If I decided to hose down my engine, just to clean it a little...what areas should I stay away from??
1988 NONE turbo RX7.

 

no need to stay away from any part of the engine.

Its all sealed well as long as you have all the caps on everything.

If you have that little cap on the idle screw, put it in your pocket so you dont blow it off.

Take the car to the local wand car wash along with some foamung engine cleaner.

Let it sit for a while, and then use the engine cleaner from the carwach on it.

then, use the hot soap to blast the HELL out if everything.

When you get home oil your throttle linkage and stuff.

It should look great after that.

 

what about the wires and the spark plugs...when applying the engine cleaner...should I avoid any areas??

 

Really, no.

No reason to avoid them.

In the past if you had a distributor, there would be condensation.

Not here. you can pour water on a crank angle sensor while its running with no ill effects.

Your wires are sealed tight against the plugs and coils.

If you must avois SOMTHING... just try not to spray high pressure into the alternator.

Although it shouldnt hurt it at all.

And oooooookay... DONT spray water into the air intake.

there, you can avoid that.

 

last question, should I leave the car running while I'm hosing it down with water??

 

No, turn it off, and let it cool. The motor should be as cool as possible when cleaning it. I use Simple Green and a toothbrush to get into the heard to clean areas.

 

WRONG! The alternator MUST be covered otherwise the engine cleaner will strip the lubrication from the bearings and cause failure. Also, belts should be avoided, as well as the air pump pully area, and ignition coils.

WRONG! Engine cleaning is best done with a commercial product (Castrol Super Clean is my fav) that you allow to sit on the engine for 10 minutes or so. After that and any scrubbing you do with a brush, LOW PRESSURE water is simply POURED over the top of the engine. Using pressurized water will force it into areas that you don't want it (solenoids, TPS, etc.) and could cause problems.

WRONG! The throttle linkages at the throttle body are designed to be operated DRY. Adding oil will attract dirt and clog them up. The ONLY part of the throttle system that should be lubricated is the throttle cable and the small pivot on the secondary throttle plates. Use a lithium based grease for both.

 

Wow Aaron, youd thing that my 10 years of rx-7 ownership and 20 years of general auto work amounted to nothing!

The throttle linkage is PRECICELY what I said to lube.
You seem to have been too much on a "roll" calling me WRONG I think.

The alternator is a SEALED BEARING design.
I know this because I have rebuilt several Mitsubishi alternators, including the Mazda ones.
They all are sealed bearing and you cant damage one with water. Just dont operate one UNDER water.

About my statement "blasting everything"..

He wouldnt dare be so DUMB as to intentionally blast the TPS or other electrical parts any more than to clean them and/or sweep the water across them to get to the next dirty METAL area of the engine.


I know all about cleaning engines.
I know all about BREAKING them too.

I have done both several times in my life, and what I told DLBrown here still applies.

Hes is clearly cautious enough to ASK how to do this, so I dont think that he will do anything OBVIOUSLY stupid, like you're suggesting that I have told him to.

Out of all the engines I have cleaned, the 13b fuel injected, rotary engine is the most water proof i have ever seen excepting only a MARINE ENGINE!

 

I think we may be thinking of two different things when we say "throttle linkage".

The alternator does have a sealed bearing (as well as the air pump), but it will STILL be killed by degreaser/engine cleaner. I've heard the story over and over again "my alternator is noisy, and all I did was clean my engine"....

20 years of automotive experience eh? Then how come you didn't know what a turbo timer is?

Sorry to be mean, but I am SICK AND TIRED of what this 2nd gen forum has turned into.

 

man, don't go spraying water around under the hood like you're in the shower or something ...

it's true that all the parts that should not come into contact with water are all "protected" ... that's why there so much rubber and everything buttons downwards ... but they are NOT ... i repeat ... NOT ... water-tight, by any means! (maybe the plug wires)

the protection is there so if it rains and water makes it past all the gutters and drains, it reduces the chances of shorting things out, or letting the engine actually inhale it and then try to compress it, but that's about it.

a little water getting on things like wire harnesses and such won't hurt, but a hose (or any pressurized water) will force it in there. i'd say the places to stay away from are the the ignition coils, fuse blocks, alternator and the intake/AFM harnesses ... everything else SHOULD be okay

but i always say better safe, than sorry!

 

Don't forget to bag (plastic grocery bag) the ckutch master and brake master as well. You don't want any water seeping into the fluid in either.

I usually wash my engine as arron suggestes

 

great point!!!

i forgot ... yeah ... keep water away from clutch and brake cylinders as well ...

 

Careful with the castrol super clean.. Long term exposure is not good for aluminum.

PaulC

 

Thanks everyone...I really appreciate all the advise!!!...Well, I cleaned the engine especially by the oil filter area...you see my car has been losing oil and the only place I saw spillage was under the oil filter...so I replaced the "O" rings and cleaned that area up...I didn't directly spray any particular area except down by the filter..but I did do a once over..avoiding the alternator and other serious parts.

 

take a plastic bag and tape, and put it over the alternator, distributors, and the little air ram intake thingy if u have that still...

after that... i usually try to avoid the belts with the engine degreaser stuff... i noticed the foaming ones are a bit better for some reason.

When you hose it off... make sure u hose it off good... like spend 10 mins plus just hosing the stuff afterwardds...

also scrub the engine foam stuff in really crudy spots.

U will need like 4 or more cans if u've never cleaned your engine... i've gone through5 and still need more... + the rust inhibitor stuff doesn't come off easily... (going to re-rust check it near end of summer)

 

and the starter too... don't blast water directly into the starter...

after u finish hosing it off... start the engine (might be harder to start)

and let it idle for several mins or take it for a spin, the heat created will make the water leave the engine bay quicker.

 

SORRY to bring this post back from the dead, but I'm looking to clean up my engine bay to and am curious as to who is correct : Aaron Cake / Others or Sniper-X?

 

ahhh c'mon people....

I am concerned about the firewall as well. It has a lot of grime and grey-brown (sticky dust) on it. I'm worried about where the engine mates teh transmission, would water seep in and hit the clutch?

 

listen to Aaron and Icemark, you can never be too safe

I just spray degreaser or simple green all over the engine bay, leave it on for a few minutes and hose down the engine bay with the alternator and battery covered with a plastic bag.

 

and to add, I never had a single problem with this method.

 

Neither have I. (with mine)

 

I'm a bit paranoid about this as well. So much in fact that I use:
- small brush & buck of soapy water
- concentrate JOY in dirty spots
- remove parts & clean them in the sink

I'm too nervous about getting water into the electrical system or other parts. The more sensative parts I wipe off with a rag.

It takes a LONG time to clean & polish, but it's worth it.

 

What about my firewall/clutch/starter concern (water running down bellhousing into starter)?

 

I look at it his way, the car is made to splash though water.

Lots of it.

All of the parts will get wet in the snow, condensation, etc.

I get a bucket of purple cleaner, spray it on.
let it sit, while I get the pressure washer set up.
Set it on the low setting and both the engine and I take a bath.

Afterwards, the car starts like usual and is alot cleaner.

I have had lots of success with this and jsut did it again to my car.

I am not fool enough to spray things like the TPS directly, but i dont worry too much about getting the CAS, alternator,AFM or TPS wet.

Just dont spray pressurized water into it.

(I will flush out the alternator if its full of goop or bugs though.)

 

Well being as sniper has done this for 10+ years to these cars, i'll try his method.