Engine Cleaning

On Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:50:56 -0700, Built_Well wrote:


That is only good advice if your engine and engine bay is already pretty
clean. If you have some oil leaks and operate in a dusty environment then
your engine bay might be filthy.


Kerosene cleans really good. Wash it off with detergent water.  Really
tough stuff can be attacked with steam cleaner, high pressure sheep urine
etc.


Not unless you deliberately fill the sump with detergent.

wow, that must indeed be a book for beginners.
It's like  instructions for taking a bath saying
 "First remove your clothing, shoes and socks, and your wristwatch.  If
you're going to shampoo your hair, remove your hat."
Duh!
Seriously, the only thing to worry about is getting the rinse water on or
near electrical parts, so covering those parts with saran wrap is a worthy
idea. Don't soak the engine with a full-force garden hose or you likely
won't get the engine started when you're finished.

Built_Well wrote:

Do not use cleaners or solvents on ANY decals or stickers, dry rag only.

Honestly?  Just leave it alone...  

When you start cleaning an engine you knock things loose accidentally,
water gets places it can't normally get..  brittle plastic parts get
snapped off.  I've never seen a car cease to run because the engine
wasn't cleaned.  I've seen tons of cars that don't run anymore after
the engine is cleaned.

If you really want to have it done have a professional steam clean the
engine.

         Steve B.

Not if you show just a little bit of care.


But a clean engine compartment and engine is so much nicer to work with.


A little bit of care prevents that. And the condition should only be
temporary and self-correcting unless they were VERY stupid.

wrote:



 That sucks that the Supra wouldn't start!  The one I see most often
is the mid 90s Lincolns that grampaw washes.  Water gets in those deep
spark plug wells and the car runs like crap.  Being around used cars /
trade time I see a lot of "first time washers" and the destruction
they inflict.

              Steve B.

Double ditto this post.. If he doesnt know how to do it, he shouldnt.  
You CAN cause a lot of problems with injudicious engine washing.  
Leave this until a little later in the development of your automotive
hobbying.

What I do, and have done for a long time, is when I take the rig to a
"do-it-yourself" carwash I LIGHTLY spray under hood with the soap spray,
ease hood down and wash car - then when I rinse, I rinse under the hood
again fairly lightly - but then I do it several times a year so don't need
the pressure.  Need I say Toyotas stay fairly clean w/o oil leaks?

Ron in Ca

Good thing.  Prevents body rust.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra.  C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Thanks for all your suggestions.

I guess when I clean underneath the front hood, I'll just do it
the careful, tedious way, with a shop towel passed over individual
surfaces, one at a time, like Auto Upkeep recommends.

It sure will take a lot longer, but for a beginner like me, it's
probably safer.

On the other hand, in the '06 Camry, the engine's spark plugs are
protected by a large plastic engine cover, and I guess I could
cover the air filter housing's air intake with something, and
cover the alternator and MAF sensor, but I think I'll just follow
the book and use a dampened shop towel.

When I do this, I am careful to plug the air inlets, cover the alternator,
distributor,
etc (as it may apply to the vehicle) with plastic bags and tie them snugly.

Gunk, Dawn, etc will usually work fine.  Kerosene, as mentioned before is
great
for dissolving oil without hurting most paint.  Easily flushed away with
soap and water.

When you get through, take away ALL the bags and rag stuffing, wipe off the
visible
water. You can use WD-40 on plugs, wires, etc if you wish.It is a darn good
water dispersant.

Start the engine immediately. Let it run until hot enough to evaporate the
water.

You may want to (need to) lubricate hood hinges, pins, linkages, etc when
you are
finished.  Removal of grease or oil by the bath may make this wise.

Don't most modern cars have their air inlets inside one of the fenders
these days? I can't recall the last time I saw a car that didn't.

The post was generic. . If you can plug it, do so.

On Wed, 2 Jul 2008 08:02:54 -0700 (PDT), Built_Well


Does your girl friend/wife/significant other get turned on by a clean
engine?  I don't understand why you want to clean your engine, it
won't make the car run better.  It won't help the engine to run cooler
or the A/C to work better.  Well, maybe the A/C might work better if
the condenser is plugged up with bugs and stuff.

Keep the outside clean and the hood closed.

Jack

Do you ever do any of your own work on a car? It's a lot easier when you
keep things underneath and under the hood clean or at least somewhat
clean. Tracing a leak is a lot easier when things are kept clean. And as
far as the engine working better, when clean it is working as it was
designed. Accelerated life testing may not get the engine and other
parts coated in the sorts of grime they do over a period of years of
real operation. Grime can do harm in a number of ways. Sure it may
something that isn't measurable and can't be pulled out of the noise of
random and old-age part failures, but other than some rare exceptions
its not doing any good being there.

On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:00:48 -0500, Brent P


No, the job is a little bit cleaner but not easier.  Yes, I do a lot
of my own work and I used to clean my engine at the car wash every
couple of months.  It's a waste of money and time.


Hmmm, you seem to be saying that a clean engine makes a big difference
in how the engine runs and how long it lasts but you can't measure any
difference.

Name a problem caused by dirty valve covers or caked-on crude on the
oil pan.  What problem would dust and dirt on the fire wall cause?

Jack

On Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:24:53 -0400, Scott  in  Florida


Well hell Scott, you wipe the damn thing off with a rag before you
take the top off.  Same holds true for the oil filler, wipe it off
with a rag before you take the cap off.

You guys do what you want about washing your car's engine.  If it
makes you feel better to have a clean engine, then great.  Just don't
try to convince me that your car runs better or last longer than mine
will with a dirty engine.  Oh yeah, don't come crying to me when
you're stuck in a car wash bay with a wet engine that won't start.  Or
crack a hot manifold by spraying cold water on it.

Jack

On Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:05:12 GMT, Retired VIP


A clean engine runs cooler.  Much better for the engine.


If you don't take care of your car, then yeah, water might make it
hard to start.  But if you drive in a rainstorm, your engine gets wet.



Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha  Dumbass.

--
gburnore at DataBasix dot Com
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On Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:36:07 GMT, Retired VIP


One of the few times it's ok to use always:
It's ALWAYS easier to work on a clean engine.  


I can.  


Nothing. But then, the firewall isn't the engine,
--
gburnore at DataBasix dot Com
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