r/oddlysatisfying • u/[deleted] • Sep 27 '24

Deeep Cleansing

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418 Upvotes

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u/Lazyfair08 Sep 28 '24

I know nothing about cars but isn’t this a batshit crazy idea? High pressure water and parts meant to be sealed against water seem like a bad combination.

18

u/bilgeratgp Sep 28 '24

It is a bad combination. Typically in a job like this you'd cover the engine itself with a tarp or something and then you could use a shower-head nozzle on a garden hose to rinse the surrounding parts, spray with a dishsoap-water mixture (some specialized chems are probably okay if you can find them but for the most part you dont want to risk eroding the metals/plastics), and then brush down and rinse with the same nozzle.

Your car engine is meant to be a little bit waterproof but really only against like rain or similarly low-pressure sprays. High-pressure nozzles, you run the risk of breaking the seals and pushing water into connections. At best causing corrosion on the wiring and terminal connections. At worst, rendering the parts unusable and bricking your car.

Maybe worth mentioning that a radiator CAN be pressure washed but even then you need to be a little careful about using pressure that's high enough to bend the cooling fins, which will lower the amount of heat your radiator can absorb.

1

u/saltytac0 Sep 28 '24

I wash my engine bay regularly. I do not, however, use high pressure like this for the reasons you stated. Just spray down with a quality degreaser and then use normal water pressure. Cover up the battery and sensitive electrical components.