so every thing under my hood is covered in oil and is dirty and i was wondering if i can power wash that some how, at my local do it your self car was theres a engine degreaser mode on the power wash, so what would i have to do, take my battery out? tape anything up?

Don't power wash it.

Get some Simple Green engine degreaser... wet the engine bay down and feel free to spray the Simple Green on everything except for the alternator and spark plug area.

Let it sit, feel free to scrub it if you want... and gently rinse it off. Don't power-wash.

Do this with the engine cold, and let the engine dry off a bit (20 minutes) before you start it up.

The only things you really have to be careful around are the ignition and charging systems...

A little bit of tire shine on the black plastic and vaccum hoses goes a long way too.

Have fun.

-Chris-



-Sweetness-
-Turbocharged-
Slowly but surely may some day win this race...

Cover air intake and IDI cover/Ignition coils, alternator, etc... With a plastic bag. Spray everything down with a cleaner/degreaser such as simple green or purple power and let it sit for a few mintues (not too long because this stuff can eat paint, etc...) Be careful and use common sense. Scrub anY heavily greased areas with a tooth brush, scrubbing pad or something of the like. Rinse with garden hose or power washer. NEVER WASH A WARM/HOT ENGINE !!! ONLY CLEAN ENGINE/ENGINE BAY WHEN ENGINE IS COLD !!!

Glad I read this cause I usually hose my bay down when i go to the car wash...After spending an hour scrubbing my bay I like to keep from having to do it again

Might i ask why you cannot power wash under the hood? Not saying you're wrong, just asking why. My Auto Collision instructor in school told us we can do it. We covered our alternator, ignition coils, intake filters, stuff like that which makes sense. I don't usually just believe what someone says, as true, even my instructor. But besides water maybe getting into wiring connectors, causing corrosion(which all connectors have water-tight seals anyway), i don't see why not.



"If I'm not back in 5 minutes...just wait longer"

Pressure likes to get into places or destroy things. If you have a questionable connection or hose in the bay... or even a somewhat iffy wire connection the pressure from the washer will more than likely blast it apart.

Why cause a headache that you can avoid with regular water?

The ONLY thing I "pressure wash" in a bay is the firewall where it's clear. That's it... the rest of the engine gets treated to a proper degreaser, a scrub if necessary and a rinse down.

It's the same reason you pressure wash the center of body panels and not the edges - the water can get under a chip or partially cracked paint and blow it clean off the panel.

-Chris-



-Sweetness-
-Turbocharged-
Slowly but surely may some day win this race...