pride of opening your hood and seeing a fine detailed engine is enough for me. why would you dust under the bed? whose gonna see it? but seriously, if you're gonna keep the rest of your car clean why would you neglect the engine bay? it's like putting on a tux and wearing ratty looking shoes. just my 2 cents.
 
blucpe said:
if you're gonna keep the rest of your car clean why would you neglect the engine bay? it's like putting on a tux and wearing ratty looking shoes. just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...



I agree.....



It's like going to the gym and never working legs.......



Come on.......:grinno:
 
Ive had my jeep under water up to the front bumper while offroad. I do not believe water from a water hose will hurt a thing.. :grinno:
 
Accumulator said:
For that matter...*everything* I own stays fairly clean. Stuff simply shouldn't be allowed to get/stay dirty; IMO it's a form of neglect and willful neglect isn't part of how I go through life.
Click to expand...

That right there is reason enough. Also it's much more pleasant to work on a clean engine. I keep it clean because I like to, not for others. I don't lift the hood for others often, most people don't ask, and I do all my own work.
 
I guess it depends on your personality and if you do your own work. I just bought a 2000 Accord with 170k & interior looks almost new, exterior can use a clay bar or two :nixweiss . but the engine compartment had spider webs there :furious: . I used to own a repair shop & have seen rats and squirrels eat up the wiring on cars because of dirt accumulation to the point of weeds growing under the hood. Granted, I doubt it was a DD that had a life bunny under the hood, but non the less. It does not matter what you like to do, it matters if you know what you doing… I once almost killed a Volvo engine, trying to power wash it with a very diminished spray. Water got under the Sp. Pl. wires cover and cause a havoc.

To try answering original question: can it cause damage? It can, but it doesn't meant you can't or shouldn't wash it. On today’s engines I assume it matters more what degreaser (if any) you use under the hood. On the bottle of “Gunk Engine Degreaser� (at least I think I read) it says “avoid getting on the rubber parts� & the engine compartment if full of rubber parts, so mild detergent like a “simple green� IMO is safer bet. Thorough washing any detergent off is more important then what detergent you used. If someone cleans engine compartment periodically starting lets say @ 30-50k with just water hose and dresses entire compartment with water based protestant, I doubt that there is any harm done to electrical or any other component. If engine is washed for the first time @ 150k after major leaks already developed and deposited gunk (not “Gunk�) under the hood & you try removing it with harsh chemicals and it doesn’t budge so you get with 3500 PSI washer a little closer & it still doesn’t work so you repeat next week with the same result, sure you will shorten life of couple of components.

Sorry for long winded post, I am surprised myself…:werd:
 
i think the key with using a power washer on the engine is to use something with low pressure (1200-1400 psi) and low GPM (1.3-1.5) on the fan setting and not to get too close
 
3puttjay said:
Man, my wife thinks I spend too much time as it it is on the car. If I were to detail the the engine as well, I might end up living in the garage permanently.
Click to expand...



Let's be honest. Isn't that where you'd rather be anyway?

:grinno:
 
The references to pressure/power washers have me :think:



I'd rather use very gentle/mild cleanings at every wash than have to resort to something that drastic. When I clean up nasty, high-mileage stuff like the Blazer and the M3, I resist the temptation to do something quick but aggressive and I take however long it takes to do things in a way that's not likely to cause problems. On my mechanic's 250K Beater-Benz I used the steamer, and I was sorta careful about where I let condensation end up.



Accumulatorette's '00 A8 (daily driver) has been washed countless times since new, and I've done some type of engine cleanup at every wash. Never needed anything all that serious because it never got all that nasty. After more than seven years it's not concours, but the mechanics don't get dirty gloves when they work on it, and we've *never* had any problems from the frequent underhood washings.



99blackSE- Yeah, my '85 is one of "those years" :rolleyes: and generally mine is a Monday/Friday car (it was awful on the showroom floor). But it simply doesn't give me the kind of problems that anybody would expect. It left a few mechanics stranded until we got some things sorted out, but it's never acted up for *me* :D
 
ZoranC said:
+1 I do visual underhood checks once a week. If my engine bay is dirty how I can know is there something new leaking?





