How to wash a dirty mercedes engine without damaging the electronics
 

Way way back in the good ol' days 1994-95 :rolf: me and the guys would take our old carbureted Camaro's and Mustangs out to the end of the driveway, open the hood and spray a can of that Gunk Engine Bright stuff all over the block and inside the fenders. We'd wait about ten minutes or however long it said on the can I forget, then hose that sucker down with Pop's garden hose and call it a day...

Then a few years back when I was working at the Toyota Dealership we would take trade-in cars to the back and high pressure wash the motors just the same that they did the outside of the car/truck.

It always had me scratching my head though because modern cars and the whole drive by wire setup, I instantly assumed there would be big trouble spraying a motor down like that.

From what I can remember I never saw any negative repercussions from doing that to the cars...

I personally sat there and watched them spray the motors of:
Corvettes
camrys
celicas
mini coopers
Tundra one after the other
Tacoma (one I personally took off roading after a rainstorm :)
Lexus.... the list goes on

The reason I ask is because the motor in my Benzo is turning 200k this month and I think she deserves a nice bath... wow I talk about her like a horse ha!

Anyway, what have you guys done to get the grease and grime out??

Much appreciated

for me, i slightly warm the engine,
spray simple green...working only on portion of engine,
let sit for no more than 10 mins,
mist spray off

move to next portion of engine,
repeat

i never let the engine bay get too dirty so engine cleaning is never an onerous task

One of the shops I used to work at had a lot of cars that we detailed under the hood, and we used plastic bags over alternator and ECU and whatever else was electric and could get coved. Then gunk and a small wire brush for the really dirty spots and then power wash and try not to spray the electronics. After words tireshine on hoses and any black plastic on the engine compartment, careful not to spray on the belts cause no one wants squeaky squeak. Heres before and after of my 97 e420 w/143,000. I repainted the valve covers silver.

That's exactly what I've done for cars many times over. Never had an issue.

i neglected to mention using several sizes of cheap paint brushes, sash,
corner, flat, etc. even have a brush spinner for them when it comes time
to clean. :) car talk on the radio....and just kick back and enjoy the task.

M104
 

engines hate water.ie 1996 1997
Avoid getting it down the spark recesses or on the coils.
You will be chasing misfires till it drives you crazy.

m112/m113 engines clean away they shed water like a duck

That's right Simple Green! I forgot how great their product was.

Ill try it this weekend

The pressure washer is my favorite tool in the whole garage. I even use it on the kids!! It gets the lettuce out from between their little toes so fast:eek:

Hey Ejsheltra, so are you saying you have used a pressure washer on your motor???

I wont even ask why your kids have lettuce between their toes. ha

this man speaks the truth haha. only takes once and you learn your lesson.

we do this at my dealer when doing oil leak repairs. never had an issue except what ohlord mentioned above about the 104. i never use any type of degreaser, just some super hot high pressure water.

Well... I'm still pretty concerned about it. But I know Simple Green and some elbow grease isn't going to give me the results I'm looking for.

Especially on the front of the motor above the belt. Its all greasy from using the CRC belt conditioner/dressing sold a Kragen. (which btw is the worst product ive ever used period! Do Not Buy) That stuff not only made my engine dirty and collect dirt and sand, but the belt instantly began to squeak 10 times louder than originally!

I'd rather not start another thread for this so maybe one of you guys will know...

My serpentine belt began to squeak, so I replaced it with a new one. Started the car up and the squeak is still there. I find the sound is coming from the two small radiator fans in front of the radiator.

Question is Can I safely spray those suckers with some WD-40 and call it a day?

check the belt on the auxillary fans. its pretty cheap and easy to change.

Right on Ill do that tomorrow. Didnt know they were belt driven

All these sprays do anything but help. In fact when a belt squeaks the best thing to do is just change it.

I did it every 6 months
Cover the alternator with plastic bags
Gunk foamy ( no bad smell )
Brush with simple green dirty places
Wash it
Dry it & wipe with tire shining spry