Jet Washing Engine Bay- Good idea?

[Ice White Socks 0]

Hi,

 

Tomorrow I was thinking about jet washing the engine bay. I'll take care to cover up all that I can- is there anything I specifically need to avoid getting wet- or am I just asking for trouble even thinking about it (bearing in mind the car normally doesn't need any excuse to play up anyway and I don't want to antagonize it) :? :?

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[dr_mat 0]

Can't say I've had any direct experience of this, but anecdotally I always hear that electrical gremlins follow very closely behind engine bay washes. You'd have to be insanely careful about sealing over every electrical contact and so on. Engine cleaning is safest done with elbow grease, not sprays.

[Dec 1]

I used the jetwasher on mine a few weeks back....was fairly effective in softening up some of the 16 year old ground in dirt that was in there, before I started using the oul elbow grease!!

 

I made sure to properly cover the major electrical stuff, like the alternator, dizzy (coil pack, I guess in your case) etc. And I also removed the battery!! Water isn't going to damage electrical stuff if it has no power running through it! I then left it until I was sure everthing was bone dry again before re-connecting it!

 

Everthing has worked perfectly afterwards!

[Phil K 0]

I'd be very careful using a jet spray... it's maybe a bit too powerful for the gaskets and wires dotted about the bay! I know a mate of mine recently had his bay steam cleaned for £15 - top job and everything still works 8)

[Supercharged Junkie 0]

Not really a good idea, Did mine about 2 months ago, had a horrible misfire afterwards for about 4miles then it cleared itself thank god...Won`t be doing that again :-(

[craigowl 0]

I clean engine bays once per year after winter and salt spreading has finished - usually in April - and have had excellent results.

 

Salesman at VW dealers I visited last week said anyone seeing the engine bay of the C would buy the car right away. (subtle plug! :roll: )

 

I use the "Autoglym method".

Firstly, cover the alternator with an inverted poly bag, tucking the sides of the bag close in to the alternator.

 

Spray Autoglym engine cleaner all over in engine bay. Use a thin, soft paintbrush to loosen any particularly grimy bits.

 

Next, hose down everything with cold water using the gentlest sprinkler/spray setting.

 

Spray still soaking wet engine and bay with copious Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber protector.

 

Shut bonnet and allow all to dry naturally for two or three hours.

 

Remember to remove polythene bag from alternator!

 

Above method is described on Autoglym Engine Cleaner bottle. I adopted it a few years ago and have found it the best method of getting a gleaming (and still functioning engine!). The thin protective layer of the Vinyl protectant, when dry, will stop grime adhering and makes the job of cleaning next year easier still.

 

I dont recommend using Gunk degreaser and water, I ended up with a screeching alternator/dynamo bearing after doing this about 30 years ago. With the aid of the water, the degreaser gets into places you don't want degreased.

[Supercharged 2]

I've done this on a number of my cars now and never had any probelms but would still be reluctant to do it to anyone elses for the posible problems Dr Mat desribes.... I have always known that all my leads and service items were new tho and the car was running perfectly before hand.

 

On my Golfs I used to use Gunk spray then just hose it down afterwards, dry by hand and spray wd40 into the dizzy cap and let drain before starting, then start up and idle for 15mins to dry off completly before taking out for a spin..

 

My current method is great and i disagree with using any elbow grease at all as this doesn't involve actually touching the car whatsoever, I did my G60 last year and recently did my mums mk3 Golf and the engine which is now 8 years old looks brand new again and altho some was removed, most of the factory wax is stil there!

 

Ok, heres how i do it...

 

Warm car up to operating temp

Spray WD40 over all electrics

Spray everthing under bonnet with NV engine clean or the turtlewax one that Halfords sell (either of these work well and don't stink like Gunk does)

Leave for 10 mins to work its way into the oil and grease thats built up.

Pressure wash engine (bear in mind I only use a £50 power devil jobbie and make sure i'm 1ft away from what i'm spraying so i'm not going to damage any wiring.)

Then, pour 2/3 kettles of boiling water over engine (in an attempt to steam clean)

Now let water drain off, soak up any excess with a cloth etc

Start engine and idle up to operating temp

Take for a short drive to remove anymore water.

 

You'll then be amazed at how clean you can get it with almost no effort whatsoever - I'll stick some pics up later....

 

I've never had any problems doing this but make sure you have some WD40 handy so if you do then you can spray the electrics and inside the dizzy cap if needed.

[gradeAfailure 0]

Yup, as Phil K said, I recently had my engine bay professionally steam cleaned for the princely sum of £15, and it was well worth it - the engine bay is almost like new! I'd say worth phoning a few car valeters in your area to see if they'll do it for the same sort of money; it only takes about 20 mins and the industrial cleaning products they use are really rather good, plus they use superheated steam which is better for getting oil and grease off than just water. Only things we covered up were the alternator and the alarm, and I've had no electrical problems since at all...

 

HTH!