When is the engine too hot to wash?

[peterhurcos]

I don't want that superfund stuff on my driveway. I want to go to the coin op and do it. [I'm not planning on "detailing" my engine. Merely clean it a bit and put some protectant on the hoses].

Coin-op is 3.5 miles away. Is that too much driving to do before the wash? When I went today, (being careful to stand Waaay back during the rinse part) it seemed OK, but I noticed a little residual cleaner on top of the engine when I returned home and when I went to rinse it off with the hose, there was a bunch of steam, so I stopped.

 

[SYMAWD]

You don't want it to be more than warm. If you must do it at the coin op, get there, open your hood and perhaps kill some time cleaning the wheels or something while it cools off.

 

[TurboToys]

I don't want that superfund stuff on my driveway. I want to go to the coin op and do it. [I'm not planning on "detailing" my engine. Merely clean it a bit and put some protectant on the hoses].

Coin-op is 3.5 miles away. Is that too much driving to do before the wash? When I went today, (being careful to stand Waaay back during the rinse part) it seemed OK, but I noticed a little residual cleaner on top of the engine when I returned home and when I went to rinse it off with the hose, there was a bunch of steam, so I stopped.

leave it sitting for around 10-15 minutes after driving to let it cool off a bit. your engine won't be so hot that its going to literally crack, but full on spraying a hot engine can cause uneven cooling which could cause issues with the motor itself, which is designed to deal with the expansion and cooling under normal conditions, not from being cooled top to bottom with a hose and cold water.

general rule for cleaning is can you touch it and not feel like you need to pull your hand away. it should never be boiling hot unless its the exhaust portions of the engine or things right near there. the rest should be close to 160-180 degrees while running depending on the thermostat and engine.

so just off the top of my head, you should be able to comfortably touch it around 100-110 degrees. so it will take a few minutes to get there.



the other downside to cleaning a hot engine and not a warm one, is anything you spray will evaporate super quick and can leave harder to clean water spots made of chemicals on the engine. product should never be allowed dry unless specified on the container by the manufacturer.

that being said i cleaned my sequoias engine bay the other day with my tornador foam gun and meguiars super de-greaser while it was still fairly warm to the touch and it came out perfect afterwards. (this engine has 280,000 miles on it also).