Is washing your engine at the car wash a good idea

[madbomber08]

Just a while back I noticed that my valve cover gaskets were leaking and was wondering what the proper procedure was to wash the grease off the heads before I re torqued the bolts. I guess now I know to use Simple Green or Gunk and just use a light stream of water to wash off. Thanks for the info everyone!

 

[12guns]

I will add I had a friends Lexus years ago that got a cracked spark plug from steam cleaning the engine...the people that did it could have very well pressure washed it, don't really know. But the plugs are not very protected on that car. The water went down around the spark plug boot and cracked a hot ceramic spark plug. Took a while to track down the problem, but needless to say he does NOT have his engine washed anymore.
Our plugs on the 4runner and Tacoma's are very well protected, although not water proof.

 

[MICA4R]

Dishsoap and a bucket of water toothbrush, sponge & rag to clean. Turtle wax on the plastic.

 

[drforton]

I highly doubt an engine will crack from washing it with cold water. I have had over a dozen cars, and every time I would was the engine bay, I would run it until it's at temp, spray it with engine degreaser, let it sit for 10-15 minutes, and pressure wash it. I did learn my lesson once tho on a VW Golf a while ago. I sprayed too much water on the distributor and it shut off, and wouldn't start back up till I dried it out.

I have pressure washed my Runner (HOT "at temp") under the hood several times, and if you avoid the fuse box/electrical stuff, you'll be fine. You can spray the fuse box and electrical wires lightly, but just don't lay on it to long with the high pressure.

Low pressure works as well, but it's just not the same. High pressure gets all the junk out of the truck. Good luck.

 

[12guns]

Anyone else use foaming tire cleaner? Works great for me, just spray on and leave it...next time you open the hood it'll be sparkling clean, other than the stubborn stuff that might need scrubbing of course.

 

[Atlanta_man]

Don't the v8 exhaust manifolds crack on their own without any help from a power wash ?

 

[JohnnyT]

Read the bottom of this link to understand how to clean your engine bay properly.......

Auto Detailing Guide - Detailed Image

 

[Snesley Wipes]

Notice with most degreasers, it says to spray on COLD engine, wait 5-10 minutes, then spray.

BTW, the degreaser manufacturers recommend spraying their product on a cold engine because the boiling and vapor points of the degreasers are extremely low. It will literally burn off of a hot engine in seconds and not have the contact time it needs to degrease. I like engine degreasers and Simple Green as other members have mentioned, definitely before the powerwash.

 

[jow]

PEACE! Keep Doing What Works For You. I’ll only go for that grease or grime I notice as PM toward any bigger problems. Then "maybe" a light washing yearly or so if dust/dirt dictates the need. jow

 

[NJshadow93]

I have yet to wash my engine bay. I'm one of those people who is worried about effing up my truck, haha. I really gotta do it though. It's covered in mud. I already bought engine cleaner a few months ago but it's been sitting in the garage since.

 

[Desert Fox]

Interesting conversation, we get concerned about simple things but then

Lets install a snorkel and go drive across a creek....

I dont understand all the concern about washing the engine, just use common sense. Dont put cold water on hot surfaces and water and electricity cause short circuits.

 

[UteRunner]

I take my T4R to a car wash 30 seconds away and my engine really doesn't get the chance to get hot. I use the low pressure wash with the motor off and haven't had any problems. Figure if I can go through puddles that get my engine cover wet, then a low pressure wash can't hurt anything.

 

[CookieRoe]

Dishsoap and a bucket of water toothbrush, sponge & rag to clean. Turtle wax on the plastic.

Dishsoap: Nice!
Toothbrush: I remember WHEN I had the patience to do so, hahahha
Turtle Wax: I know you meant some "black restorer/back to black/plastic"-like product right? Which one?

MICA4R: Engine bay looks sweet!!

 

[MikeInNH]

I highly doubt an engine will crack from washing it with cold water.

Engine probably won't crack..but cold water could easily crack the exhaust manifolds.

 

[08T4R]

50/50 dawn dish soap and water in a garden sprayer, then rinse off. Follow up with some tire shine and you have a dealer clean engine. No harsh chemicals involved.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Like somebody pointed out with creek crossing and I've never heard a worry about cold water hitting anything;use common sense and don't use high pressure need electrical stuff and don't continuously spray in one spot more than a couple of secs on a hot engine and there will be zero worries.

 

[Zuke]

I just leave my hood open when going through the car wash. Why waste time...

 

[Desert Fox]

I dont know if they still do it but car dealers used to Steam Clean the engines. Man, that did a great job of getting the crud off the engine

 

[drforton]

Engine probably won't crack..but cold water could easily crack the exhaust manifolds.

OK buddy.., how about driving window deep thru cold puddles with a snorkel? Why doesn't anyone have problems with that??? Same difference, if not worst. A light pressure wash spray is probably much milder on a manifold than a total submerge under water...

Either way, I don't think it's a problem. I've done both. Thru mud, water, and even pressure washing as mentioned before, and I haven't had a problem for three years... :thumb3:

CLEAN YOUR ENGINE!!! KEEP YOUR TRUCK HAPPY!!!

Do you like a dirty butt hole??? Didn't think so!!! :toilet:

 

[Belovian]

OK buddy.., how about driving window deep thru cold puddles with a snorkel? Why doesn't anyone have problems with that??? Same difference, if not worst. A light pressure wash spray is probably much milder on a manifold than a total submerge under water...

Either way, I don't think it's a problem. I've done both. Thru mud, water, and even pressure washing as mentioned before, and I haven't had a problem for three years... :thumb3:

CLEAN YOUR ENGINE!!! KEEP YOUR TRUCK HAPPY!!!

Do you like a dirty butt hole??? Didn't think so!!! :toilet:

Exactly, and you want worse than that. Try driving through a 20" deep slush and salt water puddle. The salt can actually make the water stay liquid below 0* (32 f*). If I can drive through that repeatedly all winter, cold water isn't going to crack anything. The kid who used to detail the used cars at our dealership, wouldn't wait for them to cool, and he sure wasn't careful with the pressure washer. You should still use some common sense, however and not get too close to connectors etc... If your car develops an issue after washing the engine, it was something that was on it's way anyways.

Jesse