Ideas on how to clean the engine bay

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So I just took a peek under the hood today, and I noticed its a bit dirty. Not like muddy, more like quite a bit of dust. Probably from a trip we made to the badlands and mt. rushmore this summer.

Is it safe to go to the quarter car wash and hit it with their engine bay cleaner, and a light rinse with the pressure hose (not on high pressure, just whatever the nominal setting is without squeezing the handle)?? Do I need to wait for the engine to cool down completely or just a few minutes?

Or not bother with it at all?

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[Natetroknot]

I personally use a hand squirt bottle, an old paintbrush, and compressed air. Rags as well.
I would definitely not recommend a pressure washer, and even a garden hose is a risk. Lots of stuff you shouldn’t chance with water intrusion under that hood.

It’s always a good idea to do it on a cold engine - maybe overkill, but no reason to chance that either.

 

[Tomatoboy]

Personally, I just hit it with some compressed air and maybe a damp rag. If it doesn’t come off, or I can’t reach it, I leave it be.

Years and years ago I used to wash my engines with thrnhose, but I gave up when A) stuff stopped leaking as much meaning that dust didn’t sludge up and B) the level of sensors, wirings, and wiring harnesses got to where it made me nervous something would get water in it. Sure, the engine bay gets wet on the road, but water doesn’t usually spray like a hose at the top of the engine. Nowadays, the only engine I wash is the one on my 49 Ford tractor.

 

[shooters1380]

This is one of those topics that get a great deal of opinion and argument in some cases. Not as bad as an oil thread but still.

I’ve been detailing vehicles and doing engine bay cleaning for years. I’ve never had an issue and I’ve used several methods and products. With that being said, these new vehicles have so much going on in terms of tech and computers running the systems that I’m sure the possibility of damaging some major components exist if you were to get water into something not meant to have any moisture intrusion.

I’ve been pondering how I personally am going to handle cleaning up the engine area in my truck and I think I’m gonna use the method of a light degreaser like Simple Green, maybe dilute it down a bit and apply with a sprayer that doesn’t use a lot of pressure like a hand foamer. Probably use brushes to agitate the dirt and remove with shop towels or rags and even micro fiber towels on any painted area.

I’ve seen some folks use pressure washers on the engine bay and again I have personally done it myself. 90k truck with all those electronics, I’m not sure I wanna deal with the what ifs. Not to mention trying to get Ford to diagnose and repair the problem if or when it becomes a problem.

Thinking about this topic and the mechanical design would make me think that modern vehicles and their components would allow for some type of moisture since it is a vehicle which operates in harsh weather, heat, snow and rain. Is it designed to take a full on blast from a 2200psi pressure washer???? Your guess is as good as mine.

 

[PB2021]

I wash our Powerboost regularly. I always do it with a cold engine. Nothing fancy - I just use the same car wash soap I use on the body and a wash mitt. I wipe down the larger items and areas with the soapy mitt and let the rest just soak a minute or two in the soapy water then rinse with garden hose on a gentle setting. I wipe dry what I can and let the rest air dry as truck sits or during driving.

 

[SpaceWhiteF150]

All I’m going to add is that the engine bay is meant to be waterproof, what happens when you drive in the rain?

I use simple green, an assortment of brushes, then pressure wash clean from a safe distance. Then go over all plastics with chemical guys silk shine. I’ve done this on countless vehicles!

 

[Calson]

The hose washers are not pressure washers by any stretch of the imagination. Pressure washers produce more than 3,000 PSS. The car wash wants have no more pressure than from a garden hose at your house. I like to use the wash setting that puts out detergent to remove road grime and then use the rinse setting to remove any detergent.

When I used to do all my own auto repair work my first step was to go to a car wash and use the water want to clean the interior and the engine. Much easier to spot a leak with the road grime removed and much more pleasant working on a clean engine.

 

[Roush Auto Detailing]

In my business I use a degreaser diluted down with an assortment of detail brushes and a wheel barrel brush dedicated to use on engine bays. I use a pressure washer on cars that are 2008 and newer from a distance that will hurt your hand. Car manufactures across the industry all went to more water resistant construction with their fuse boxes, air intake boxes, sensor connectors, etc. that model year. If the vehicle has a CAI I always mask the filter off with a grocery bag tied around it. When using a cleaner be sure to not let it dry!! The surfactants in the cleaner will stain anything. So work quickly!

No need to worry about any issues as long as you are smart with how you do it. If you are a worry wort just put a grocery trash bag over anything you don't want to get wet!

Hope this helps!

 

[Jersey devil]

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