Import_Boy

Ok I went off-roading in my 4runner 2 years ago. It was pretty muddy that day with lotsa pools of water. Anywho, we came back and I didn't wash my car until the next day, and basically I got all the mud off the outside and didn't even bother to look at the engine. Now 2 years later, my engine is still muddy and dirty as hell, and I was wondering how to get all the mud and dirt stuck to my engine off.

Besides getting it steam-cleaned, is there any other way? Cuz I heard that was pretty expensive. I was thinking about just hosing down my engine, but I heard that could be bad cuz the water could get into places that where it doesn't belong. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

Drimweaver88

iTrader: (1)

I hose down my engine everytime i wash the car. And i do it like once evry 2 weeks. I dont have any problem at all.

meZoom!

***moving to automotive care and detailing forum***

I occasionally do a hose down of my engine bay. it's "ok" to hose it down w/ a steady jet of water, but not ok to blast the electrical and hose connections or flood the engine bay. You can take something like Meguiar's "Extra" spray and hose that on, and scrub the mud off, then rinse w/ water.
An alternative is to take it into a detailing shop that does "engine degreasing" (demudding?) but many times they make you sign something saying they're not responsible if your engine gets all messed up....

///MDex

You can take it to one of those car wash bay places, with the pressure wands, and spray it out really well there.

Although, I would still just use water until its all gone - no chemicals.

The primary place that I stay away from when I spray out my engine bay every other wash is the intake.

HTH

ChronoJ1

iTrader: (2)

I was told never to wash the engine bay with pressured stream of water... for the reasons that water may get into spark plugs and such...
Wrong?

Guitarman

I think the main concern with high pressure water is it forces itself into the electronic connectors, past the special non-conductive grease they put in them, and causes corrosion down the road, causing shorts and circuit failures in everything from engine sensors to anti-lok modules/wiring.

I have seen some warnings for detailers about this from those in the know, and the liability therein, so I know it is an issue. A lot of people do it without problems (yet!) , but...why risk it if you can still get it clean another way?

Hose water should be fine though, especially if you cover the alternator and any other susceptible components/modules. Cheers.

JCHO

I would like to get some advise from the helpful CL members.

Due to accumulation of road salt in my engine bay from all the snow storms we had this winter, my engine bay really needs a wash. I was wondering:

Would hosing down with water be good enough to remove salt and dirt in the engine bay? If not, do you recommend any engine clearner to remove salt?

Thanks.

Guitarman

To get rid of the salt, try this recipe;

Ingredients and Materials:

1 part water
1 part white vinegar
Spray bottle

Cover your alternator, and any exposed computer modules etc. Spray the above solution on a cold or warm engine and rinse before it dries out. Flush with water thoroughly. After that, you can use any degreaser /cleaner type product as you would normally to remove engine dirt/oil. Cheers.

JCHO

Thanks Guitarman! I will try it this weekend.