washing the engine bay

[sonicbimmer19]

Hello all,

I was just wondering just how dangerous it really is to wash the engine bay with water?

I bought a Meguiar's engine cleaner and the directions tell you to rinse the surface with water then spray the cleaner, let it penetrate for 2-3 minutes then rinse thoroughly with water again.
And it also tells you to cover up anything that should be, but I didn't really see anything so I just watered my engine bay lol.
(I havn't started the car to see if it works or not, I'm assuming it's fine lol)

How do you guys keep the engine bay clean and is it really dangerous at all to use water?

Any tips on this subject would help me greatly.. thanks in advance guys!

[Ridonculous]

Just remember to gently spray water on the engine to remove the degreaser, don't use a preasure washer.

In terms of covering parts in the engine, cover anything exposed that shouldn't get wet, such as the alternator or exposed air filter. To be safe, cover anything you think shouldn't get really wet. Wrap in foil or plastic bags. You can always clean those parts later gently by hand.

[Greg@DetailedImage]

The modern engine bay is meant to resist water and it shouldn't be a problem To be extra safe there are some pre-cautions you can take but overall it's a very simple process. We have a great engine detailing guide with pictures here if interested.

Greg @ DI

[TOGWT]

The most important electrical components are sealed to be ‘water resistant’, that is to say against low pressure, water splashing encountered in the course of daily driving conditions. As long as you avoid directing a strong stream of water (or a pressure washer at close range) directly into these components, you will be fine.

Note this doesn't include components like air intakes etc...

[vanbmw]

Don't be scared! Giving your engine bay a clean makes a huge difference. You will be surprised how good it looks to open the hood and see a clean, detailed.

[Daniel135i]

No need for fancy cleaners either here is my process for every engine bay I have cleaned:

**Simple green works great, use it its cheap**
**no need to cover anything on stock engine bay**

Start with a WARM engine bay
Rinse off all hard debris/dirt with low pressure water
Spray liberal amounts of simple green all over the engine bay
Let soak in for 5-10 minuits
Lightly wipe all set in grease areas with a moist rag
Rinse off with light water spray and check for stubborn grease

Attack stubborn spots with damp rag/simple green

Run engine to dry off quicker and wipe off water spots

Finally armor all all rubber/vinal/plastic (excluding belts), and you're ready for the show.

[vanbmw]

I use P21S with my detail brush and it works good. I follow up with some Chemical guys Fade to Black spray and I am happy with the results. The spray goes on easy and looks good...seems to last a long time also.

[tracer bullet]

For nearly 10 years I've been washing my engine bays only with diluted simple green (I pour it into an older windex bottle and dilute it 50/50 with water). I have an old wheel cleaning brush that I will also use if anything is really dirty. Be selective about where you spray it, keeping in mind that much of what you see is simply "dirt" and will come off without any cleaners at all. Spray the cleaner only on the greasy or really dirty stuff.

Prior to the cleaning however I'll hit the rubber parts with tire shine. If you do it afterwards you just get it on the paint and everything else and it stays or is a pain to get off. But if you do it prior to the cleaning and let it soak, it does a pretty good job of staying on the rubber keeping it shiny afterwards.

I dry things off with an old batch towel. The mechanical action of the towel itself does a lot as well. You don't have to really dry everything, but at least get the surfaces where you might otherwise have water spots. You can hit it with a small rag first as well, and ring it out a bunch of times, soaking up any big puddles. Then go for the towel on what's left.

As for the water I use the same wand that I use for watering the plants around the outside of the house (mine has a valve in the base of it to turn it on and off - very convenient). Nice and gentle, no pressure is needed. Agreed that engines today are designed to handle this easily.