86 951 Driver

Has anyone tried to clean up their engine bay with a power sprayer. Many years ago I did this to my dad's 944 and had no issues. We sprayed some engine degreaser on and sprayed it off with low pressure. We did make sure to cover up the electronics such as the ignition. But has anyone else done this with good or bad results.

krystar

depends on condition of the wiring. if everything's intact, then yea cover up alternator and battery

944CS

I wouldn't do it

Too many possible issues down the road

These cars are old now - connections are already corroded as is

Mr.Rodgers

I agree with 944CS. I did it with low pressure and a little heat when I was in high school working as a detail guy. I tried it once on my S2 with just regular hose pressure and no heat at all and ended up having to replace some wires. Not recommended for our old wires/seals

mytrplseven

The engine bay is one thing. The engine itself is another thing entirely. I used Gunk, brass brushes and in a few small places, brake or carb cleaner with the brush. Since I ended up exposing most of the engine over time by pulling the intake manifold, oil pan, cam tower, dropped front suspension and cross member, and replacing all the rubber seals front and rear and belts I had better access to all those hard to reach places. I did, however, take a pressure washer to the transaxle and cv ares in the rear which meant I had to lay down and shoot up. Well, there was a lot of crud that came out from under there and it all rolled downhill to me. When I stood up it looked like I'd struck oil. What a mess!

HICKS

I spray mine all the time, no issue if you cover up the important things, and your car isnt a piece of ****.

River

LOL @ Hicks!!

The man is kinda right.

I'm kinda partial to the cheapo Napa smells like oranges engine cleaner. I've a lot of stuff, this just works.

Spray it on, let it sit, NICELY spray off with hose. No real need to get a power washer out.

Under the car. Brake cleaner or dawn.

and I feel ya on the river of oil. Blech. Some p.o.'s need to be shot. My trans was so filthy it was just wrong. No heat issue on the console anymore after serious douching....lol!

mytrplseven

Almost all of the oil that covered the transaxle was thrown up from the cv joints and leaking output shaft seals. Here again, all the rubber seals in the car have turned to plastic.

67King

A few things:
1. Big pressure washer on lower parts of the engine, the bay, underside, etc. is all good, no problems.
2. For the hard to reach stuff, there is a better solution. Get a sand blasting nozzle and a 5 gallon bucket of hot water. You still get snotloads of high pressure, high velocity water, but it is with a MUCH more controllable delivery system.
3. Oven cleaner does wonders on caked on stuff.
4. Orange citrus cleaner by the gallon at Home Depot does wonders for everything else.

Van

I've done it several times with no problems. If those wires are that fragile, it's time to replace them.

odurandina

i have this automotive genius friend. he says the more oil you can leave on an engine, the better.... and to some extent, i believe he's right. except for 1 huge problem. the Porsche 924/944/968's already extremely challenged and overly-exposed electrical systems.... dirt and muds tend to leave salt deposits behind, encouraging wires and dozens of connections to ionize and corrode (our cars' bodies too).... not so great when all that crap (and roadsalt) gets all caked up in that oil from splattering ps pumps and scooped up off the roads and other cars... so there can be good oil, to lubricate and block moisture from metal surfaces. but in the real world, it becomes corrosive.

spray away.

Bill

I power wash mine all the time. Ocationally it may not start if the connectors to the injectors get wet. I just disconnect each injector connector, spray with WD40 to clear the moisture and it starts right up.

Cole

I've washed every motor I have ever had in every car every time I wash the car. I have run many of these cars up over the 300k mile point with no issues.

First thing to remember is that the engine compartment is designed as a "wet" compartment by engineers. Otherwise they would find a way to make them water tight

Leaving oil and crap on your engine is an insane idea. First, all these chemicals eat away at seals, wires, belts, etc. Secondly, the dirt and oil traps in heat!!

Keep the engine clean and it will run cooler, seals, belts hoses last longer, and you can tell as soon as you have even the slightest problem and address it before it becomes a big problem!

Use a good degreaser to do most of the work on a motor that has not been cleaned before. Don't blast the power washer right up on connectors and such. If you do get a touch of water in them the first time, they will simply dry out and work in a little while.

Once you have the "big cleaning" done. Get in the habit of just lifting the hood and rinsing it off every time you wash the car. You will be amazed at the difference this makes in maintaining it.

Cole

FWIW, here is my Audi motor with 170k on it. Was a daily driver, snow, rain, etc. granted we did a little polishing in here. But this was the state it was in all the time with just lifting the hood and cleaning when doing a basic car wash.

86 951 Driver

I am wanting to clean the bottom part of my engine off so I can see where exactly stuff is leaking.