Rinse or wipe down engine bay?

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royalkangaroo

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Do you guys rinse your engine bays or do a wipe down detail? I recently used the under carriage wash wand at the car wash and it seemed to splatter a lot of dirt up into the engine bay of my truck. I've always been hesitant to use the hose under the hood, though I know plenty of folks that do. Curious what fellow AutoGeekers do.
 
I wipe down and use a spray bottle. Have no issues keeping them both looking great doing it this way. I do a little each time I wash and wipe dry thus am pretty much always up to par. I spray Adam's In and Out as my treatment once cleaned.



 
Generally just a wipe down, but it is part of my regular wash process so the engine bay never really becomes that dirty. I have used a hose on really dirty bays, but only at very slow rate just to flush the dirt/cleaner away. I would never use pressure and you should always exercise extra caution around electrical components.


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Just like the other folks who commented, I wipe down the engine bay on my personal vehicle consistently so dirt build-up doesn't get bad. I use BlackFire or Ultima waterless wash and always get good results. Several soft brushes and a few towels are normally enough to thoroughly clean all of the easily reachable components. If I'm getting ready for a car show I spend much more time and attention on the task, but for weekly cleaning a quick waterless wash does the trick.

Some of my customers' cars have absolutely filthy engine bays. I like those because there is a huge difference before and after I work on them. Running water, Meguiar's Super Degreaser at 4:1 (or 10:1) and a lot of agitation from brushes and wiping from towels goes a long way to revive the cosmetics of very dirty engine bays. Caution is helpful - exposed air filters and electrical components should be properly covered and sealed prior to spraying water all over the place.

Drying the engine bay, for me, consists of using an electric leaf blower to push down and out as much standing water as possible. Leftover water I remove with microfiber towels. After everything appears dry I'll let the engine run for five or ten minutes.

I noticed that a lot of the over spray from the wash process ends up on the windshield and consequently makes it filthy. To mitigate this I drape across the windshield the large Auto Geek "cover-up" towel. Two can be purchased for $29.99 when there isn't a sale going on. Cleaning the engine bay is always my first step if the customer wants it, so a dirty windshield isn't the end of the world, but making the glass dirtier drove me nuts so the towels give me peace of mind. :)
 
On my 2016 Camaro, under the hood there are parts that are marked "Do not pressure wash". I think that means it is fine to use a garden hose.

I use a hose on dirty engines. I use a spray bottle and rag on not so dirty engines.

I use a pressure washer on my 2002 Ford F250 PowerStroke that runs on waste vegetable oil. Never had a problem. I keep my after market electronic stuff covered with grocery bags.
 
It depends on what you are going to use to clean with to some extent.

If you are going to use APC, then I would rinse it with low pressure water.

If you have a rinseless/waterless product, this could be used with lots of towels if it is not greasy.

You can also follow up the APC cleaning with a "rinse" or two with a rinseless/waterless product.

An air blower is nice to have to blow debris out before and leftover water out after.
 
For years I sprayed degreaser on a cold engine and took a hose to it. With more and more electronics under the hood this seems like a bad idea without some knowledgeable protection. I've read too many stories about people hosing off their LR3 (which I drive) engines and then having no electrical until they find that one box back against the firewall they didn't even know existed, and get it dried out.

I've become a spray bottle guy for my engine.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I'll likely go with the spray bottle and wipedown route. I've only got 15k miles on her so it's not that bad.
 
I've been using a WW first to 'clean' the engine. Then follow up with a dressing for a nice finish. Or I'll use Blackfire AIO Trim & Tire for a one step if the engine is just slightly dirty but not filthy. It's great for engines (also one of my faves on tires as well).
 
I'm a spritz and wipe guy when it comes to engines. Cosmetic engine detailing--I think that's how Mike P. referred to it in a forum how-to article. Wolfgang Total Engine Cleaner is an awesome product that AG sells. It cleans very well and leaves a slightly "dressed" appearance.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ew-how-new-wolfgang-total-engine-cleaner.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/105325-wolfgang-total-engine-cleaner.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/105295-wolfgang-total-engine-cleaner-review.html
 
KirkH said:
On my 2016 Camaro, under the hood there are parts that are marked "Do not pressure wash". I think that means it is fine to use a garden hose.

I use a hose on dirty engines. I use a spray bottle and rag on not so dirty engines.

I use a pressure washer on my 2002 Ford F250 PowerStroke that runs on waste vegetable oil. Never had a problem. I keep my after market electronic stuff covered with grocery bags.
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All due respect that " runs on vegetable oil " is a joke right?
 
Mileage sometimes plays a factor.Anything over 75k becareful.jettas Cadillac's volvos and Chrysler are prone for giving you promblems.8cly cars will most of the time won't give you problems. Promblems occur when you air force water off the the engine and drive the moisure into the sensors or coil pack's.cover the mafsensor alternator fuse boxes and abs unit,and don't flood water into areas you cant dry.some of these cars have deep manifolds and it's hard to remove water from that area.Today's cars are better protected by plastics versus 10 years ago.But times and technology have changed and every works by electrical sensors and they all work together.So if something happens expect to pay.Use common sense and go with your gut feeling.
 
DogRescuer said:
All due respect that " runs on vegetable oil " is a joke right?
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Absolutely not. I have run my diesel truck on waste vegetable oil from restaurant fryers for 10 years and 125,000 miles. Smells like french fries when I drive!
 
pro 4x said:
I would NEVER use high pressure water on a engine. Too much can go wrong.
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I pressure wash the engines on my old vehicles all the time. Especially my truck that runs on restaurant grease. I get hose leaks occasionally and have to pressure wash it. Won't hurt anything if you use common sense. All vehicles since 1992 are fine for rinsing engines with water. My new vehicles don't need pressure washing. Garden hose or spray bottle for those.
 
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