Engine bay cleaning

[Jord]

Whats the best way to go about cleaning off all the dust & dirt thats been deposited around the engine? Is waterblasting/high pressure hose safe as long as the battery has been covered/disconnected and the air intake all sealed up? or is that a big no-no?

Cheers

[Koom]

I waterblast my engine reasonably often. Also have the degreaser attachment for the blaster which gets rid of alot of the grime. Just leave the engine running while you're doing it, get it warm first too, and make sure you don't spray directly at too much of the electrical do-hickey's.

[dubbedup]

 Koom said:

I waterblast my engine reasonably often. Also have the degreaser attachment for the blaster which gets rid of alot of the grime. Just leave the engine running while you're doing it, get it warm first too, and make sure you don't spray directly at too much of the electrical do-hickey's.

+1 have also used degreaser in a can and waited a couply mins then got the waterblaster out

[subieboy]

Degreaser Koala Care Brand - 2.5l approx.$7.00, buy a spray bottle and spray everywhere (even paint as long as you rinse it off before it dries), it will clean 19 years worth of cr@p easily...

Simple process:

1) spray on

2) Let soak for 10 min

3) Hose off

I used this on our VS Commodore that was covered in oil/grease/cr@p went from Black to White and silver like from factory

[Bazza-NZ]

 subieboy said:

Degreaser Koala Care Brand - 2.5l approx.$7.00, buy a spray bottle and spray everywhere (even paint as long as you rinse it off before it dries), it will clean 19 years worth of cr@p easily...

Simple process:

1) spray on

2) Let soak for 10 min

3) Hose off

I used this on our VS Commodore that was covered in oil/grease/cr@p went from Black to White and silver like from factory

Where do you buy it from?

I would use a waterblaster to wash the outside of the car, but in the engine bay??? woudn't you get the electrical and cause some issues (wouldn't a normal hose be better?)

[Guest keltik]

I used a waterblaster to clean up my engine bay. Just left the motor running at a reasonable temp with the understanding if i sprayed somewhere and it cut out - i knew not to spray there again.

Was using truck wash last time which didnt do a very good job, will try that stuff you mentioned subie. Only thing i dont like about degreaser is it oxidises my aluminum timing chain cover and makes it look crappy

[Guest]

just give you the incentive to get the metal polish out to fix it up then keltic

-smurff

[Guest keltik]

Kinda hard when i cant get my fingers between the cover and the radiator. Will give it all a dam good shine up when ive got the engine out next

[Guest]

oohhh yea, that's right hahaha, sorry I did forget about your tight squeeze

-smurff

[Bazza-NZ]

in that case i might get the waterblaster out at some stage and give mine a good clean down then, i used about 2-3 can's of degreaser last time and just went for a drive in the wet, it came up alright, will try the waterblaster next time..

I'll just let the car dry off before i start it and hope for all the best...

[Guest keltik]

Just run it as soon as your done, leaving it to dry would make me uncomfortable as water can creep into connectors. Go for a drive and get everything HOT to dry it out as soon as possible.

[Guest]

just dont drive far from home or on any main roads in busy traffic, just in case :P

-smuff

[Bazza-NZ]

 keltik']

Just run it as soon as your done, leaving it to dry would make me uncomfortable as water can creep into connectors. Go for a drive and get everything HOT to dry it out as soon as possible.

you have a valid point there, was more thinking along the lines of water being able to conduct electricity and more worried about shorting something out - guess if you guys have done it before and your cars are still going i better just use that way then

[quote name='smurff said:

just dont drive far from home or on any main roads in busy traffic, just in case :P

-smuff

word of wisdom?

[Guest keltik]

Im assuming youve still got coil on plug, so all the high tension stuff should stay fairly dry anyways. The rest of it is fine with a bit of water. Most 12v stuff runs fine underwater

[Guest]

 Bazza-NZ']

[quote name='smurff said:

just dont drive far from home or on any main roads in busy traffic, just in case :P

-smuff

/quote]

word of wisdom?

kinda, decided it would be good to test that my alternator was working by driving the car along the highway in peak hour traffic. . . turns out it wasnt working properly and battery died on me. . . was not good lol

12v outdoor lights dont work under water, it destroyers the transformer

-smurff

[Bazza-NZ]

 keltik']

Im assuming youve still got coil on plug, so all the high tension stuff should stay fairly dry anyways. The rest of it is fine with a bit of water. Most 12v stuff runs fine underwater

That i do, Sweet I'll give it a go and see what it turns out like, i'll hold off to put in my new coils just in case then...

[quote name='smurff said:

just dont drive far from home or on any main roads in busy traffic, just in case :P

-smuff

/quote]

word of wisdom?

kinda, decided it would be good to test that my alternator was working by driving the car along the highway in peak hour traffic. . . turns out it wasnt working properly and battery died on me. . . was not good lol

12v outdoor lights dont work under water, it destroyers the transformer

-smurff

I see, that would be a pain, good thing i live in a village, and have new roads (untouched by 80% of Wellington) to ensure that everything is running well

[Jord]

Thanks for the input guys! will whip out the degreaser tomorrow after work tomorrow and give it a go

[Guest boostcut]

simple green is the best degreaser ever. its more expencive but it wont hurt paint and isnt flamable like the other kero based degreasers..

[Guest boostin]

At work we have diesel-heated hot waterblasters. I always warm the engine up to temp first. I leave it running and give the whole engine bay a good dose of this water-based degreaser we have (dunno what it is but we get it in blue plastic 200L drums). Then hit it with 80 degree water. Comes up mint. Every so often a bit of water works its way into the HT leads, but a quick blast of the air duster gun sorts that out. I've never had any issues with water vs battery or alternator.

[subieboy]

 Bazza-NZ']

[quote name='subieboy said:

Degreaser Koala Care Brand - 2.5l approx.$7.00, buy a spray bottle and spray everywhere (even paint as long as you rinse it off before it dries), it will clean 19 years worth of cr@p easily...

Simple process:

1) spray on

2) Let soak for 10 min

3) Hose off

I used this on our VS Commodore that was covered in oil/grease/cr@p went from Black to White and silver like from factory

/quote]

Where do you buy it from?

I would use a waterblaster to wash the outside of the car, but in the engine bay??? woudn't you get the electrical and cause some issues (wouldn't a normal hose be better?)

Supercheap auto

Also Koala Kare degreaser is fully biodegradeable and contains Alkaline Slats at 15gms/L...

[RAYDEO]

i asked my engine builder about waterblasting then enginebay once, hes a bit of a blunt guy, didnt even awnser me, just went n filled a bucket of water and dumped it under the bonnet... that kinda awnsered it for me tho...

also remember rex's have vents in the bonnet, when it rains what happens?

[Jord]

Yes but rain doesnt exactly enter through the vents in the bonnet at 1200+psi

[RAYDEO]

 Jord said:

Yes but rain doesnt exactly enter through the vents in the bonnet at 1200+psi

no but if you're like me and dont have a garage, then your car will be parked out side in the rain often enough