hey. I was always skeptical about washing car engines with a pressure washer due to the electronics ect. Alot of people say its okay and some say its not. What do you guys say? Is there anything you should cover up or can I just spray her down without the plastic cover on it? Thank you

 

I don't use a pressure washer on the engine bay, just elbow grease. Being an ex-VW/Audi guy, I had too many problems with coilpacks, MAFs, and other wiring whenever I washed an engine bay, so I try to use as little water as possible.

 

+1

Always a risk getting water in sensitive areas under pressure. Have seen cars get screwed up due to rusting coil packs and other electrical.

I use a wet rag and just wipe. If I need to rinse, I use a garden hose under light mist. I also do it on a semi warm engine to help with evaporation. Do not wash a hot engine.

 

I would highly discourage using a pressure washer to clean your engine bay. Like Mustang said, you can clean most areas with a wet rag by hand. I have cleaned every crevice of my engine bay by hand and have never pressure washed it. Too many things can go wrong and its really not necessary.

 

Thank you! That answers all my questions

 

The only place it's safe to use a Pressure Washer in our wheel wells and like everyone mentioned never under the hood! They work great on garage floors and driveways too....
Gary

 

I used the spray on engine cleaner and set the car wash pressure to low

worked fine.

just cover up your intake/air filter areas

 

the dealership offers a pressure wash to the engine...for what its worth

 

I spray down everything with diluted Simple Green, wipe everything with a wet sponge and then rinse with low pressure from a garden hose. I'm always worried about electrical problems too, but I haven't had any issues with this method.

 

The dealers know how to wash the car with a pressure wash. They always clean mine spotless!

 

Is there any benefit to doing this that would offset the risks? Doesn't seem worth it to me.

 

They also know how to put an assload of swirl marks in my paint when they do a 'complimentary detail.' They might as well say, "Hey, we made sure that you'll be busy with your buffer soon."

 

Lol. Dealers want to power wash your engine. Any water that makes it into the cops guarantees them future business when they rust and fail.


Same goes to open hood scoops. Can't tell you how many of my friends daily drove cars with open hood scoops on top and eventually developed a misfire. We pull the cops and they are rusted to he'll from water dumping on the engine when driving in the rain.

Engine covers and bottom belly plastics are good for keeping water out.

 

I have washed my engine bay with a small pressure washer. Although nothing happened right at the time. About a week later, my battery went out while I was in SD. Maybe the cause? Maybe not. But I wont power wash it again

 

I'm not a fan of using a pressure washer. I always just use a small spray bottle of water to get rid of some of the excess engine cleaner.