Washing Your Engine Bay - A Step By Step Guide

[ankit024]

how can i clean the engine bay wagon r

hi i want to know that i hve a wagonr 2008 cng model. the engine bay is dirty and need a wash.. please can any one tell me can i direct wash it with water. or some other thing first have to be cover , not get that area watered.

please reply soon..

 

[sumitsinha12]

Hi ankit024, Please make sure to cover the alternator, air filter intake, sensors which are directly visible, fuse box, Negative terminal of the battery, electrical couplers, security alarm buzzer(If inside the engine bay) and any other electrical part related to CNG setup.
Do not use direct jet of water on the engine but spray the water evenly with low pressure.
After complete wash, make sure you dry all the couplers and sensors with pressurised air by vaccum cleaner., After that start your car for a few minutes.

 

[IndicaDLS2002]

I always thought & most people I have spoken to also were hesitant to use any water inside the engine bay because apart from the electrical stuff even a little water can cause rust. So I just dust it regularly & leave the cleaning part to the ASC folks who apparently clean it with diesel.

Just curious whats the need to clean it or keep it sparkling clean, is it just visual appearance or some purpose behind the whole thing?

 

[sumitsinha12]

IndicaDLS2002- See, If your engine bay is clean and sparkling your air intake will suck in less dust. Apart from that if dust enters in some couplers or sensors it can cause problems with the vehicle.
Apart from that, if you keep your car sparkling from outside, you should also keep it sparkling from everywhere rather ignoring the engine bay.
A clean engine will return you good mileage and better performance.

 

[Kichu]

Good share .

Once I requested MASS to clean my engine bay. Which resulted in faulty IAC value.(I strongly suspect its because of washing without proper care)

 

[sumitsinha12]

Kichu- May be. From the next time ask them to cover all the electricals and after washing dry the engine bay properly with compressed air. Sometimes they simply start the engine and let it dry without drying it with compressed air which can be disastrous for modern cars.

 

[jazzyb5454]

Has anybody tried to wash engine bay of VW Polo. i am attaching a pic of Polo's Engine Bay, any help will be apprciated.

 

[sumitsinha12]

Hi jazzyb5454, Any engine bay you wash, just cover these things-
Air intake, Battery terminals, Light couplers, ECM (If its there in engine bay), any electrical coupler, all sensors, alternator and you are good to go.
Remember to dry the water completely before starting the car.
Use plastic and rubber band for masking.

For engine bay you can also use diluted Vim Liquid, yes the same what we use in kitchen), works good on soiled areas.
I have been using this method in my ritz petrol and my 800 carb, no prob so far.

 

[deville_56]

I simply cover up the air intake, then spray diesel all over and use pressure washer in wide spray mode

 

[sumitsinha12]

Hi deville_56, Diesel works great on oily areas, But since you are using water afterwards, i think you should not take chances and cover all electricals as well as dry them with compressed air to avoid any issues.

 

[deville_56]

Hi deville_56, Diesel works great on oily areas, But since you are using water afterwards, i think you should not take chances and cover all electricals as well as dry them with compressed air to avoid any issues.

It's good to take precautions, but as a matter of fact 90% of the service center including authorized simply sprays water into the bonnet, some got diesel bottle attachment which sprays diesel along with water for better cleaning. If you are lucky enough, they dry the car in sun. I believe, most modern cars are designed to withstand these. Even one of the most reputed tuner/detailed does the same here. Seeing that one of the popular member over this forum started doing the same, then I started doing the same after seeing him do. So far so good. No issues at all with multiple cars. Yet to try on Polo, which was the only one dealer cautioned us not to spray.

Manually cleaning every nook and corner under the hood is tedious when you got more than one car to wash in a row , so we adopted the old school way.

Of course there may be risk involved.

 

[jazzyb5454]

It's good to take precautions, but as a matter of fact 90% of the service center including authorized simply sprays water into the bonnet, some got diesel bottle attachment which sprays diesel along with water for better cleaning. If you are lucky enough, they dry the car in sun. I believe, most modern cars are designed to withstand these. Even one of the most reputed tuner/detailed does the same here. Seeing that one of the popular member over this forum started doing the same, then I started doing the same after seeing him do. So far so good. No issues at all with multiple cars. Yet to try on Polo, which was the only one dealer cautioned us not to spray.

Manually cleaning every nook and corner under the hood is tedious when you got more than one car to wash in a row , so we adopted the old school way.

Of course there may be risk involved.

I will be trying pressure washing on polo's engine bay in some days, lets hope for the best. Can anybody tell me where is the ECU situated in Polo?

 

[deville_56]

I will be trying pressure washing on polo's engine bay in some days, lets hope for the best. Can anybody tell me where is the ECU situated in Polo?

I believe, it sits behind the air filter box.

 

[teamphd60]

Hi Sumit,

sorry for the super delayed reply...

Suzuki Esteem, Subaru Forester and Toyota Vios

 

[ADSA]

A word of caution
Always drive your car after engine wash for 4-5kms
It helps to remove all the water.

Also, You may use a air pump for tyres to blow the water off from engine.


I would simply avoid water washing the engine.