[williamoss]

Has anyone steamed cleaned the engine from the top down and then steam cleaned the entire bottom of the car. Mine is looking very dirty as it is 21 years old as all these cars are. Steam Cleaning is great as it gets rid of all the road grease and oil that coats the engine and holds the heat into the engine. After cleaning the car should run cooler. But finding someone to steam clean is getting harder and harder as the environmental rules get more stringent. Any tips on how to protect the electrical parts in the engine bay would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

William Moss

 

 

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[az968]

Don't steam clean the top, too much electrical risk, you don't want water getting into any Crack in the wiring. The underside with the panels on would be much safer. I occatonly use the garden hose sprayer in the wheel wells and on the undercarraeut not high pressure. Keep looking for a detailer that will hand clean the engine. I have hand cleaned the engine bottom using a borrowed/renter rack where I could stand under the car.

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[flash]

water is not generally a problem in and around engines.  as long as it doesn't get inside the distributor cap, or into the intake or fuel systems, there really isn't much risk.

 

that being said, if you flood your fuse box, you're asking for problems.  you obviously have to take care in critical areas, but a rag lain over them generally does the trick.  i've used steam premium on engines for decades, and hosed them all off, without once having an issue.  i have always taken care though, controlled the water, and covered items of concern

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[Ryan]

Use a leaf blower on the engine after the wash and it will get a lot of trapped water out of the nooks and crannys. 

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[surfer51]

Use a leaf blower on the engine after the wash and it will get a lot of trapped water out of the nooks and crannys. 

Always do on whole car..works great down here in texas..not much evaporation most days..

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[Roboman]

I have to say William that I wouldn't advise this, especially if there is also pressure in the steam.  I changed a lot of electrical covers last year, all the connections worked, ie the car had been performing just fine, but most were hardened/cracked rubber.  I believe that moisture, if directly applied, would have caused havoc. 

 

Maybe the greasy/dirty areas beneath, but I would avoid the top section of the engine .... injectors/MAF/knock sensors etc etc

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[Waylander]

5 years between posts, not a record but getting close

I was on the VF1000 forum last night and someone replied to a post nearly 13 years later!



With all the insulation completely breaking up on the starter harness I would avoid lots of steam pressure and water, or your car might off down the road without you

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[Roboman]

Oh really ? So it was



So William ..... did you do the steam clean? How did it go? Do you still have the car?

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[dlearl476]

Id love to try dry ice cleaning, but the only place that does it around here is an industrial concern and they want $2500 minimum to do a vehicle.



Pretty amazing results, though.



       

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[ds968]

Never, ever steam clean or power wash or even rinse a nearly 30 year old engine engine !   If you’re concerned about grime , etc. just take a microfiber cloth soaked in any given degreaser and hand-wipe the visible parts you can access,  and careful about any wires insulation making sure there are no cracks .   The risk is too great for an ( unseen ) aesthetic which does not matter in the least bit unless you enter the car in a concours judgment contest .   

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[dlearl476]

Since I first posted that bit about dry ice blasting last year it’s beginning to gain traction. The buy-in is huge ($25-$100K) so it’s gonna take a while, but there’s more and more detail shops that are using it. The bad news? It costs a fortune.

https://youtu.be/rwNrNhzcH2I

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[Ryan]

That before and after is amazing. I guess old wiring is not going to like it though. I have not seen this done and don't know how it effects plastics and rubber. Looks like hours of tender loving brush and cleaner work to get our cars to look anything like those photos.

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[dlearl476]

Watch the video I posted. No danger to plastic or wiring. The only shortcoming is that dry ice doesn’t remove grease. For that you need steam. 

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[ds968]

A guy on the Maserati forum with an MC2O, which he bought recently with low mileage discovered this at the first service  !  The dealer told him that  there is no doubt the previous owner had the engine power washed ..

     

 

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