Even though the engine bay is not exposed to the elements—at least not from above—debris and dust creep in from openings around the hood and the vehicle's front end. Cleaning your engine might sound daunting—how do you wash a big hunk of metal and plastic?
Here's how to clean your engine quickly and efficiently. Ideally, pick a warm day. Warmer weather, especially low humidity with some wind, will help dry the engine and components after cleaning. If the car was running, flip the hood up and allow the engine to cool for at least 15 minutes. Hot engine components can not only burn you, but they can also be damaged by rapid contraction if sprayed with cool water.
Step 3: Remove. Remove any plastic covers under the hood. These can be scrubbed separately. Also remove the negative terminal from the battery. This will help protect the electrical components from getting damaged if they get wet. Any hobbyist level detailer should already have everything they need sitting on the shelf.
The cleaner you use depends on how dirty your engine bay is. If your engine bay is mostly covered with plastic and only has a light layer of dust on it, you can stick with a rinseless wash like Optimum No Rinse or a detail spray. A 30 second wipe down might be all you need to do. Both of these options are strong enough to cut through most dirt and grime without the risk of harming any rubber or plastic in your engine bay. The same brushes you use on your wheels and tires happen to also work great on your engine.
No need to buy separate ones just for this. Any type of compressed air that you would use to dry off your car will work fine for your engine.
This could be a nozzle on an air compressor, a leaf blower, or a fancy dedicated car dryer. A water-based dressing that you would use on rubber and vinyl on your interior or your tires will work great on the plastic panels and hoses in your engine bay. Some people like Matt from Obsessed Garage do nothing more than open the hood and pound the engine bay with their pressure washer. If your vehicle has an exposed filter, this feeds directly into the engine. Water in the engine means hydro locking.
Hydro locking means bent connecting rods. Bent connecting rods means the engine needs to be rebuilt or replaced. Will it be the end of the world if it gets a little wet? Probably not. But you want to avoid getting any water inside it if you can. Remember, water and cleaners act as lubricants. That belt needs to bite onto the pulleys to do its job. If it slips, it squeals. Just wrap any connectors, fuse boxes, or relays with plastic and avoid spraying them directly.
Now a completely custom engine bay is a different story. This one is up to your discretion. This process is really quite simple. These components that are quite allergic to water are covered using plastic bags, rubber covers, or other flexible materials.
When the engine is hot, and you attempt to cover these components, you might burn yourself the moment your body touches the hot metals. More so, the hotness of the engine can possibly melt the material you are attempting to use in covering those components. You could allow the car to cool down before going on to wash the engine. Typically, it takes around 30 — 45 minutes for the engine to cool down.
Washing your car engine should be a scheduled event. More carefulness is highly required irrespective of whether your car is an old car model or older or a modern ride.
Use the plastic bags to cover all the electrical components you could see. However, cleaning your car engine does offer certain benefits. Those are preferable to blasting an engine with a high-pressure hose or steam cleaning an engine, because water and moisture can damage electrical connections and parts. Even a slight spray of water in the wrong place could cause serious problems. Done properly, with the proper precautions taken, steam cleaning is perfectly safe for your engine.
Let it dry. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Skip to content Home Coursework Is it safe to hose off an engine? Ben Davis May 2,
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