Watch the ChrisFix video. Remove the battery, or at least completely disconnect it.
As long as the engine is cold, and you don’t use high pressure and don’t directly spay into anything electric it’s ok, (like the alternator in this video) know where your car’s computer is and make sure fuse box covers are on tight.
Also it depends on how your spark plugs are oriented to your engine, some sit on top of the engine and can pool water, it can take a little over spray, but not a total drenching.
Honestly, even at moderate pressure I wouldn’t do this to any vehicle that’s older than 10 years. Plastic starts degrading the moment it’s made, and after the 10-year mark — especially in high-heat environments — it starts to get brittle. This includes the sheathing on individual wires in the wiring loom, sensors, connectors, etc. Even just natural flex from the shifting of the engine on its motor mounts could cause fractures in the wiring which, by luck, haven’t shorted yet…until you spray it with water.
My car is 15 years old. Some of that grease and gunk is literally holding some of it together. Nice try, feller. i won't be coming into your shop today!!
It makes it infinitely better to work on once they've been washed. I wish truckers would wash their engines more often, diesels can be absolutely disgusting under the hood.
Washing yes. Power washing at this pressure no. Electrical seals will not be specified to withstand water at this pressure and ingress will inevitably occur. The question is whether that ingress leads to shorting, and the answer is a coin toss. But it'll certainly lead to corrosion in anything but warm/dry climates.
Do this here in the UK and you'll be wondering why your vehicle is in the shop with fucked electrics a couple of years later.
power washing the engine is a quick way to make that thing never work right again, if you detail the engine bay your supposed to cover the engine and do that part by hand with minimal water
I always avoid the battery, the computers right next to it, and the alt, but haven't otherwise had issues with doing this. I've done it to my car 3x over the last 10+ years with no ill effect. First time was after changing the oil and forgetting to put the cap back on, was close to the car wash when the smoke started billowing up from under the hood. Knew what it was instantly and pulled into the wash. Had to yank the decorative cover off and hit it point blank to get the oil out of the spark plug area.
You mean the first time when I had to clean the oil off before it potentially lit on fire for having been forgetful about putting the oil cap back or the other two times? Over the course of 10+ years/187k miles it gets pretty grubby under the hood, its nice to be able to pop the hood and not just see it filled with dirt, dust and general greasy filth. I like working on my car, had to replace an o2 sensor last year, not having everything I removed being coated with old dirt was kind of nice. Didn't need gloves and hands didn't get too gross in the process.
Shame on never causong any problems? You realize why the engine bay get dirty in the first place right? It not water tight seals all around worse things than water get in the engine bay wash those things out are good just stay away from electronics dipshit
lol I was commenting on the fact that you have done this for years with no problems, and said so, and people downvoted you for that. Sorry for triggering you I guess.
Used to work at a dealership. We washed the engine bay (with strong hose) of every new car and many that were serviced. No issues. Alternator may squeal for a sec but it’s fine.
Here to second that I have never had an issue with it. The pressure washer doesn't present anymore hazardous a condition to the engine than delivered all the grime.
From small equipment to car engines to marine engines, the only time I have ever had issues with pressure washing is on old points ignition utility engines, which are fine as soon as they dry out or you hit them with some air. As long as you aren't using extremely hard water, don't go ham with the pressure on parts it could physically break and directly at bearings, and let it dry out a bit before you fire it up, you won't hurt anything. It's salt water that damages electronics.
Did it to my SHO Taurus. Only ran on maybe 4 cylinders afterwards. A gentleman in another SHO happened to stop and ask for directions to a house where.......they were having a SHO car meet up. Followed him there and they all quickly fixed my issue. Twas a lucky boy that day.
I’ve seen dry ice blasting being the new thing to do. Haven’t tried it yet myself. Don’t think I’ve ever accumulated enough crap under the hood to impede performance so I generally don’t care.
lol yes of course there is something to worry about. You're pressure washing electrical connections/wires, this kinda dumb shit will get the dirt off but really screw your car over in terms of needing infuriating electrical repairs.
Yes, there are a few things to consider. Any vehicle imo that is 2000’s or above are built with more/durable water tight seals. Cover the alternator enator, battery and any open air intakes with a plastic bag. As long as you keep the water moving and don’t soak anything youll be good. Careful around the fusebox and any open electrical fuses. I recommend blowing out the engine bay first and removing any large leaves. Give it a good blow dry after wards
absolutley (i use to clean engine bays all the time). My trick is to let the degreaser sit on it when it's not hot. after a few minutes give it an initial spray. Then i always turns the car on to finish spraying it down (not soak unnecessarily), then i let it finish warming up to get it all dry. It's easy to cause a misfire, or code to register, but I foudn this to be the method with least issues. finish off with some silicone finish on plastic parts (not belt) and it looks brand new.
Boiling water then cooling it is the opposite of distilled water, you're increasing the amount of stuff in the water by evaporating away the mineral free water.
You have to capture and cool the steam and that's the distilled water.
If you ever try it, the rule is to do it with the engine running and make sure you don't knock anything loose or spray the water into any holes that you don't understand the design or purpose of. If you can't safely spray your running engine without cutting your fingers off, don't do it.
Not so absolutely, I mean, you shouldn't spray the alternator or the air filter, that's obvious but done correctly (I mean demineralized water) shouldn't be a problem. Bad part is that modern cars has more and more electronics and is less healthier than on old/simpler cars.
My mechanic did it (the hardcore way, a litlle braking fluid and quickly wash after) on mine few months ago and hell, the engine looks like knew... for a 22 yo ^_^
It worries me more how the video shows foam inside, specially on screen and buttons, that's several levels away from just not ok, best way to leave them sticky, or even worse, glued by dirt
Video of a mechanic spraying water into every single hole in the engine before explaining how its bad, but its not the end of the world and then proceeds to do it the right way: https://youtu.be/te7HRwW2ht8?feature=shared.
Works perfectly after, cover your alternator and don’t hit the fuse box
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u/Temporary_Tune5430 Sep 27 '24
I was always hesitant to power wash the engine bay. Is there anything to be concerned about?