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late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Originally Posted by Norm01
I have washed the engine on every car I own every six months for over 20 years and have never had a problem. I warm up the engine, use a foaming engine degreaser and then spray down with a hose. I would not use a high pressure sprayer though, looking for trouble with that.
Yeah - It was OK on the old bangers. Not recommended on the modern ones. Anyway, for anyone that intends keeping their car and wants trouble free performance from the electronics over a period of time - don't!
I told my friend he seemed confused why I told him so..hahaha..I guess you can water down a toyota engine.. or thats what I thought when he told me.. his boss doesn't care. customers only want to see it cleaned thn they are happy..
Well, I see the usual suspects are posting their usual opinions so I may as well jump in and do the same. Since I am in favor of knowledgeable engine cleaning, here is one example. Just this month I took my 25.5 year old Porsche to the coin op car wash and cleaned the engine compartment just as I have done since it was new. Since it is so elderly, there are a few visible plugs which I disconnect and blow out with compressed air as a precaution.
And sure enough, it again won first in it's class in the latest PCA Concours. The judges never find any schmutz under the hood.
I'll be taking the C300 to the same place to clean it's engine compartment since the MB Club's clean car show is coming up soon.
Washing the engine of a 25 yr car is a BIG difference from the current MB....way fewer electronics.
With some common sense it really isn't dangerous though. Keep it to non high pressure rinsing and be careful around the coils and intake. Don't shock a hot engine, etc.
Cars are designed to handle an amount of water up to a point. But they can't aspirate large volumes through the intake.
I've done it myself on plenty of late model vehicles. Helps identify new fluid leaks and keeps things cleaner when doing mechanical work. Dealers even do it as part of used car detailing.
I take more issue into the way some drivers plow into deep puddles. Or install low positioned racing CAIs for street cars.
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
With a glorified VW Beetle (erm old Porsche) you are safe to engine wash. On a modern Merc you can do a lot of damage without taking a lot of precautions. Make your dealer rich. On the W204 the common corrosion areas are the ESP connector & the ECU connector. Corrode those badly & you are in for a large bill.
I've thought about going about the engine bay with a dry scrubbing brush to get a lot of the dirt off. I just don't like the idea of there being abrasive mud/sand all around the pulleys, as well as salt build up from Ontario winters.. I think that would be fine; I'm absolutely terrified of washing the bay with any water - electronics everywhere, not to mention accidentally getting any water on things like the opening for the MAF/intake etc.
If you're just interested in making it look clean, you can just carefully clean all the visible plastic bits and such. I did this and it looks quite clean at a glance, even though the engine block is still absolutely filthy. All I used was a damp sponge, some einszett plastic cleaner and autoglym vinyl/rubber care.
Last edited by Funkwagen; Dec 13, 2015 at 08:48 AM.
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Benz sells a water-less engine cleaning spray for the oily bits. Spray on & wipe off with a cloth. They do this to my cars at every service & the engines are always spotless.
2008 C300 Sport 6 Speed Manual, 1953 Chevy Bel-Air, 2015 Audi allroad, 1963 Chevy Apache
I always use a towel to dry the door jambs, trunk and fuel fill areas along with under the hood. Leaving under the hood for last ends up with the perfect amount of moisture in the towel to clean everything quite nicely.
I've thought about going about the engine bay with a dry scrubbing brush to get a lot of the dirt off. I just don't like the idea of there being abrasive mud/sand all around the pulleys, as well as salt build up from Ontario winters.. I think that would be fine; I'm absolutely terrified of washing the bay with any water - electronics everywhere, not to mention accidentally getting any water on things like the opening for the MAF/intake etc.
If you're just interested in making it look clean, you can just carefully clean all the visible plastic bits and such. I did this and it looks quite clean at a glance, even though the engine block is still absolutely filthy. All I used was a damp sponge, some einszett plastic cleaner and autoglym vinyl/rubber care.
A little off topic but if that is a C250 what would distinguish it from a C300 since it's a V6 a 4matic?
A little off topic but if that is a C250 what would distinguish it from a C300 since it's a V6 a 4matic?
Visually absolutely nothing other than possibly different stock wheels. It's practically the same engine, only difference being 0.5L in displacement because of a shorter stroke. C300 = 3L V6, 2010 C250 (also known as a c230 in previous years) = 2.5L V6
Last edited by Funkwagen; Dec 14, 2015 at 08:55 AM.
Been power washing the engine bay as well since I park the car outside and sometimes a rat decides to keep itself warm on top of the alum. engine block. Good thing the rat has not decided to chew on really important things inside except for a small foam that is found besides the washer fluid reservoir which I would say I lost 1/3 of the foam. I rotated it and it seems not to be held up with anything so my question is what the hell is this foam for?
Last edited by shotgun_banjo; Dec 15, 2015 at 07:13 PM.
Glenn I use compressed air to get rid of the excess water inside the engine bay as much as I can then run the engine for 10 minutes to dry the rest off. You think you will still get corrosion after that?
That is my process as well. After the drive it's completely dry. But I also don't spray the ECU. I can't see it being worse than wet weather conditions, living by the ocean or being in snowy climates where the roads are salted.
The issues are those of corrosion. You will probably hand over the problem to the next owner of the vehicle.
i plan on driving this into the ground - 2010 W204. I recently tried an Audi A7, BMW 5 series, Panamera, W205, W212 ...didn't like any of them. I like the way mine drives so will stick with it for now..
Been power washing the engine bay as well since I park the car outside and sometimes a rat decides to keep itself warm on top of the alum. engine block. Good thing the rat has not decided to chew on really important things inside except for a small foam that is found besides the washer fluid reservoir which I would say I lost 1/3 of the foam. I rotated it and it seems not to be held up with anything so my question is what the hell is this foam for?
I was wondering the same thing. When I did my engine detailing I made sure to stay away from it since it's foam. I've never seen anything like it in any other car before.
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Jun 5, 2015, 12:42 PM
i plan on driving this into the ground - 2010 W204. I recently tried an Audi A7, BMW 5 series, Panamera, W205, W212 ...didn't like any of them. I like the way mine drives so will stick with it for now..
