chano

ha, this is what happened to me when i didnt use the pressure washer and use that GUNK crap (Smelled pretty bad too)

when i used the presurre washer, i didnt have this problem. and of course that time i used simple green.

DerangedHermit

When I washed other cars I always just took out the battery and covered the major electrical components with plastic. I never used a pressure washer (don't have one), but I never had any problems from using a garden hose.

RoughRex

Make no mistake...A little spray from the road in the rain or snow is NOT the same as totaly drenching your hot engine in cold water.... I have seen a windshield bust in the winter when someone turned on thier defroster and it heated the glass too quickly. Granted, this is not something that is going to happen all the time...I'm just saying "Be carefull, it COULD happen." I'd say the best chances for this are if you run the car hard in the peak of summer then try to soak the engine...it might crack...it might not....I'll let YOU try it. :P

For those of you looking for a degreaser, I spent two whole cans of Advance Auto brand degreaser before I bought a bottle of Purple Power. The Purple Power takes grease right off.

Hellkat

Ive heard of that before. Depending on the metal, constant heating and cooling at a extreme rate does cause stress marks. Thats how old mainifolds get cracks.

'87 turbo II

iTrader: (1)

hey not to threadjack, bt I feel it can be answered quickly. I'm not too technical so don't laugh if the answer is obvious, but is it bad to get water in the hood scoop when washing the car? I try to spray down the hood from the top but I want to know for future washes, i'm always scared something'll happen and it will mess up or damage my engine if I do, and esp. soapy water (Mr. Clean auto dry)

Bunchies

iTrader: (1)

i'm just curious, have you ever thought about steam cleaning it instead? My friend steam cleaned the engine bay of his E36 and it turned out pretty nice.

http://www.technicalgarage.com/archi...l/DSCN1266.JPG

RN's X-7

Ok pressure washing does not hurt look at the provided picture, this engine had 175000 miles and I used a can of gunk, some simple green and a PRESSURE WASHER. Yes it is the same engine, don't look stupid trying to tell me other wise. I am that good at an engine detail.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...ourne/0111.jpg

RN's X-7

Here is a better pic

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...ourne/0113.jpg

iceblue

I have a good walk through about how to toughly clean a motor in the car. View my blog for pics.

NZConvertible

What do you think happens when you drive in the rain? The underside of the IC has a shield on it that directs water towards the back. Getting water on the engine won't hurt it. Mazda would've tested the scoop's water ingress under all sorts of conditions, including driving rain and enthusiastic car washing.

royaltrex7

forget that degreaser just get a gallon of purple power and put it into a dollar store spray bottle

iceblue

Umm purple power is a degreaser bud and it also oxidizes aluminum. Be careful using it.

Nosferatu

Yeah good call, never ever forget to put on the foil.

lupin

iTrader: (3)

I prefer to use marine clean from por 15.

but right now my engine is on a stand with no rear stationary gear.
^_^

SuperRotorMan

lol +1

Mombodogs

Wal-Mart, 97 cents a can, Engine Degreaser, blue can, temperature of vehicle at time of cleaning -HOT-. Spray, wait 2 minutes, rinse - results-

ANY QUESTIONS? PEACE THE MUTT

SureShot

Bag the intake.
Start with any good degreaser. I use cheap purple power.
Pressure washer or hose to rinse.
Air hose or leaf blower to dry it off, especially the alternator & spark stuff.

My trick: Spray the whole bay with silicone protectant.
Next trick: Air hose or leaf blower to shine up the silicone & displace any trapped water.

The hoses & plastic really look good with the silicone protectant.
It does tend to accumulate dirt, but it's easy to clean next time.

The cleaning kit:


The results:


As Ben Franklin would have said: "An ounce of shine is worth a pound of performance"

(I miss my old red NA)

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

I second that. Marine Clean is good stuff. Very powerful and not too hard on aluminium.

swbooking

Gunk foamy engine brite and a hose, and yes the engine can crack... its the same reason you shouldnt put a hot pan under water after cooking, it can warp it... but i mean to crack it, i think you have to redline your engine for about 30 minutes then drive it in to a lake in antartica, it has to be a big difference in temp. hahah

royaltrex7

when i used it i sprayed it on the heavily caked on areas then took another spray bottle of water and rinsed then towel dried didn't have any problems come up from it

sintri

going to start cleaning my engine in a few days, anyhow quick question, would a cleaner engine bay run at a lower temperature, since I can't imagine grime being a greater conductor than metal is, though the difference probably wouldn't be that substantial anyways.

Richter12x2

iTrader: (1)

"And I said to him 'It's a rotary, they all do that!'"

back on-topic, how clean do you want your engine bay? We were at the carshow this last weekend with my wife's Mustang, and one of the other Mustang owner's there showed us how much of a difference Soft Scrub and a toothbrush made. You just rub it in until you can't see it anymore. I've never repainted her engine bay, but it brought the part they used it on right back to like new (amazing for a 12 year old Ford!). I almost wish I hadn't repainted the engine bay in the RX7 now!

sintri

well this thread's 6 month old so the original posters are most likely dead, or more accurately probably not active, I brought it back because I was looking for some ideas on cleaning up my engine bay. Anyhow, I just bought some purple power and probably gonna toothbrush the whole thing, will get started on by the weekend or something. Repainting requires you disassemble everything in your engine bay pretty much though? Anyways, I'm hoping that somehow without all that gunk everywhere the metal'll spread the heat out faster and drop the temps by a few degrees, or something like that lol.

Richter12x2

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, I did it while I had the engine out the second time. It looks pretty decent, and actually had to do it because I changed the exterior car color, so it would be silly to see a charcoal metallic car with a white engine bay.

But after seeing how well the soft scrub restored my wife's 12 year old engine bay, I was amazed.

I wouldn't look for a noticeable difference in temperature, but it oughta be a few degrees cooler.