AFAIK the inner wing surfaces and metalwork in the engine bay are factory coated with heavy wax - any dirt will sit on top creating a protective layer!
The pipes and brightwork are probably better off having a little engine oil misted over them, but since the advent of emission controls I guess this doesnt happen any more...
|
|
|
I'll do it if it needs it, truckwash, scrob, jetwash.
Done it many many times, just need to be careful where the jetwash it pointed, filling the electrics up with 150PSI water can cuase a few issues.
|
|
Show 'em again, Oilrag...
|
|
Just occasionaly I might give the engine bay a bit of a clean, but only if it's dirty to start with - if it doesn't make a difference it's not worth doing!!
Edited by Sofa Spud on 13/12/2009 at 14:27
|
I used to love dressing the engine, but with todays electronics, it's risky.
If you look under the bonnet of any modern car, there's wires running all over the place, and, for the most part, they're encased in corrugated plastic conduit which is fine. Unfortunately, when the conduit meets whatever equipment it's running to, for the last few cms, there's only the coloured insulation protecting the wire from chaffing/corrosion. A direct jet from a pressure washer could push the wire off it's connection or allow water to enter the equipment, causing all sorts of problems.
More recently, I used a degreaser to clean the cam cover etc. and was proud of the result, but after showing my handywork to a Ford tech, who said that the engine components are all coated in a thick wax (as mentioned in a post above) that's designed to stay on the engine for it's useful life, and that I had probably removed it with the degreaser, I wished that I had not bothered.
In future I'll stick to just washing the drainage channel/suspension turrets with a soapy sponge and mopping dry with a cloth.
|
|
I can't even see my engine for the oily sludge that covers it, presumably from a pin-prick leak in a turbo air hose somewhere. Doesn't bother me in the slightest. I look at the engine every month or two to make sure it still has oil in it, and that's about it.
|
|
|
|
