Nikic

Hi,

I know that this topic has been covered but i wanted to make sure that my 2005 Mercedes Benz C230 Kompressor engine will be able to be cleaned by turning on the engine, using a spray engine degreaser and hosing the engine down without a nozzle without damaging any of my car components or electronics and etc.

If someone could please confirm this before i do this tomorrow so that i can clean my c230k's engine with confidence.

Any advice/suggestions would be deeply appreciated.

Thanks!

B on my Benz

when you clean the engine make sure your car is turned on and you should be fine. I own a car wash and washing engines is very common. Amoral or any kind or degreaser can be applied too

Taiwanese

Engine running and hose down the engine?

Are you guys sure?

FrankW

I personally would NEVER hose down the engine bay with water.

there are cleaning products that you can use to moderately spray and wipe down the engine bay.

acr2001

Can someone please explain the reasoning behind having the engine on?

As far as I can tell this is just a bad idea. You should not be dumping cold water onto a hot engine. Also, should water get into any electronics, having them turned on only increases the potential for damage.

I would spray the parts down with a spray bottle and wipe them. If the engine bay is filthy I would use a hose without a nozzle but I would definitely avoid certain areas!

skittles

all i know is if you do that for sure something electrical will go wrong.

LILBENZ230

Don't do it. Having the engine on sounds like an incredibly stupid idea, as does spraying water into the engine bay of such an electrically complicated vehicle to start with. You're bound to regret this decision.

phucmang

is there a way to rince it down with the engine off?..... wiping it down with a spray bottle and rag would be very time consuming.. not looking forward to wipe down the engine bay for a few hours

MOBC200K

what i do is spray the engine with a degreaser and let it sit while i wash the rest of the car. finish by sprayind the water over from a distance and spray finish over the plastic covers....... looks like new and always get comments when i pop the bonnet only takes 5 mins. I never leave the engine running just my 2 cents worth

phucmang

so your saying you wash it with the car off.... would you have to cover anything? i have some extra aluminum rim cleaner sitting around.. you think thats good enough for a degreaser? i used it on another cars engine and works great, i did it with the engine off and let the car sit for hours in hot sun... im jus kinda scared to do it on this car...

phucmang

maybe if theres a few more ppl that just rinced it off with engine off... and nothing bad happened, then it should be okay

MOBC200K

not sure bout the rim cleaner once its not acid based. i wash my car with a pressure wash so stand back til its like a mist washing the engine. i don't see what benefit having the engine on will do. if you go mad washing with the engine on and it goes into the intake system you could do alot of damage...... engine off it can't happen

johnand

I have found the best way is to use compressed air and blow off the majority of the dust etc. Then use ONR (Optimum No Rinse) at quick detail strength, or any quick detailer, and a bunch of rags, and just spray and wipe. For the really dirty areas, a vapor steamer works wonders and should not cause any issues like hosing down the engine might. Then once clean use sealant on the painted areas, and a dressing for the plastic and rubber.

I used to use a hose and degreaser on all my vehicles and never had a problem, but I think with newer vehicles and all the electronics, you are really asking for issues by old accepted cleaning methods.

I have to admit, I did clean my engine on my C230 once by spraying with APC and using a stream of water from the hose. If you check out my threads, you can see I have had electrical trouble with my Camshaft position sensor, and the hood ajar sensor. This was before I read about MB rule of not hosing down the engine. Whether or not that has anything to do with my electrical issues is unknown, but something to consider before hosing down the engine.

I am getting ready to do my winter detail/protection ritual in the next few weeks and I will post exactly how I do mine (w/o hosing it down) with pics.

Also, as a side note, if you have a M272 engine, You do realize that is the ECM right smack dab in the middle/top of the intake manifold?

Glyn M Ruck

Listen to John/Frank - Spray & wipe. NO washing of Benz engines with running water. You will have trouble with the electronics in the long run. Non of the of the connectors are waterproof. This activity is banned by MBSA at all dealerships & correctly so.

Do not use any sprays underhood that contain silicone - If ingested by the engine it will poisen your O2 sensors.

johnand

See my edit in post #13 above.

W203E35

You know once what I used but is real expensive (if used on whole engine). There is a contact cleaner (not contact for eyes) it is used to clean boards. You spray that thing and for some mysterious reason it cleans the dirt and dries up. Then you use a compressor/air in a can (not to hard) and spray the dirt off.

