How to clean the engine?

[nj1sh]

My engine is very dirty. I read somewhere to degrease it first and than just spray spay it with water... Is that safe? Other than the battery do i need to worry about the water running somewhere?

[PBfrEAk]

Personally I think the whole water spraying thing is a big no no.

To really clean your engine you need a good bottle of degreaser and a rag.

But thats just my opinion...if other's have had good experiences with spraying off the engine then go for it!!

[Evil Empire]

Some wash it, some don't....on my old car, I'd wash it lightly and then degrease. After letting it sit for a few minutes, I'd hit it with the pressure wash, making sure to cover up the alternator, battery, starter, distributor, spark plug wires. Worked fine for me but like the other post said, sometimes a degreaser and a rag are fine.

[Darktide]

I've heard of a lot of mishaps when people hose down their engines. in the old days that was fine. You only had to worry about the distributor cap, ignition coil, battery, and alternator. Other than that there were hardly any electronics to be had. Nowadays, WAAAAY too many electronic parts to be destroyed. Especially with how thin the wires have gotten. A good hit with a pressure washer could certainly do some damage. I'd just go over it with a rag and degreaser (I'd even wear a chemical/solvent resistant glove while doing it, some degreasers are very harsh on the skin).

Jay

[DevonD]

i have worked at a few car dealerships part time and cleaning the engines on new and used cars we would just soak them in degreaser then pressure wash them clean. no cars have ever broken or anything after that. i think its safe to do.

[sweet3rdgen]

I always pressure wash with the engine warmed up and then drive it for a little while. This will dry everything.