Can the engine bay area be cleaned by hosing it? Any particular area to avoid? Any photos?

 

I have done it once on another car and shorted my cam sensor. Car won't start and ended up towed to a shop for something completely unnecessary.

I would not hose it down. Maybe clean it with a cloth and brush? You can take off your engine cover and hose that down, which will make a big difference.

 

If you keep the water pressure low to moderate, you should be fine... no pressure washer involved. Depending upon how dirty it is, you would want to use a degreaser to help with removing baked-on dirt and grime. I like Super Clean for moderate jobs and Purple Power when it's greasy, gunky and baked-on. Also use a brush to agitate the cleaner and scrub off the baked-on stuff. If your engine bay is pretty clean already, a little Simple Green, even diluted, is sufficient, and use a dry bristle brush to remove surface dust before wiping down for light detailing. I always finish with a clean damp towel wipe down and some 303 protectant all over, especially on the rubber and plastics.

Here's a couple of videos from some detailers who don't lay down the BS too thick.

 

Wow thanks both. Will definitely keep it low pressure and avoid some of the electricals.

 

Post some before and after pics!

 

Cleaning engine bay in this car consists of wiping dust off plastic, idk why you would hose it. Seriously, my engine bay is already really clean and I’ve never cleaned it. Lexus did a great job of isolating it from the weather. I’ve never owned a car before that maintained a clean engine bay like this.

 

So I was inspired today to clean the engine bays of my 18 GS and my daughter's 17 Civic... but all I needed was this:

 

Can't argue with those results, but there must have been some sort of fluid involved...

Edit: If your engine bay is already clean, you don't need to clean it. That probably won't help if your engine bay is not clean.

 

No fluids... They were last cleaned in November/December, only ~ 2K miles ago, with a vacuum, brush and 303 Protectant wipedown, so 4 months later they're still pretty clean. Bonus for me--- no winter in FL.

 

I hose mine down all the time. Canadian winter and excessive salt use causes alot of oily salt dust to coat the engine bay.

I avoid spraying the alternator and coil packs. Everything else is pretty safe. Few drops won't hurt, just don't directly spray them.