I used this when my cousin spilled soda on his center console. This is where the navigation control was. I took it apart used this product and it cleaned the sticky dried soda up and after that I think there was a defect because the dealer changed the part under warranty (cough cough).

loool

Edit: I just spray and whipe as well. Not need to pour water (especially with Benze's electrical system, forget about it)

B on my Benz

woooo. You guys obviously dont know much about cars then. TURST me you can use a power washer, a hose ETC.... HAve the car on though. The reason I know is becuase i took it to MERCEDES BENZ and they gave a an engine wash as i was watching them they had the car on though. ITs fine trust me.

W203E35

Here is the engine washing procedure recommended by BMW:

• Bring the engine to operating temperature, and switch the engine Off.
• Cover or shield any component--such as the ignition distributor, multi-connectors, etc.--in the area to be cleaned with plastic sheeting.
• Apply engine degreaser or general engine cleaning solvent to the dirty area, allowing it to soak for at least five minutes.
• Spray warm water on the area to be cleaned, flushing the solvent and the contaminants.
• Do not aim the water spray directly at components. Do not use the water spray any longer than necessary. Do not wash the entire engine compartment when only one area requires degreasing, such as the front crankshaft radial seal, M20 oil filter replacement, etc.
• Blow the cleaned area dry immediately with moderate-pressure compressed air.
• Start the engine immediately and road test the vehicle to confirm satisfactory operation.

acr2001

You're the one who does not know much about cars.

My dealer also sprays the engine bay - after telling you what a stupid thing it is to do and asking if that's what you really want. Just because you got away with it (and so did I when I did it extremely carefully) does not make it safe.

Nikic

I would not suggest cleaning the engine of a C230K or any mercedes unless you know what you are doing. Today i called my dealership and asked what their system of engine cleaning is, they said that they use a "steam cleaning solution" almost like a mist but stronger and they wouldn't tell me much because they would be losing profit if i knew their exact steps towards engine cleaning.

To "B on my Benz" i highly suggest that you DO NOT:
1) leave the car on while you are cleaning your engine
2) clean your engine with a regular water hose

why? because like many other users have said that the electronics in the vehicle is not water proof and for using cold water on a hot engine is not a good idea at all.
You may end up getting away with everything working fine for that day, but you will have future electronic problems.

To clean my engine today, I went to my local auto store and bought engine degreaser and i covered all the open wires i saw with plasic bags, then i applied the engine degreaser on the engine, afterwords i used a wet rag and scrubbed the engine, finally i used another rag to dry everything off. (If you want that extra shine, feel free to use Armor All on the plastic parts and hoses and etc.) because that is what i did and believe it or not, My engine is looking as if i bought the car brand new back in 2005.

Remember, After you have finished all of the steps above, wait 15 minutes and then turn the car on and let it idle for up to 5-10 minutes so that the engine is 100% dry.

If you do not feel like doing the steps above or don't have the time for it, Give a quick call to your dealership and get a quote on a engine cleaning knowing that you will be 100% safe.

It takes time, but its well worth it in the end.
Someone, Feel free to correct me if im wrong.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions/opinions!

acr2001

Wow. Not only are you clueless about cars, but you have the maturity of a three year old.
I believe you are due to be .

EDIT: I just realized you're a 16 year old high school student driving your parents car. Nevermind anything I said, I no longer care about your posts. Come back when you've matured big guy.

Nikic

Whats up with the flaming on the forums?
Learn to have some respect for people and their cars.
Sorry to say, You have no idea what you are talking about, at all.
I agree with "acr2001" .. just go hose your engine out while your car is on

B on my Benz

haha its okay haterz. thats what all people seem to say when someone younger has a better car than them. haha. its okay guys, when you guys can reach my level, come talk to me ) not disrespecting but just my 2 cents ya know!!

samaritrey

i was going to ignore your immature comments but i decided not too...
OK first off how the hell does a 16 year old own anything. i am pretty sure that you have to be 18 in Colorado to own anything let alone an e55 and a car wash. second if you own a car wash why would you take your car to Mercedes to wash it? third you think that you are better then all of us with w203. lol yeah a lot of the w203 owners make more then you can imagine. also if you are 16 you don't own a house or have other financial responsiblites which makes life alot easier. even if you payed for the car yourself i have to ask where you found the cash to pay for an e55? what does a used one cost 30k minimum? i know that when you are young you feel that you are better then every one else if you have something better then them but you are not. you need to grow up because you think you are mr big shot but their are younger people then you that have way better cars than a piece of **** e55.

acr2001

No 16 year old who barely knows how to drive (not trying to insult him, but that's how it is when you're 16) should have an expensive car, its just stupid. Obviously the car belongs to his parents and is registered / insured in their name. I doubt he could afford a Hyundai on his own (again not an insult, I doubt any of us had over 10k of self-earned money to spend on a car at the age of 16!)

I think we should just ignore him now. He's obviously going to drone on forever if people respond.