Washing the Engine, do's and don'ts

Aight, my engine is looking a lil' dirty, i want to clean it but not with paper towels and other shit, i heard you can take a hose to it from the local car wash or sometihng, but i never see anyone do that. can i put a hose to my engine without harming anything?, what needs to be removed/covered, and most of all is the whole process harmless on the engine?:smoker2:

here's what you do, go to a store and pick up a can of "foamy engine brite" then pop your hood, cover the airfilter with a plastic bag or something. Then spray the engine down with the engine brite, wait 10-20min, and then wash it off with a hose. After that just run the engine for awhile to get rid of all the water, and bam, you got a clean engine.

cover the distributor too

Cover up the distributor to.

Heres what you do .... NOTHING! :D

Those of you who have seen my engine know it isnt a pretty sight, but me cleaning it isnt gonna make it run better, I change the oil and all that shit regularly, and keep the exterior of my car clean as fuck, so its all gravy.

Distributor and Air filter, thats it?, no wiring or anything?, sounds good,e asy enough, i think people are afriad to do this, ie...me

I never even covered up the distributor, i just tried not to spray it directly, and it worked out just fine.

I also use Foamy engine brite (I don't cover any wires, most all factory wires have sealed connectors) but you should follow the directions and use low pressure water. Good luck.

:)

www.1fastrex.com

go here and check out this site, check out the engine detailing section. He's got some badass how-to's. Works GREAT.

make sure you either cover up or don't spray on the spark plug wires, My gay Magnecors didn't seal up right and i had to buy new OEM wires cause the Magnecors stopped working.

Originally posted by ci5ic
www.1fastrex.com

go here and check out this site, check out the engine detailing section. He's got some badass how-to's. Works GREAT.

Good website!

I've never covered up anything, just went to the car wash and sprayed it full blast. Never had any problem with it except when my dizzy cap had some cracks in it, just caused the engine to bogg down some until it dried. Im sure the Engine Bright stuff probably does a better job, but the car wash does a pretty good job.

Oh yea, I have done that several times, quite often actually. About every 3 times i wash my car the engine gets sprayed.

I run a detail shop and you really don't have to worry about anything. All we do is cover the intake if it is after market..(oils and shit) But other than that don't even worry! If you have rust proofing all over your engine..(they like to do this in places like ontario) then use some Varsol aka paint thinner just spray it on and let it sit. we soak the whole engine down with degreaser and varsol and then wipe down the thick thick greasy areas and spray it off with full pressure and tada!!!!! a clean engine!

PS to make it look really sharp pick up some dressing for after it is clean...and don't forget to blow off the engine with high pressure air!

degreaser & pressure washer
small brush

to dress the engine use water based dressing not silicone eventually the rubber will dry out if not appied on a normal basis

leave the engine wet & runnin, mist the water based dressing, close hood & run for 10-15 min, open your hood & WOW pretty. wipe off any remaing water & dressing

silcone dressing are only good for long lasting tire shine & dont let it get on your paint or glass.