05garnet_ltd_gt Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 i am curious to know if anyone has steam cleaned their legacy's engine bay. I know some dealerships do this on used and new cars, to make them look pristine under the hood. I know some people have used engine cleaners in a can, but what about steam cleaning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brady Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 Good gracious that seems like a waste and a pain. Follow OCD's advice on cleaning as it seems to work pretty well. Hell, I just use simple green and spray off. Some people are afraid of Simple Green, but I've personally never had an issue with it under the hood. Probably wouldn't use it on the interior, but seems good for the engine bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 I've steam cleaned engines before. They never look as good as when you go in there with your brushes and cleaners and really scrub. Steam cleaning is what dealerships and detail shops do to save time and cut corners. It isn't really the best way to go about engine detailing. It is more like 'engine cleaning'. Actual "detailing" takes more time and looks a whole lot better. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 I hit mine with a pressure washer for about ten seconds....good as new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMBIVALENCE Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 oh? Pressure washer could be sued to clean engine as well? No risk of blasting off anything that could cause trouble? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 There is loads of risk in using a pressure washer. My advise is not to do it. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterJMC Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 ^^ +1 Yea not recommended, but if you do... please hit it from about 10 feet away. The pressure at close distance is so high that you could get water in the weather proof connectors, or rip a hole/tear through hoses and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05garnet_ltd_gt Posted April 5, 2006 Author Share Posted April 5, 2006 OC, you are the detail king, but I however live down a long, dusty, dirty road. Putting all that time and effort seems pointless, unless I really want to show it off at a meet or show. I just wanted to gauge opinions on ease and quickness of cleaning, because of where I live. Thanks for the input, and no i would never wash my engine with a pressure washer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt_ltd Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 and if you do use water to wash the engine bay, make sure you dry it completely (drive on highway). This Space For Rent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 ^^ +1 Yea not recommended, but if you do... please hit it from about 10 feet away. The pressure at close distance is so high that you could get water in the weather proof connectors, or rip a hole/tear through hoses and such. You need to use due caution....don't use 3k PSI and a 1 degree tip. Duh! I have a 1200PSI electric Karcher with vario-nozzle. Spraying from 12+ inches away, there's ample pressure to remove dirt and grime without screwing anything up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postman Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 Epa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 OC, you are the detail king, but I however live down a long, dusty, dirty road. Putting all that time and effort seems pointless, unless I really want to show it off at a meet or show. I just wanted to gauge opinions on ease and quickness of cleaning, because of where I live. Thanks for the input, and no i would never wash my engine with a pressure washer. The Legacy engine seems to get a lot dirtier a lot faster than any other car I've driven. I blame partially the hood scoop for all the dust. I don't bother cleaning much under the hood either unless there is a show or a meet that I'm going to. Most of the time I just rinse things off with a slow stream of water and that does the trick. Letting too much dust build up will cause issues later when you try to scrub it off and you find that it has stained something. I wouldn't worry too much though. Once every other month if you do a relatively detailed cleaning of your engine should keep it looking new. Then just rinse it off once in awhile and you'll be fine. Detailing your engine should always be done taking every precaution possible. Remember: No warranty will cover your engine if it was FUBAR because you were spraying water or degreaser everywhere. I have seen alternators start on fire because they were hot and someone sprayed degreaser on it. Be careful and you should be fine. Use common sense on what should be avoided and what is safe to spray stuff on. Your engine won't melt if it gets wet, but you don't have to use the sprayer to do the whole job. Some of it is best done by hand with brushes and towels. It seriously only takes me 30 to 45 minutes tops to do a damn dirty engine and make it look new again. It just takes practice and a good process. It doesn't really take that much time. If you can control the pressure of your sprayer then that is good. The sprayer at the coin operated car wash is not the type of thing you want to use to detail your engine. I've got scars on my hands and legs from those things. The pressure is so high that it can peel skin right off your body. You don't want water hitting certian areas of your car with that kind of pressure. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 Epa The EPA only cares if the water gets washed into the gutter. If it is going to your lawn then you are fine. Most coin op places don't allow you to do engine compartment washing because it contaminates their garbage water and they have to pay more for disposal. Keep engine detailing to something you do in your driveway and try to make sure it doesn't head for the gutter. There are federal laws about this that were enacted a couple years ago and the fines are pretty high for letting contaminated wash water get into the gutter drains. It is hard for them to enforce, but it is out there and applies to all states. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panamajack Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 How about a pic of the engine with highlights of where to cover up, and where not to spray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 Epa WTF does the EPA care about dirty water?? Nothing more than road grime under the hood....a pittance compared to how much of it gets washed off the road when it rains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 How about a pic of the engine with highlights of where to cover up, and where not to spray. I don't bother covering anything. I just don't spray the alternator directly and I don't pour water anywhere other than around the perimeter of the engine bay. I've got a couple articles in the works on Legacy specific detailing. I'll make sure the engine detailing part makes it clear what to watch out for. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 here is a quickie preview though... Avoid the following areas with degreasers and high pressure water: http://www.ocdetails.com/Engine-Avoid.jpg A- Because that is where your air filter is and you don't want to necessarily force water in there. B- Duh.. you don't need to be bending fins with high pressure. You certianly don't want it to get melted either, right? C- That is a dangerous area for just about everything, but especially for anything flamable. Keep degreaser away from that. I'd keep water pretty much away from it too just to prevent corrosion. D- Cars have been known to have problems when the battery gets too wet. If water puddles on the battery then it can cause corrosion on the terminals which cause problems. You also want to avoid the fuse box there as well as any relays. Water and electricity don't mix. Everything else is pretty safe to get wet. I'd still be careful when working around electrical connections. You don't want exposed connections to get corroded and fail. Warranties don't cover damage done while detailing the engine. If you are careful when detailing then you can be rewarded with something that looks like this when your are done. http://www.ocdetails.com/Engine-After1.jpg _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panamajack Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 The money shot! Thanks for the picture too. I sure alot of us were scratching our heads when it came to where and where not to use water. Are you going to get the engine covers that the JDM cars have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05garnet_ltd_gt Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 EPA and DEP (department of environmental protection) care about everything. Believe me, i work for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 Man, I want those other engine covers so bad. As soon as I can find them then I'm going to get them. That helps keep things a lot cleaner and easier to maintain. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 Man, I want those other engine covers so bad. As soon as I can find them then I'm going to get them. That helps keep things a lot cleaner and easier to maintain. *cough* Rallitek *cough* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 SCORE!! I didn't know they had those. Thanks! _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05garnet_ltd_gt Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 Does anyone have pics of their engine bay with the 2 JDM engine covers (Battery cover and misc. cover on Rallitek) ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05garnet_ltd_gt Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 Never mind, i found some pics. Looks nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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