Thread: Wash down engine bay?

No worries at all,washed mine thoroughly hundreds of times.
I did try to keep water away from the engine ECU,which is next to the battery.

Its the D3/4,that you can't hose off,unless you are very very careful,i have never done mine.

Cool. Thanks Scarry. I've been wondering about this too.

About the only thing I used to do was cover up the alternator.


Cheers, Jerry

Never had a problem washing mine .... 1 or 2 cans of supercheap aerosol degreaser through the whole engine bay ... And let soak for a while, then wash down with the twist nozzle on a garden hose set to very low flow in a big circular pattern (gives high pressure, low flow). Work the nozzle around every nook and cranny .... then, Chemtech CT-18 Truckwash in a 7.5L pressure sprayer mixed at 10:1. Give a thorough application all over, and let sit for an hour or two, with a final wash down with the garden hose set as indicated above.

Looks and smells brilliant when complete ... and makes the rego inspection dude raise his eyebrows .... Nothing to see here, move along! 8)

Truckwash works great underbody as well. I do the complete underbody (crawl under and do every part of the underbody) then wash down with a high volume full circle fan spray sprinkler nozzle mounted on a 90deg elbow on the end of 1m pipe piece with a click on hose fitting on the other end ... So you can reach well in, under and up into the underbody to wash off.

Just be careful around your electrics and you'll be good to go!

Excuse my ignorance or lack of knowledge but why would an under body car wash be hazardous with a snorkel fitted?
I can perhaps see how it may not be advisable through a regular car wash. Visions of high speed brushes ripping the top off pumping soapy water down the resulting opening.
Is that what you are concerned about?

Ray

I've been washing my engine bay for years with truck wash and high pressure hose. I was only careful with the alt, I didn't do under the engine cover (not sure if you can or not, I just never bothered) and never washed under the battery cover where the ECU is. This was my 99 model just before I sold it last month. I didn't think it looked too bad for a 17yr old car

Originally Posted by Chook1961

Excuse my ignorance or lack of knowledge but why would an under body car wash be hazardous with a snorkel fitted?
I can perhaps see how it may not be advisable through a regular car wash. Visions of high speed brushes ripping the top off pumping soapy water down the resulting opening.
Is that what you are concerned about?

Ray

The under body car wash, also had high pressure streams from above and sides.

Originally Posted by scarry

Its the D3/4,that you can't hose off,unless you are very very careful,i have never done mine.

I hose out under the bonnet on my D4 regularly - have never had a problem.

Probably wouldn't recommend using a high pressure gun or similar under there, and don't direct a jet of water toward electrical components - but other than using common sense, I don't see any reason at all why you can't hose out under a D4 bonnet.

As to original post - have also hosed out under the bonnet of D2 Td5 on many occasions - have even (carefully) used a high pressure gerni-gun under there to de-grease the engine. Never had a problem.