Ejehjoe:
I have learnt much from post. I have finally concluded not to wash my car engine again save dusting and minor cleanings as directed above. God bless the poster. Worthy of occupying front page!

sdkalu:
I did so to my car 2 year ago, my car had not recovered from that shock. It was the Genesis of my car engine problem. I kept changing and changing until i left the car for up to 1 year after which my pastor redidcated the car and since then it is working but not like before. Up till this moment my car ac is not working etc.

I don't advice any one to do that.

d33types:
never..

a rag or foam dipped in fuel can be used to clean any dirty parts

billyG:

make sure u dnt start d car until dry completely.

titosantana:
I did that once and I vow never to do it again. This happened two years ago.



It happened thus: after the watching, car refused to start, the mechanic I called had to work on it for like 2hrs before it eventually start. Meen that was so painful for I had lots to do that day.

ataspray:
lol what cars do you people drive biko? from what I am reading here, it seems people dont wash their engines because they feel some problem would arise from doing that?

Siena:
The only issue with water ingress when an engine is steam cleaned, is compromised electrical connectors. If they have been "modified", then these connectors won't be water proof. Water in such areas can cause short circuits, partial or total.

Alternators are seldom waterproof, and are designed to operate even if water gets in under normal operation conditions. When driving in pouring rain, the engine bay does get wet, through the front grille, as well as from underneath the car. The fan also throws water over all components, including the alternator, ignition coil etc. If this will put a car out of action, then there's a problem.

Even with my mom's old Peugeot 504 GL, I washed the engine regularly with a hose and stiff brush, the only vulnerable area was the distributor, which I protected with a plastic carrier bag. This car never had any issues stemming from regular engine washing, and the engine bay looked mint. We lived in Benin City, with it's red dust, so I washed the engine and the bay once a very 2 weeks.

My Audi A4 Quattro engine is steam cleaned / pressure washed on a regular basis, I have been doing this for over 20 years, and I'm yet to suffer any catastrophic failure. On occasion, I have had a misfire, which has cleared itself as the engine warmed up, but this was in the early days. Now I run the engine till it's warm, then proceed to steam clean it while it's still running. Which is a similar condition to driving in heavy rain conditions.

Siena:


Alternators are seldom waterproof, and are designed to operate even if water gets in under normal operation conditions. When driving in pouring rain, the engine bay does get wet, through the front grille, as well as from underneath the car. Now I run the engine till it's warm, then proceed to steam clean it while it's still running. Which is a similar condition to driving in heavy rain conditions.

udy4real:


Won't try it again after I washed my engine some 2 years ago and after washing I left d car wash around 7pm and before I could drive like 200 meters my car stopped,I tried to start again for d next hour but it refused,looked for any rewire or mechanic to help but they had all gone had to get some boys to push me to a filling station and look for a hotel nearby to save my head,woke up very early to go fix it and was told dat my alternator was burnt,terrible experience

akanniade10:
So in other words, it is good practice to steam wash the engine while it's running

paulavon:
When washing your engine do not allow them to use that water pressure machine to wash the engine sensitive parts such as Alternator,coil,nozzle,sensors,fuses,plug area,carburetor in manual cars, kick starters,etc. They should wash these parts with rag and little water.
You need to be there to guide them and ensure that those sensitive parts are well covered with polythene bag or rags.

greggng:
Engine wash is very necessary. Anytime I ply. Any dirty road and I. Discover. My engine is dirty, I must wash it. Must people complaining here are not using toyota. With toyota cars no shakin. All the needed is to cover the alternator and block side and u re good to go. Washing ur engine and radiator could be a permanent solution to overheating

sdkalu:
I dont advice any one to do that. Since i washed my car engine my car is yet to recover from the shock.

Siena:


Actually, most people complaining here are using Toyota.

Besides, there are other cars in the world besides Toyota.

Out of interest, how do you c

over the "block side"?

Siena:
The only issue with water ingress when an engine is steam cleaned, is compromised electrical connectors. If they have been "modified", then these connectors won't be water proof. Water in such areas can cause short circuits, partial or total.

Alternators are seldom waterproof, and are designed to operate even if water gets in under normal operation conditions. When driving in pouring rain, the engine bay does get wet, through the front grille, as well as from underneath the car. The fan also throws water over all components, including the alternator, ignition coil etc. If this will put a car out of action, then there's a problem.

Even with my mom's old Peugeot 504 GL, I washed the engine regularly with a hose and stiff brush, the only vulnerable area was the distributor, which I protected with a plastic carrier bag. This car never had any issues stemming from regular engine washing, and the engine bay looked mint. We lived in Benin City, with it's red dust, so I washed the engine and the bay once every 2 weeks.

My Audi A4 Quattro engine is steam cleaned / pressure washed on a regular basis, I have been doing this for over 20 years, and I'm yet to suffer any catastrophic failure. On occasion, I have had a misfire, which has cleared itself as the engine warmed up, but this was in the early days. Now I run the engine till it's warm, then proceed to steam clean it while it's still running. Which is a similar condition to driving in heavy rain conditions.

peterjero:

Daddy Siena if I got you right, you mean you wash the engine when car is running, isn't there a possibility of contraction of the engine as heat expand metal and water contracts. Just learning because I had a misfire once which I traced to the distributor, I then removed and cleaned with gasoline and I was good to go. This happened in my Camry but haven't washed the benz engine once just afraid of German electricals.

suteco16:
I have never done this and I wil never do it!

It does not stop car from working proper to my own understanding ooo!