2ndof2

Anybody know of a good place in the Ventura Ca area for getting a good steam clean to my engine done? Any tips on what to tell the folks who do it? Is there another advisible way of doing this besides a steam clean approach? My engine is a bit of a mess from several leaks over the past two years or so and before I have some motor work done I'd like to see where its leaking from for sure. Its about ready for all the belts including a new timing belt and water pump but may need some power steering hoses and a couple of other misc gaskets up on the front end. Need to see whats what.

ViribusUnits

I wouldn't do it.

Too many platic thingies. Steam is HOT! If any of them gets a solid blast, I would bet thats the end of 'em.

The best way I've heard of is to go through the engine bay with alought of elbow grease, rags, and simple green.

Anything that involves high pressures, or high temps, or highly corosive chemicals I'd stay away from. It's too easy to get some water/chemical under a connecter, into something important, and fry something important. At least in my opinion.

2ndof2

Most of the mess is on the underside and lower front side of the motor. Isn't that area mostly waterproof for rainy days?

ViribusUnits

it's all "water proof" Everything in the engine bay is water proof, sorta.

it's not, IMHO, "steam proof" Steam is rather hot, and contians alought of energy for it's mass. My bet would be that there are at least a few things that won't like getting sprayed with steam.

Btw, the O2 sensor doesn't like getting water in it. I dought it would like steam eighter.

JE928Sx4.

Did wonders on my 83 5-Spd. I'm getting ready to do it on my S4 before I start replacing harnesses and A/C lines.

Richard S

Here's the deal, break down a couple large cardboard boxes and lay underneath the engine. Buy a case of BrakeClean and go crazy! That stuff will spray/melt/blow everything off the engine and drip onto the cardboard boxes. Let it evaporate, then dispose of boxes. You may need to use a brush and rags with the BrakeClean, but believe me that stuff will work wonders taking off the oil and other gunk on your engine.

Rich.

jadavis01

I have steam cleaned the engine and undercarraige of my 83 and 87 928's without any problems. I usually spray the engine with a can of engine cleaner, wait 30 minutes and then steam clean it with about 500 psi of 250 degree steam. I do let the engine dry for a couple of hours before starting it.
John

Eric Dvorak

I just sold the one I had on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=2359337995
I did use it a few times on the 928 without any problems, I would just warm up the engine a bit, not to hot and spray it with Gunk engine cleaner let it soak about 10 min. and hose it off.
I wouldn't spray Simple Green on it, it's acidic and any bare aluminum will start foaming and will end up with a white powdery residue that doesn't clean off, ask me why I have so many chromed aluminum parts in the engine compartment!

Old & New

I would be very careful where *any* pressurized stream is directed.

Injecting fluids under the edge of rubber boots, and the like, is probably best avoided.

I would consider the engine compartment components "splash resistant", but not "waterproof".

Rich9928p

After cleaning the engine, it is adviseable to remove the distributor cap(s) and dry the insides out, pull the plug wires and dry the inside of the caps, and pull connectors apart and clean/dry them.

If you have misfire due to spark jumping/grounding or not all cylinders firing damage can be done. It isn't a bad idea to clean contact and connectors every few years since the number one cause of electrical problems are bad connection.

Lizard928

I have not steam cleaned, but I have pressurewashed the bottom of my engine

SteveCo

I spent much of the early part of 2003 cleaning the lower part of the engine...several years of oil leaks and related sludge made for a messy place.

I used a combination of liquid degreaser (Castrol SuperClean), pressure washer (relatively low pressure and directed in the right places) and manual scrubbing. It worked wonders. One note though: the Castrol products (and other orange-based degreasers) do not like a warm engine...cool or cold only.

I found on trick to applying the degreaser was to load it into a pressurized deck sprayer...the kind you use to clean pressure-treated wood. This makes it easy to spray into hard-to-get-at areas and results in using less liquid.

A strong hose spray works fine, but I found that a fan spray on the pressure washer was helpful on the tough stuff. It can be a challenge working with the spray wand and hose on the pressure washer, though. Be sure to use eye protection...and take care to avoide direct blasts at any painted surface. The aluminum seems to like it just fine though.

A nice stiff plastic bristle toothbrush is good to get at stubborn areas. And expect alot of sand and grit...particularly on the crossmember/steering rack area.

Regards,
SteveCo in St. John's

Regards,
SteveCo

Beth

We just pressure washed the top and bottom of the '83 engine compartment and all turned out great. Ok, actually I didn't want to do it, so when I caught BF doing it I pretended I didn't see then I didn't even look any more. But all turned out fine, car ran great, and what a HUGE improvement.

Told him to still stay away from the '87 though!

bcdavis

I have done it several times on my car.
The great thing, is having a spotless engine.
Then you can see any leak whatsoever, and you can tell where it is coming from.
If you worry about the effects of the water/steam, just let it dry for several hours,
or even overnight, before starting it. Then all the water will have evaporated.
Once the engine is running, any excess water will evaporate quickly once the
engine heats up. The only issue I have ever had, is with water in the distributor
cap. Because the water will re-condense on the top, even if it evaporates from
inside the distributor. So I generally just steer clear of the distriburor, and if you
have any problems, just pop the cap, and let it dry out for a bit...

But it feels great to have a spotless engine. It really does.
No dirt, no grease, no oil... Just aluminum, plastic, etc...