Do you wash your car? The answer is most likely yes. But do you wash the engine? If not, it's like taking a shower, but never brushing your teeth. This is not worth doing. The engine also needs to be washed. You can say that apart from you and a random mechanic, no one sees your engine compartment, and who cares, right?
However, cleaning the engine prevents damage and maintains the high cost of the car during resale. Oil smudges on the motor and grains of sand falling on it contribute to premature wear of the crankshaft pulley and bearings, and can also lead to more serious damage. Thus, cleaning the engine allows it to stay cooler and work more efficiently.
Is engine cleaning easy?
If you want to do well, do it yourself. We often use this expression. That is why there is so much information on how to clean the engine yourself. But, despite this, cleaning the motor is not so easy as it might seem at first glance. In the engine compartment of all cars, especially modern ones, there are a lot of different electronics, wires and contacts, which can be easily damaged if you do the job sloppy. That is why car engine washing has its own characteristics and requires the use of special tools and methods.
Wet washing: maybe not worth it?
The most affordable and often used for this type of washing is the use of special car washes, the most famous of which are Karcher car washes. Now, there is a lot of controversy about wet washing, someone says that it is very effective, and someone prefers not to use it, because it harms the car.
Indeed, after a wet wash, the car often simply does not start, and due to the large amount of water, electrical connectors, wires and an electrician can suffer. Seals and other engine compartment elements may become unusable. The most terrible consequence of such a washing may be the failure of the engine control unit or the engine getting a water hammer.
Other washing methods
Since the ingress of large amounts of water into the engine compartment can damage the wiring or damage other parts of the car, lead to corrosion of the engine compartment elements, it is worth considering other methods. For some time after such a wash, the car may simply not start. In this regard, new methods of cleaning the engine were developed and appeared to avoid damage to the car. One of these methods is the dry cleaning of ICE with detergents.
Car Wash
It is recommended that you do not use various powders to remove contaminants from the engine, as this will take you too much time and the quality of work will leave much to be desired. In order to simplify the work and not harm the car, more and more new means for cleaning engines in different packages are constantly appearing on the market. The most common are:
- plastic containers;
- aerosol cans;
- bottles.
Inside these containers may be liquids, gels, or sprays. At the heart of each cleaner is a solvent, which allows you to effectively and, most importantly, quickly get rid of contaminants. However, special attention should be paid to the composition. A number of cleaners contain alkali, which is why you should not leave them on the aluminum parts of the motor for a long time. Such a substance can easily corrode metal.
Sprays are often sold in special bottles and are used for the so-called dry cleaning of the car engine.
The benefits of dry engine cleaning
This type of sink has a large number of advantages:
- The ability to avoid various short circuits associated with the flow of water into the engine compartment.
- No engine malfunction after washing.
- Oil, grains of sand and other dirt from the engine practically does not get to other parts of the car.
- Degreasing and effective removal of oil and other stains.
- Easy to apply.
- Car engine washing does not take much time.
What is needed for dry cleaning?
Cleaning is not a big deal. It is only necessary:
- Apply engine cleaner to the surface to be cleaned.
- Wait as long as indicated in the instructions (usually 5-10 minutes). During this time, the product will absorb and dissolve the dirt.
- Use a rag or special sponge to clean the surface of contamination.
If you are doing your own engine washing in this way, it is important to remember that the engine must be warm. A cold motor will not allow efficient cleaning, and with a motor with a high temperature, there is a risk of burns or ignition of the detergent. Of course, as with other chemicals, it is best to use gloves and exercise caution.
Steam washing
As a rule, it is customary to use chemicals to clean the engine, but progress does not stand still, and new methods appear. For example, recently, the cleaning of the engine compartment with water using a steam generator has become widespread. To wash the car engine in this way, you will need to contact a car wash. Special units bring the chemical composition with water to a certain high temperature, after which at the same high temperature and under a pressure of about 8 bar, steam enters the gun.
Steam engine washing should only be done in a car wash by specially trained people. A person who does not know all the intricacies of working with such a technique may get some kind of injury or damage the components of the car.
Steam Wash Benefits
Since steam cleaning of the car does not provide for contact of the car parts with water, there is no risk of corrosion of the engine compartment elements and other breakdowns, and there is no risk of not starting the car. In addition, this type of sink has a number of other advantages. The most significant of them include:
- lack of damage to water by electricians, which eliminates the possibility of a short circuit;
- lack of mud smudges on other details of the car;
- removal of even the most persistent contaminants and seals (oil, caked dirt and others);
- the consumption of the cleaning agent is minimal, since it is mixed with water and is supplied in the form of steam under high pressure;
- cleaning work takes little time.
In addition, in most car washes that deal with this type of cleaning, the engine is washed with a guarantee. Thus, if after a steam wash there are any problems with the engine (the probability of this is extremely small), the car wash where the cleaning was carried out will cover part of the cost of repairing your vehicle.
Disadvantages of using steam washing
Since this type of washing is very effective, takes little time, is safe and implies a guarantee, washing a motor with steam is significantly different in cost from a wet wash or dry using chemical detergents. However, such a high price can be justified, given the opportunity to avoid a huge number of problems that are not excluded with wet or other types of cleaning.
Washing frequency recommendations
There are many different opinions on how often it is necessary to resort to cleaning an internal combustion engine. However, the best option would be to listen to the recommendations of the manufacturers. Manufacturers of various cars agree that resorting to washing the engine is only in case of special need, and not just to improve the appearance of the engine compartment.
Therefore, it is recommended that the engine be cleaned only in a number of cases:
- if you are going to carry out diagnostics in order to detect leaks, breakdowns and other damage;
- with very severe contamination of the engine with oil in case of leakage of pipes or glands;
- before carrying out major repairs involving disassembly of the unit or its dismantling;
- if you intend to place your car on trading floors for sale - as a rule, one of the requirements for placement is a photograph of a clean engine compartment.
Based on this, it is not necessary to wash the engine immediately at the slightest pollution, since the need for this is not stated by the manufacturers.
Wash the engine yourself or resort to the services of specialists
If you still have a need to wash your engine, but there is no knowledge and experience, then, of course, it is better to contact specialists. They are well aware of the washing process, they know all the necessary detergents, and what composition is better to use in a particular case. In addition, contacting specialists will save you time searching for the necessary information and cleaning the car yourself, and most self-respecting car washes also give you a guarantee on the work done.
Do it yourself
However, if you prefer to do everything yourself, then choose a method and get to work. It is important to remember that with wet cleaning it is better to make a small pressure of water or not to use this method of cleaning at all, since it is likely to break through the thermal insulation of the hood and damage various fragile elements. And this can significantly affect the operation of your car.
Also, do not use tools that are not intended for washing the engine. At best, they will be ineffective, and at worst, they can cause great harm to the vehicle. Flammable compounds are best removed away and do not resort to them in any case. To make sure your car is safe, it is better to cover various sensors and connectors with plastic wrap in advance to prevent liquids from entering it.
When washing the engine, it is better to use warm water (about 50 ° C), which will allow more efficient and quick removal of contaminants. After washing, it is necessary to wait until all parts have completely dried out and only then can the engine be started.