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pressure washing under hood

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Old 02-26-2009, 12:17 AM
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I took my grille out today to look at putting my cooler in. Decided to drive to the car wash and clean it up since I had it out. Didn't cover anything up. Just popped the hood and started spraying.
Didn't use any cleaner tho cuz it wasn't very dirty.
Old 02-26-2009, 12:18 AM
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LOL, I pressure washed my engine bay last semester. I was in the shower when my buddy knocked on the door and told my my alarm was going off.

Apparently water got on the horn wire and was arcing causing the horn to constantly stay on for about 5 minutes. It was loud and annoying as hell and my neighbors were all pissed I'm sure.
Old 02-26-2009, 12:41 AM
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Cover the filter if it is open element, spray Simple Green everwhere let sit about a minute or 2 and go to town. I've washed thousands of engines when I worked in the detail business and unless you have the type of plugs that are recessed in the head your good to go. Never ever ever have I had any problems after washing a GM truck engine!! It's also nice to use a water based dressing while the water is still on the motor and spray it all over, couple hours later you have a nice clean looking engine bay without the hassle of it attracting dirt like silicone based dressing.
Old 02-26-2009, 12:47 AM
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Originally Posted by RandomHero
LOL, I pressure washed my engine bay last semester. I was in the shower when my buddy knocked on the door and told my my alarm was going off.

Apparently water got on the horn wire and was arcing causing the horn to constantly stay on for about 5 minutes. It was loud and annoying as hell and my neighbors were all pissed I'm sure.
You must have hit the panic button by accident? The only part of a car alarm that should be mounted outside the interior is the siren. Unless you have a hood sensor and it should be water safe unless it's faulty or the wiring is chafed or installed wrong.
Old 02-26-2009, 07:47 AM
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lol i can one up all these spray ideas....i used oven cleaner from dollar general on the block ...it came out shiny! and now i can cook on it!!!
Old 02-28-2009, 12:01 PM
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I always hold my breath when I wash my engine bay, I've repaired alot of electrical problems and seen cars burn to the ground after the engine bay was cleaned. Had a Supra towed into the shop once that needed plug wires and they power washed the engine...it started misfiring and dumping raw fuel, which collected in the cat converter and ignited. The owner was at a stop light when flames started shooting up through her shifter boot !!

Anyway, I use Simple Green and have had great results
Old 02-28-2009, 11:32 PM
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I'm going to was mine tomorrow, it's REALLY dirty. If my truck blows up, I'll have pics and vids. If it doesn't, I'll just have pics lol!
Old 03-01-2009, 12:24 AM
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Just make sure you have the 4k psi rated micropak connectors.
Old 03-01-2009, 01:12 PM
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I get very nervous using pressure washers on the engine bay. Use the low pressure setting and don't pull the trigger on the washer. Also, some bay washes use a Simple Green type solution on their "wheel cleaner" setting. May sure you thoroughly rinse off the simple green as it can be corrosive to aluminum.

I prefer to use a garden hose without a spray nozzle for this, but wash bays are OK if you're careful.
Old 03-01-2009, 03:27 PM
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warm the engine slightly then spray a liberal coating of simple green on it and then make sure you cover the open filter element and then let it sit for a few minutes then spray with a regular hose and nozzle. just dont spray directly into the alternator or coil packs a light spray will be fine then follow up with a little adams polishes VRT (vynal rubber tire) its water based so it will work well. Also instead of simple green adams polishes has a all purpose cleaner that works well too


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