question about engine bay cleaning...

B

Bluedog

New member
okay, for a long time now ive always read about differences of opinions on how to wash the engine bay area, in particular, the drying process.



ive heard that its good to have the engine running while you clean :rolleyes: , ive heard that its good to start cleaning once the engine is warm, and ive also heard its good to dry your engine bay by simple warming up your engine.



To me i see cleaning while the engine is running is just plain dangerous. to wash while the engine is warm can lead to alot of problems since soaps and degreasers and water will dry up alot quicker before you can get your elbow grease warmed up. drying it with the engine on will just leave lots of water spots and other dried up liquids that might not have been hosed off completely.



do any of those ideas listed above actualy useful? how do do u guys usually clean your engine bay area? any comments r greatly appreciated!:xyxthumbs
 
From what i have heard.. and even experienced once.. NEVER wash your engine while it is hot.. this can lead to SERIOUS damage.. such as cracking your entire engine block.. which happened to me once. I had just come home, decided to wash the car and the engine, sprayed the cold water onto the engine, and as a result, the engine block cracked, causing major damage.. i have now learned to only wash it while it is cold..



As for drying it, take a chamois, and dry all the visible parts. Then, turn the engine on, close the hood, and let the rest dry. Follow up with some WD-40 (to get the moisture out of the electrical contact) and finally with some 303 to protect the hoses and rubber from cracking.
 
Pathfinderguy - good thing you said that about the motor, how it can crack. I am so used to going to the spray bay and using the gun on the motor and seeing all the steam come out from the wheel wells, from under the car and steam all over the hood.... I never had a problem. Heck, if my motor cracks, I can call on insurance to get a new zero mile motor :-)



I don't want it to crack in the first place and I am sure those insurance pricks would charge me the amount of engine I have "used" with the mileage, they did it when I needed a new tire, rim, tie rod, bastards starting making me pay 40% of the part because I "used" parts and they wore down. Idiots, they got me fuming, started calling me robbers and why couldn't they deduct some money from the paint and everything else that is used "when the dam car moves every weekend".



Insurance is just a bunch of legalized theifs, I would run em all down with a mack truck if I could ...



Ok, rant done, I didn't plan on that but whenever they need to help you, or should I say "screw" you I get a little upset.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by PathfinderGuy [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>
As for drying it, take a chamois, and dry all the visible parts. Then, turn the engine on, close the hood, and let the rest dry. Follow up with some WD-40 (to get the moisture out of the electrical contact) and finally with some 303 to protect the hoses and rubber from cracking. [/b]</blockquote>
i normally dry it with one of my more beaten up MF towels followed by a blue shop "paper" towel to scrub the little thats left over. what did you mean by using WD40 to get the moisture out? ive never knew of such method. should i try spraying wd-40 on electrical contact parts (say the battery) that might have been slightly wet then dry it off and that should help remove even more moisture than just wiping it without wd-40?
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by Ng Luder [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>

what did you mean by using WD40 to get the moisture out? ive never knew of such method. should i try spraying wd-40 on electrical contact parts (say the battery) that might have been slightly wet then dry it off and that should help remove even more moisture than just wiping it without wd-40? [/b]</blockquote>
If you look on a can of WD-40 you'll see that one of its many uses is to disipate (or something of that sort) moisture. That is, it gets rid of the moisture. I spray it onto electrical connectors to make sure that once the engine gets hot enough and the water condensates, that it wont mess up all the electrical components. So, the WD-40 aids in preventing that.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by PathfinderGuy [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>

If you look on a can of WD-40 you'll see that one of its many uses is to disipate (or something of that sort) moisture. That is, it gets rid of the moisture. I spray it onto electrical connectors to make sure that once the engine gets hot enough and the water condensates, that it wont mess up all the electrical components. So, the WD-40 aids in preventing that. [/b]</blockquote>
i see... wow wd-40 has so many uses! thanks for the clarification
 
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