How to properly wash the engine?

 

Among motorists there is no consensus on the advisability of washing the engine. Most car owners never wash engine bays. Moreover, half of them simply do not have enough time or desire, while the other half do not do this on principle, supposedly after washing the engine it is more likely to get into expensive repairs. But there are also supporters of this procedure, who wash the engine regularly or as it gets dirty.

Why do you need an engine wash?

In theory, the engine compartments of modern cars are well protected from contamination. However, if the car is not new, it was operated in harsh conditions, including off-road, attention should be paid to cleaning the engine compartment.

The most polluted element here is the radiator: fluff, leaves, sand, salt, insects and various dirt settle in its cells over time. So a kind of traffic jam is formed on the way for air flows and, as a result, the motor heats up. A sure indicator of this process is a frequently humming cooling fan. Auxiliary radiators (oil cooler and automatic cooler) also require cleaning.

If your car is more than five to seven years old, and you often drive on dusty roads, then washing the radiator is necessary. It also makes sense to clean regularly, and in case of severe pollution, thoroughly wash the battery and contaminated wires. The fact is that oily electrical equipment provokes a leakage of electric current, which leads to a deterioration in starting the engine and a rapid discharge of the battery. Of course, it is also necessary to deal with the formation of oil smudges on the engine walls. In an unfavorable scenario, such contaminants can ignite. Finally, with a clean power unit, fluid leaks are immediately noticeable, which allows you to quickly respond to the first signs of malfunctions.

How to wash the engine?

To remove various engine contaminants, special compounds are actively used. "Soft" car shampoos that do not contain acids are also used. Special tools have their own advantages:

• They clean the engine well from all types of contaminants: oil stains, brake fluid, road dirt, etc.
• Active foam enhances the effectiveness of all components in the composition and helps to clean even hard-to-reach places.
• They do not require additional brushing and are easily washed off with water without leaving any greasy film.
• Safe for all construction materials and non-corrosive.

Many people advise using household detergents, but they are ineffective and useless against engine oil and dirt. The only plus is that in such "chemistry" there are no aggressive components that can harm rubber and plastic parts.

How to properly wash the engine?

The 1st way of washing the engine is a pressure washer using a washing gun. It is important to know that, unlike washing the body, high pressure is contraindicated here - the maximum is 100 bar. The advantage of the method is its availability and rather high efficiency, the disadvantage is that water pressure can damage engine parts, not to mention electrical components.

2nd way of washing the engine - steam washing. Dry steam, heated above 150 ° C, is supplied under a pressure of 7-10 atm. In addition to effective cleaning, with this method, moisture residues are also excluded. Steam cleaning should only be carried out by qualified personnel - working with hot steam is unsafe and also expensive.

3rd method of washing the engine - chemical cleaning using water. It is best to wash the engine in dry and warm weather, so that you can quickly get rid of the high humidity under the hood.

1. We warm up and turn off the engine (it should be warm, but not hot).
2. We remove the terminals from the battery. For vehicles with a hybrid engine, then it is necessary to clarify the location of the batteries on a specific model. It should be added that hybrid batteries are often located at the rear of the car, so washing the engine on a hybrid car in this case is not dangerous.
3. Next, you should secure the most vulnerable components of the engine compartment: cover the generator, ignition coils, batteries and other accessible contacts, terminals, electrical circuit elements and hard-to-reach places with foil or a bag, fixing it with electrical tape or tape.

*Water entering through the air duct can lead to serious damage to the internal combustion engine!

4. It is better not to wash the engine with high pressure water, otherwise it will do more harm than good. In this way, it is easy to damage the insulation and cause corrosion inside the connectors in the generator, relay, etc. Also, the jet can wash off stickers with important information in the engine compartment and damage the paint on some parts. It should be used with a weak jet of water using high-quality car chemicals and a special car shampoo.
5. We prepare a washing solution for the engine: for this, 1 liter. about 20-50 ml of warm water is added. detergent (see what is indicated on the package). First, we wet the surfaces with ordinary water, and after that we moisten the sponge in a cleaning solution and wipe the contaminated surfaces. In places where it is difficult to reach, use a brush. We leave everything for 5 minutes.
6. If there are oil stains or streaks on the motor, then such contamination can be removed with a toothbrush. Another way to remove greasy stains is a solution of kerosene and water. This solution is not desirable for plastic and painted surfaces. Kerosene is applied with water with a soft cloth, after which the surface is wiped off and immediately washed with a small amount of water.
7. The final step is rinsing the engine after washing with a weak stream of water. During this process, care must be taken to minimize the total amount of water that enters the locations of electrical contacts and electrical equipment.

Upon completion, you should make sure that there is no need to re-clean the internal combustion engine and individual sections in the engine compartment, and if necessary, repeat.

After washing, you can dry everything with a compressor. Or start the engine and wait until all the moisture has evaporated. Also, ordinary paper towels can be used to dry the unit, with which you can efficiently remove water. After that, you can remove the protection in the form of bags and foil. Make sure that moisture does not get on the protected elements. If drops of water are found on the connectors and electrical contacts, they should also be dried thoroughly.

The 4th method of washing the engine is dry cleaning. The second method of cleaning the engine involves using it without water. As a rule, such products in the form of foam are simply sprayed onto parts that require cleaning. After which they allow everything to dry and wipe it dry with some kind of rag or sponge. The result is amazing: everything is clean under the hood and you don’t have to worry about water getting on the electrics.

Should you wash your car engine?

Automakers themselves do not regulate the issue of washing the engine compartment and the engine in any way, leaving it at the discretion of the car owner. There is an opinion among the inhabitants that a dirty engine heats up more. Yes, indeed it is. In particular, if the radiator of the cooling system is clogged, then the temperature regime will inevitably be violated. But if we talk in general about the dirt on the engine, then it will never provoke its overheating.

Many motorists associate a dirty internal combustion engine with current leakage or electronic problems. However, you need to know the following: the dirt itself is not conductive, but the oxides that can form in electrical connectors (for example, due to high humidity) just greatly affect the operation of electrical equipment. So, on a clean engine, it is much easier to detect oxidized contacts.

There is an opinion that a heavily contaminated engine compartment can even cause a fire. The deposits themselves do not affect fire safety in any way. But if autumn foliage or poplar fluff accumulated under the hood in large quantities, then they can accidentally ignite from very hot internal combustion engines.

The process of washing the engine itself is not complicated, and if you decide on this, then it is enough to remember a few simple rules and apply the right tools. Moreover, there are no significant contraindications (only if you are not sure that you can protect vital electronic components from water).

Among motorists there is no consensus on the advisability of washing the engine. Most car owners never wash engine bays. Moreover, half of them simply do not have enough time or desire, while the other half do not do this on principle, supposedly after washing the engine it is more likely to get into expensive repairs. But there are also supporters of this procedure, who wash the engine regularly or as it gets dirty.