Opinions Wanted On Diy Car Wash Places

[UFC33]

hey guys just wondering if anyone uses the engine cleaning option at the carwashes?

I was talking to this guy there and he said carby engine you shouldnt buy EFI ones are ok.

Whats the deal? Im to worried about getting water into the engine.

thanks

[skwiz]

Stay away from anything electrical.

So pretty much, give it a light spray..but nothing harsh.

Don't stick it on your battery, distributor, starter motor..things like that...if your air filter is exposed..don't get that either.

Diesel engines are a different story, go nuts.

[DIOR 33]

and cover pod filters and alarms with a plastic bag

[DSTROY]

I use those cheap red cans of degreaser and spray the whole engine with high pressure water. You dont need to spray it close up, just stand back a bit and give it a light spray. You dont want any water to leak into where the spark plugs are cos that can corrode the spark plugs and cause misfire.

[Weezy]

I did exactly what chad said, supercheap had a special on 6x cans of degreser for $10 so soaked my engine in that shit and lightly sprayed off, covered my AFM/airfilters with a plastic bag and didnt focus any pressure on rockercovers etc mainly side of block etc

[dark.sky]

Watch the alternator too, I killed one by cleaning the engine once.

[Carbon 34]

cheap red can engine cleaner kills connectors and anything cadmium plated (just about all nissan bolts,pipes etc), discolours the engine iron block and various other things and kills the clear coat on your car/frame rails !!! fish in the sea, and your lungs

DO NOT USE IT !!!!!

do not use the crap at the car wash either

buy the environmental friendly stuff in 5 liter bottle(autobarn or supercheap have it for about 7 bucks), and put in a spray bottle, much cheaper and works 1000 times better on parts you want to keep.

then cover the filters, spray silicone water dispersion on all electrical connctors and spark plug wires etc. BEFORE you spray on degreaser

then you can go crazy on degreasing since you can control the spray pattern better in a spray bottle.

a slightly warm engine helps as well rinse well but not with high pressure on anything but engine blocks .

do not degrease engine sensors, injectors,anything rubber,crank angle sensors etc. let engine dry overnight if you can before starting it again.

use a rubber protector on all hoses but not on belts, don't use Armour all on anything it tends to dry long term. meguars makes a rubber dressing that last 6 months or more for all hoses, wire harness, power cables etc.

use care not to spray the paint or glass on the car, it can discolor with any degrease agent.

[Madaz]

I used to allyay leave the engine running if it start to die you know your washing something it doesn't like and give it some revs, personally i dont think its water that kills AFM'S

[Carbon 34]

I used to allyay leave the engine running if it start to die you know your washing something it doesn't like and give it some revs, personally i dont think its water that kills AFM'S

too much water ingestion into a a running engine can bend valves , break cranks, and rods, anything you hit with water can short out. common sense why they put crappy looking covers on everything ????

[Krishy]

i do pretty much what chad has stated.....haven't had problem yet "touch wood".......just make sure you cover things up

[UFC33]

think ill just use engine detailer just to be safe hehe cheers for the info guys

[DIOR 33]

im pretty sure chad has done my engine bay once with the cans and i didnt have a hose so just poured kettle water on it and then its all pretty

[pyro-ns]

not sure what it's like down here, but in qld, none of the DIY stations are de-salinated... hello rust...