how to wash the engine

teohari · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2007 3:59 am

hi it is safe to wash our engine affter off raod to take of the dast with power cun water i have 3.7 sport 07 :!:

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2007 7:57 am

I do it all the time w/ a garden hose. It is best to let the engine cool down a little or you end up with a lot of steam off the manifolds. After I hose it off I start it up and drive it around the block to heat/air dry it. Then I wipe everything off w/ a shop towel. My engine compartments are usually the cleanest part of all of my Jeeps.

ccattie · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:25 am

Some say not to do it, but I simple green it all down and then hose it off. Some say simple green isn't great for the aluminum parts, but I'm not soaking it on there, its being hosed off.
-c

hyedipin · **Joined:** Thu May 11, 2006 10:20 am **Posts:** 1667

I still haven't had the guts to do it. Especially spraying directly onto the alternator, distribution block and battery. Nobody gets sparks when they do?

Here is another topic:
http://jeepkj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32501

callaway · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2007 9:07 am

keep the engine running when you spray down the engine area...

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2007 9:51 am

It wont hurt anything hyedipin. Its usually best not to spray everything you mentioned directly though. You want to stay away from the alternator and fuse box. Its ok to get them wet, just dont soak them.

hyedipin · **Joined:** Thu May 11, 2006 10:20 am **Posts:** 1667

Won't the water cause sparks on the battery when it makes a "bridge" between poles?
Here is another write up for rookies like me, which suggests bagging and rubber banding sensitive areas. I was planning to do this last weekend with GUNK Engine Foam, but we had a nasty storm.

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2007 10:50 am

Unless your engine is Greasy (shouldn't be unless it is leaking something) I wouldn't bother with any cleaners. I have had no problem spraying my engine compartments down on all my vehicles incl. my Scion XB and previous vehicles. I have used simple green on greasy engine compartments w/ OK results but beware leaving it sit on aluminum parts as it may discolor them.

hyedipin · **Joined:** Thu May 11, 2006 10:20 am **Posts:** 1667

Here is what mine looks like:

My biggest concern is the cables and connectors, some of them don't look very tight.. Especially that last picture.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2007 11:29 am

The amount of voltage will not allow that to happen hyedipin. If that was the case, you would get shocked if you touched the two posts. :wink:

You may need some degreaser if you want to get really good results. You shouldnt need something like GUNK, Simple Green should work just fine. You may also want to buy a small brush to scrub some of the areas that really need it.

I took the hemi to the car wash and just sprayed it while keeping my distance. Most of it is covered in plastic and it wasn't very dirty at all. The parents took it to the beach and it had alot of sand on it..

hyedipin · **Joined:** Thu May 11, 2006 10:20 am **Posts:** 1667

Thanks jeepjeepster. Whenever I touch the posts, I use heavy duty gloves!

Jeepjeepster wrote:

The parents took it to the beach and it had alot of sand on it..

Parents... :roll:

when will they learn. You always have to clean up after them! Next thing you know, they are carrying the kitty in the back of the hemi, hairs all over the place..

teohari · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2007 1:41 pm

JJsKJ wrote:

I do it all the time w/ a garden hose. It is best to let the engine cool down a little or you end up with a lot of steam off the manifolds. After I hose it off I start it up and drive it around the block to heat/air dry it. Then I wipe everything off w/ a shop towel. My engine compartments are usually the cleanest part of all of my Jeeps.

do have to cover the altenetor spark pluks or other staff with plastic bags :?:

ccattie · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2007 2:27 pm

Just don't spray those parts directly. As for worrying about getting stuff wet, next time you're driving in the rain, pull over and pop the hood. EVERYTHING is wet. Thats how it gets dirty up there to begin with.
-c

hyedipin · **Joined:** Thu May 11, 2006 10:20 am **Posts:** 1667

ccattie wrote:

Just don't spray those parts directly. As for worrying about getting stuff wet, next time you're driving in the rain, pull over and pop the hood. EVERYTHING is wet. Thats how it gets dirty up there to begin with.
-c

That's what I was thinking about... The bottom is wide open. When you get a car wash "undercarriage" or something like that, I am sure the water gets all the way up there when they spray it from the bottom. But when you are spraying the engine there is no way to avoid those parts without covering them up.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2007 2:34 pm

Heck I just open the hood a spray away with the high pressure hose at the carwash,never had any problems with doing this to all my vehicles over the last 19 years of doing it(granted had to be carefull around the distributor caps and air filters but that's it).I just watch out for my open air filter and that's it.

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2007 2:58 pm

I never sparay directly at the alternator etc but have been hosing down motors for over ....well along time like 27/28 years and never got shocked once, have gotten some distributers too wet and had to dry them out but dont have to worry about that much anymore :wink:

Hose away , a clean engine is a happy one :lol:

tom

hyedipin · **Joined:** Thu May 11, 2006 10:20 am **Posts:** 1667

how do you dry a wet distributor?

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2007 3:35 pm

Back when engines had distributor caps you would have to take them off, take off your shirt and use it to dry what moisture you could out of it, you never had a rag in the back when you needed it, then spray some WD 40 inside the cap and start it up. Anymore all those problems can be remembered fondly as back in the day :lol:

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2007 10:01 pm

When you go through large water sources and your engine is burning hot and the water is ice cold, you don't suffer damage.

Kane Creek Canyon in Moab proves that.

Simple Green it and rinse away. Not on the high pressure setting though.

hyedipin · **Joined:** Thu May 11, 2006 10:20 am **Posts:** 1667

Is it OK to spray simple green on alternator and cables?

how to wash the engine

Who is online