Only in theory. Any cooling through surface of engine is next to nothing when compared to cooling done by cooling system.
Click to expand...



The whole clean for cooling purposes actually rings true when you have and early model, VW Beetle or Porsche thats air cooled. A nasty grimy surface won't allow a good cooling surface for the air to circulate around, but a nice clean engine will always receive good circualtion.
 
fstb88 said:
The whole clean for cooling purposes actually rings true when you have and early model, VW Beetle or Porsche thats air cooled. A nasty grimy surface won't allow a good cooling surface for the air to circulate around, but a nice clean engine will always receive good circualtion.
Click to expand...

I am so much into later model cars that I keep forgetting about those. :o Thank you for straightening that out.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I don't know if this was an acetic acid-cure vs. moisture cure (the GMS didn't smell like vinegar), but I thought it was a silicone issue.
Click to expand...





Quick geek question: if it smells like vinegar is it an acetic acid cure silicone?
 
You know how I've been posting how I clean our Audi V8s all the time with no problems....well, *YMMV* and in a *huge* way: A fellow Autopian recently informed me that he apparently did some gotta-get-it-fixed damage to the underhood electronics of a V8 powered Audi S4 when he cleaned up its engine bay.



I don't want to be posting the details of somebody else's business, I just figured I oughta issue a you-heard-it-from-me caveat since I'm the guy who'd been saying "nah, it won't hurt anything" :o



I'm no gonna quit cleaning our engines (I'll do the A8 this afternoon) but I *will* be careful about how I do it.
 
I think the s4 may have special individual injector units with electronics in them, kinda like the m3, and I'm guessing that water must have corrupted them. It's hard to believe they've never seen water though, although it does have a closed engine compartment (belly pan).



I have been spraying citrus type degreaser and pressure washing engines (although I cover and avoid spraying fuseboxes/ecu's etc for years with no problems. That said, I use a pretty weak electric pressure washer that probably doesn't even make the 1500 psi it advertises. I do it to my truck's engine every spring to blast off all the accumulated salt.
 
My 'bee has a remote starter system in it that I installed myself. I wouldn't let a mechaniac (spelling intentional) get near my car with a soldering iron. I went all OCD when I installed it, and it is a professional job.



Fast forward to the first time I detailed the Charger's engine. Quick spray of simple green, let it sit a bit, brushed a few yucky spots, then rinsed with a power washer. During the rinse, the horn started blowing continuously, then the engine started. It's amazing how long it takes to perform the simplest things when your ears are getting hit with a 100 decible horn that is echoing through the garage. My battery is located in the trunk. Took me a good five minutes and half my hearing to get the damn trunk open and the negative cable off the battery. I let the thing air dry for a couple of hours and haven't had a problem since. I won't ever hit another engine compartment with a pressure washer, though.



This was the first time I'd ever had a problem using a PW under the hood, and I"ve been doing it for 20+ years.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Perhaps you have not yet noticed the true OCD undercurrent of this site ;)



Back to the topic, one thing has bothered me about using silicone dressings under the hood. Back when GM first started putting feedback systems on their engines, they warned against using silicone sealers on engine gaskets, and had a special silicone (GMS--General Motors Sealant--it was orange) to use for those applications. Regular silicone sealers were supposed to be bad for something (I think it was the oxygen sensor). I don't know if this was an acetic acid-cure vs. moisture cure (the GMS didn't smell like vinegar), but I thought it was a silicone issue.



Anyway, in that context, slobbering silicone-based dressings all over the engine didn't sound like a good idea.
Click to expand...



Dug up an old thread - according to this it was silicone dressing causing Ford dealers to replace the oxygen sensor at a higher frequency than the norm:



http://autopia.org/forum/car-detail...m-engines-brad-anyone-2.html?highlight=engine
 
Im always doing engine work, so a clean engine is essential.



My process for quite some time now has been Megs APC 4:1, and rinse off. I don't cover anything up either. Shouldn't have a problem as long as you dont focus the water on one particular area for to long.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top