[Hooy]

I've been boning up on washing/detailing the past few days, and I was wondering if it was safe to hose the engine bay down. Is there anything I should cover, wrap, or completely avoid?

Here are some pics that where I had cleaned the day before, but there are some areas deeper down that I just can't reach.

Before:

The day after halfway through a road trip:

[Bavarian Tech]

Ive pressure washer my engine bay before with no ill effects, I would & avoid the alterntor.
Btw what color is that ?

[tofu-]

that's pretty much how everyone does it. agitate with some brushes, then hose it down

[Blubaron79]

You are NOT supposed to hose your engine bay down ever. I always use a damp rag and wipe it down after every other wash. It keeps it fairly clean.

[youngnastyman]

Originally Posted by Blubaron79

You are NOT supposed to hose your engine bay down ever. I always use a damp rag and wipe it down after every other wash. It keeps it fairly clean.

really? I'm pretty sure the dealers always hose down the engine bay when they sell used cars?

Then again the dealers are idiots.

[Hooy]

Originally Posted by msbc721

Ive pressure washer my engine bay before with no ill effects, I would & avoid the alterntor.
Btw what color is that ?

Atlantic Blue

Originally Posted by tofu-

that's pretty much how everyone does it. agitate with some brushes, then hose it down

Originally Posted by Blubaron79

You are NOT supposed to hose your engine bay down ever. I always use a damp rag and wipe it down after every other wash. It keeps it fairly clean.

Originally Posted by youngnastyman

really? I'm pretty sure the dealers always hose down the engine bay when they sell used cars?

Then again the dealers are idiots.

Can anyone confirm this?

[tofu-]

Originally Posted by Hooy

Can anyone confirm this?

check the detailing section

pretty much all of the engine bay cleaning threads involve soaping it up, scrubbing, then hosing it down.

everything in there is protected from water unless you have open filters

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by Hooy

Can anyone confirm this?

About dealers being idiots?

There's NOTHING WRONG with hosing down the engine bay. As long as certain precautions were taken. For example, you should probably disconnect the battery when hosing down the engine bay, as well as cover up exposed electrical connectors. Also don't reconnect the battery and/or start up the engine until the engine has dried up.

This is what I usually do once every 6 months on my daily drive, or once a year on my weekend warrior.

0) Blow away or wipe off excess dirt.

1) Warm up the engine.

2) Once the engine has cooled down to a luke warm level, disconnect battery and cover up the jump terminal, the alternator, and any exposed wires such as the harness behind the headlights with Saran Wrap.

3) Spray Griot's Engine Bay cleaner on the still luke warm engine, use a terry cloth to agitate or a soft bristle brush for hard to reach areas like between the strut to firewall braces. Use a clean terry cloth to dry up as much as possible.

4) Using an open hose at low flow, hose down the engine bay.

5) Use a clean terry cloth to dry up as much as possible.

6) Leave engine bay open for up to 4 hours, or use a leaf blower to blow the majority of the engine dry, then leave for up to 2 hours with the bay open. Unwrap electrical connectors and alternator.

On the weekend warrior I'd leave the car in the garage overnight before firing it up.

Been doing this for the last 9+ years on all my BMWs and have not had any issues.

[IancoleTX]

Hooy you should get some white wheels, it would look unique and fresh as hell

[MusclezMarinara]

Make sure the car is cold...use purple power one certain areas plastics....hoses....no open areas or electrical contacts...use a light spray and don't soak the motor its a RINSE....if you have DCIs i would wrap them with a garbage bag and BE EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS not to get them wet at all.

[328skidpad]

I would never hose the engine down, why would I want to promote rusting and oxidation .

These cars have so many electrical components/ sensors etc.

[BlackBimmer1991]

Do not warm up your engine. If your gonna spray down your engine bay at least cover the alternator and some wires with a plastic bag. You can turn it on after to help dry some things out.

[MusclezMarinara]

Originally Posted by BlackBimmer1991

Do not warm up your engine. If your gonna spray down your engine bay at least cover the alternator and some wires with a plastic bag. You can turn it on after to help dry some things out.

+10

[Verbiage]

I think you did an outstanding job, judging by the pictures.

[PMDTX]

Originally Posted by Bavarian III

I think you did an outstanding job, judging by the pictures.

Agreed, OPs engine bay looks good. Keep doing whatever works for you.

[E91toG05]

remove the leaves by hand. then take a damp/wet rag to the dirty stuff (perhaps with some Simple Green). 15 minutes of TLC will make her look like new.

[Watwood]

Dealerships do this all the time when detailing a car that's traded in. Don't spray water up into your intake and you'll be fine. Most of the electrical mess on these cars has a cover over it. With the engine cool spray it down with a degreaser, spray off with a hose, if you'd like skeet some engine shine on it. Wahlah, engine looks good.

[NFexec]

Originally Posted by Bavarian III

I think you did an outstanding job, judging by the pictures.

Dude - leave it alone! Why invite potential problems. It looks faaaaab-u-lous!

Doug

[Neutrino45]

Did you use anything the shine the black part or is that natural?

[Hooy]

Thanks for the advice and compliments guys!

I used Optimum Power Clean APC and some paper towels to wipe most of the crap away (engine bay has never been cleaned in 3 years), then used a combination of Einszett 1Z Deep Plastic Cleaner and CG Silk Shine Dressing & Protectant. Applied with a 33 cent sponge from Target, dressed with a $1 microfiber towel.