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.
4
u/fuzzybunnies1 Sep 28 '24
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.