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I know this board has had the topic of "should I get my engine bay washed" brought up again and again until the end of time....
So there's a dealer that does detailing (a MB dealership) and I talked to them today. $79 to do an engine bay cleaning and they confirmed that if anything breaks as a result of cleaning the engine bay that they will fix it at their cost.
Would you do it? My car's gone through 4 Canadian winters...they have assured me that they have never caused a problem on any gasoline cars after doing an engine bay cleaning, but if something happens to mine, they will fix it at their expense.
That seems like a pretty good deal, no? Would you do it?
Full and fair disclosure: my car is under extended factory warranty (year 5 of 7) so if a sensor goes it's not the biggest deal in the world.
Corrosion of terminals does not occur immediately. You may pay for your cleanliness down the track. There are literally many 10's if not hundreds of little brass terminals .
I use compressed air , a cloths dampened with petrol & water & patience. A little 1/4 " brush is handy too. Done regularly it is not a big chore.
What is it about washing the engine that has peole concerned? I've never experienced a problem in 30 years of driving. I think as long as (I) use common sense- don't spray into the intake runners - don't blast anything anywhere - I don't see what the problem could be.
Thanks for any input
Karl
Last edited by karlt10; Jun 20, 2019 at 10:03 PM.
Reason: typo
I know this is a necro-post from 2017, but I wanted to contribute with something I know about... I run a detailing business as a side hack on the weekends and I have been doing engine details for 4 years without any problems (and before that on my own cars for decades). The red flag in the original above post is the term "pressure washer." I would highly recommend against blasting a pressure washer in your engine compartment, for many reasons. No matter how low of a pressure they use, it's not low enough. Just don't do it. Not worth the risk.
The proper way to clean an engine is to let it cool off, spray it down with a 4:1 to 10:1 diluted degreaser or all-purpose automotive cleaner, then agitate everything with a brush. Some people have success with a small wheel brush, I prefer
, personally. Rinse with a rain-type setting on a hose nozzle. I use a leaf blower to blow off excess water inside the engine nooks & crannies, too. I then spray down all engine compartments with a water-based dressing made by Meguiar's called D170 Hyper Dressing diluted to 3:1 for a satin finish. It's simple and it looks great when you are done. I hate working on dirty engines, so it's something I do to all of my cars.
I was told by an old mercedes mechanic which has his own garage and work on mercs including W204's that I should never wash the engine bay, so I forbid the dealer to ever wash the car or engine bay since new. I told them that at each service since new. I have seen what moist do to electronics and connections and had to deal with it myself, it happens down the line in the form of complicated unlogical faults as with poor earths and poor power supplies, so my answer to you would be a NO.
I would imagine if you clean carefully, section by section it could be ok. I would say this job depends on how good one person alone can do it that know what he is dealing with.
I would not like compressed air used if any light moist is involved. Compressed air has a powerfull force, and theres many reflections involved, you may not blow where you think you are blowing.
Pressure washer is out of the question.
If you buy every year another car I think only replacing tyres really matters to you.
This is one of the reasons I never buy a 2nd hand car.
Last edited by Moto_Guzzi; Jun 21, 2019 at 05:06 PM.
Do it yourself... Very gratifying once you are done and like the others said, it will be quality control at your standards (photo pre-final wipe down).
Last edited by 25th Car; Jun 21, 2019 at 11:03 PM.
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