slicky rick

Can we just clean our engines by pointing a pressure washer at it. I read somewhere that our engines are designed to not get damaged by getting wet eg: duck tails allows water to directly hit the engine. Can we simply clean by using a pressure washer. What are the donts and dos?

Quadcammer

use your head.

pressure washers can deliver up to 1600psi. If you think that this is equivalent to water dripping through a ducktail, i don't know what to tell you.

There is absolutely no reason to blast away with a pressure washer. If you absolutely must wash the engine (although i can't see why), just use a regular hose, minimal water and avoid spraying at the connectors and alternator/elec equipment

zer026T

+1 on the no pressure washer. I cleaned my engine bay today for the first time in 16 months. Do a search, you'll find lots of different methods to do this.

My method:
Start with a cold engine
Cover the alternator and air intake with a plastic grocery bag
Spray down with low pressure garden hose
Agitate surfaces with a detailer's brush and damp cloth, then rinse again
Use your preferred engine cleaner (I used a mild citrus based interior plastic cleaner)
Scrub again, follow with a rinse
Dry off as much as you can with a dry towel/rag.. Leaf blower or compressed air comes in handy here too. Remove the plastic bags.
Some choose to add a dressing to give it an extra rich look

Edgy01

You can use a pressure washer carefully on the bottom side of the engine, but use caution due to the potential pressure they can produce. I wouldn't use one on the top side unless I had the pressure dialed way down. and perhaps masked off some areas. I would consider it overkill. Is your engine really that dirty?

Show us a photo.

jhbrennan

Come on man...you have way too much time on your hands. My car is 5 years old with 31,000 miles and the engine looks great. If you really want to use a pressure wash, drop the engine, put it on a stand and then wash it. Do you really want water in all the nooks and crannies of the engine. Use some common sense.

slicky rick

Well brothers where i am there is a lot of rain and dust which over time accumulates on the engine and the compartment. I envy you guys if your engines do not get dirty with use. Nevertheless engine washing where i am is done without much fuss, but i am not very sure with the porsche engine thus the inquiry. Zer026t's suggestion looks like its the one that is going to help me. Dan, its not really a mess in there as there are no oil leaks but running 3 years sometimes in very rainy weather and sometimes in very dusty area accumulates in the engine bay. Just want it to be sparkling clean again like when it was new. You guys know what i mean...jhbrennan, your suggestion is a good one though as you say i have too much time in my hands but not that much time as your suggestion would take. Nevertheless i envy you if your engine and engine bay is still sparkling clean. My car is white by the way.

USMC_DS1

I would be concerned about the various electrical connectors back there being damaged by the water pressure and/or water retention afterwards... namely the oxygen sensors, MAF, oil sender, their connection points, etc... just to name a few. I've used a moist towel to wipe off certain parts back there. Underneath the engine I'll use brake cleaner especially on the exhaust system... it evaporates quickly after being applied and knocks out grease well enough. GL, let us know what you end up doing and what effects you notice.

slicky rick

well i sprayed on water based general purpose cleaner after covering the air filter inlet and the alternator. i then sprayed it with water to rinse the cleaner off. it seems to have worked as the dirt in the compartment just rinsed off. one notices the dirt specially in a white engine compartment. after rinsing with a lot of water, i dried off the connectors with compressed air. nice and clean. started the car and it started right up. apparently no problems...yet. in terms of water retention, i would think one good healthy run would dry it up completely. the heat our engine release after a run and when its parked in the garage is really a lot.

slicky rick

by the way i did not use the pressure washer and did as our brother zer0 mentioned above. just rinse with pressure from the tap

7500rpm

If you travel around south east Asia, you will see engine wash as a common supplement to their car wash. And, yes, they use their pressure washer on the engine. My guess is not to spray too closely. I have personally used a garden hose directly on my engine, avoiding direct aim at electrical parts and did not have any problem. I believe even direct aim at the alternator could be fine because it must get some amount of water on it in a heavy rainfall. Wouldn't test it for fun, though.

Chaos

Someone once "There are no dumb questons" They Lied

GR997S

Tough crowd.......

PasPar2

Here is how I was my engine:

I DONT.

Macster

My advice is to not clean the engine unless it is a precursor to some kind of engine work and the tech believes a cleaning is called for. I would never use a pressure washer.

Use some kind of mild cleaner (Simple Green?) and then rinse ideally with hot water (but not too hot). Afterwards start the engine and run it long enough to get the engine hot enough to dry it thoroughly along with generating enough heat the engine compartment gets hot enough to drive all moisture out.

The only time I cleaned my 02 Boxster in the last 11 years a few days afterwards the spoiler malfunctioned. Just as inexplicably as the malfunction appeared it went away to never (so far) appear again.

But I have not washed my car's engine since either.

PHX 911

It's common to clean the engine bay when doing a full detail.
A mild cleaner, such as Simple Green and a long handled, soft bristle brush is my tool of choice, along with a hose.
There are a number of products (sprays) that will dress up the rubber items.
Adam of Adams Polishes calls guys that clean their engine bays "2%'rs", as only 2% of owners ever do this.