You should never wash the engine bay with low pressure water. It can cause heavy amounts of water to get into areas you dont want; like electrical connections and the such. Always use high pressure water to wash things. This way, not as much water is used and it will eliminate the possibility of heavy amounts of water getting into things you dont want it to. Plus the high pressure water will clean things off better. I saw this on a DIY engine bay cleaning video.

 

Um no, most of the electrical connections are pretty water resistant, if theres any standing water it will evaporate in the heat when you drive it after. Using high pressure water is asking for trouble, the water will go past the seals into places that you dont want.

 

^^^I agree. The reason I used the low pressure was so that I had more control over where it was going. Using high pressure seems like it would spray everywhere and get everything wet, whether you want it to or not.

I avoided electrical connections. My engine bay is pretty clean as is. I went around the outside and really didn't need to clean the engine directly. I used ~2 gallons of water in total. That was overkill rinsing everything I needed to.

 

JESUS #### that turbo shield could deflect this economy its so big. Looks INSANE.

 

holy shitzee

 

I disagree. High pressure water will overcome the seals and boots on the electrical connectors. Low pressure water will not. The connections under your hood are designed to be driven in harsh weather all the cars life. Don't be afraid to hose them off. Now don't go topping off the radiator fluid through the air filter.

Come hang out at my food plant on a Monday morning and see the damage a pressure washer can do to electronics.

 

That’s the true, I design and sell industrial refrigeration equipment and most of my customers are large processing plants, the wash down crew always finds a way to ruin our evaporators. High pressure washers are a BAD idea.

If we are going into details:

First let the engine cool down completely, I usually let it sit overnight.

Get out the brake clean and take off any oil spots

The use my Mr Clean wash gun with dish soap and spray it down.

Using a small bucket with soap and water I use a small kitchen sponge to clean all the surfaces. I recommend nitrile gloves otherwise you are defiantly going to get laid open trying to get in all the nooks and crannies.

Next I use water from the garden hose to rinse off the soap.

After rinsing I switch my Mr. Clean to softened water and do the final rinse.

I clean up the water and hose and then break out the leaf blower and start drying from the top down. Making sure to get water out of all the bolt heads, cross member, frame rails…….. where it collects.


If I want to show it then I will get out the Armorall and quick detailer to get it spotless and shinny. Another method I have tried is to spray tire shine on the engine bay let it sit overnight and then wash it the next day avoiding the plastic and rubber with the sponge.

 

^^^lot of hard work you put into your car. But it shows in the end how worth it, it is.

 

I have seen plenty of people use tire shine to clean their engine bays for shows/etc..while it looks great...it QUICKLY holds dust/dirt, so the next time you pop your hood, you have a layer of nastyness...trying wiping that off, never make that mistake again (did it on my old car).

Some elbow grease goes along way, but if you wanna get a headstart on a bay thats been neglected, grab some detailing, engine cleaner, and just lay a rag on stuff you are leary about...hit it with the hose..clean it off, fire the car up, the heat from the motor will evap the water before it hurts anything.

 

I'm the lead electrician. I hate water more than I ever thought I would!