I purchased a 2002 Convertable that has spent most of it life on the east coast of Florida. With that in mind the aluminum block, and all other unfinished engine components have become corroded. I plan to pressure wash the entire car on Sunday. But I would like to clean up the engine compartment as much as possible.

Any suggestions improve the appearance of the engine compartment?

 

Do NOT use a pressure washer to clean the engine compartment...

I suggest using simple green and a various nylon brush sizes. When rinsing, the hose should be barley running...just enough to cascade the water over the washed area. Pay particular attention to no directly run water over electrical connectors, or let it run down the valley. For cleaning of the air intake system, disassemble and clean, as to not chance soaking the airfilter or having water find it's way into any loose connections.

 

Not to knock Lucky's theory...

I wash my engine compartment every 2 weeks at the local car wash with pressure using soap and water rinse. NEVER had any problems and the compartment looks BEAUTIFUL !

 

any good way to remove the corrosion from the aluminum block? short of buffing it? I do not expect it to shine like polished aluminum, but I woujld like it to look brighter.

 

.....well....it takes all kinds to make the world go around....

 

To answer the question of cleaning: I use a cotton cloth and Armor All cleaner. For areas that I can't reach, I use a plastic handle brush that I got at Wal Mart.

Holy Cow!
Brother you are a brave man.
If I did that I would be calling a wrecker to take me home. I am glad that it is working for you but like Mikey, "I'm Not Gona Try It"
I already spend enough time cleaning electrical connectors and using dielectric tune up grease to keep the water out.

 

see that is part of what I am talking about....

The car had 12,000 miles and it is a 2002.
By the looks of it ie. the screw heads on the inside of the trunk lid, and the engine compartment, and the location that I purchased it. It was on the east coast of Florida, maybe not on the beach everyday, but within 5-10 miles of the Atlantic.

I thought that it would be smart to pressure wash the bottom, the exterior, and a light wash of the engine compartment. To rinse all of any residual salt off.

You guys that warn against the engine compartment pressure washing have a good point, but I have used simple green as a pre-wash soak, and pressure washed MANY engine compartments before, without any damage. There are some areas that I would not directly spray. But you guys ever think about what happens to a engine compartment when you go through a rain storm???? If you think that it stays dry....think again. I do not wash my engine compartment daily or weekly, but how do you think the dealers make the used cars look so good???


But I think rinsing the salt off the say....electrical connectors would be less damaging than leaving the salt on the connector. again there are some connectors that I would not directly spray, such as the ECM connectors.

BUT I am asking about a wash, a chemical, a soap, what ever you call it... that would help remove the corrision off the bare metal parts???? I would like the dress up the engine compartment a little bit, and I would start with making the bare metal parts look better.

Maybe I am asking for a mircle soap....

 

Griot's garage (google it) sells an undercarriage spray that actually works well in the engine compartment. Problem is you might get a deduction at car shows with a note: "Too much Armor All in engine compartment". If the judges would have taken a second to touch the engine they would have felt it was dry as a bone and it stays that way... It also turns those gray wheel wells black just like it rolled off the assembly line...

 

Not brave just like to keep my engine compartment clean. Just stay away from the battery and ECM box.

I'm going to have buy and try some of that stuff !

 

Why pressure wash an engine compartment with all the connectors, wiring and such in there just waiting to corrode a connection or short something. Thats crazy and same as driving in the rain with no hood on which of course no one does. I bet if you were driving in the rain and saw a Z06 with no hood on it you'd think the guy was crazy im sure for letting water get all over everything just like a pressure washer hose...

I'm not one to care what my engine compartment looks like cleanliness wise. Its an engine and it gets dirty...no big deal to me but pressure washing it just aint right and eventually something will get affected by doing that.

 

Yes, I do think about it. The next time you are in a rain storm hitting you in the face at 1200 psi, let me know. If you were ever in a deluge soo severe that your engine compartment was subject to the same pressures and volume as a using a pressure washer...you'd probably hydrolock your engine....

Every couple of weeks, there is a post about someone reporting their car is missing, running rough, or not starting at all after a pressure wash.

At the end of the day, I could care less what you do with your car.....I was just trying to save you some trouble......good luck

 

Well you guys I did not mean to start a big fight. Thanks for the input.

Over the years, this forum has answered so many question for me, and I am thankful for that. I just thought someone before me has experienced this situation, and I could learn from their experience.

Again thank you for your input.

 

+1 on not using a pressure washer to clean the engine compartment. I used to work at a privately owned BMW only repair shop and they followed factory procedures to the letter. When an engine compartment got washed, they used the mildest non-corrosive cleaners they could find and lots of low pressure water rinses. After the wash, every electrical connector in the engine compartment had to be opened up and blown out with compressed air, lubricated with dialectric grease, and then snapped back together. Very time consuming and expensive, but that's what happens when you let Germans run things

 

Regarless of how you wash it make sure to use a leaf blower to dry it - gets rid of all the water in the nooks anf cranys.

 

To the OP:

This thread topic comes up every month or so and every single time there are those who say NEVER pressure wash, and those who say they've done it on many other cars and do it all the time on their vette. The issue seems to be that most other cars are not NEARLY as sensitive to electrical gremlins as these Corvettes and pressure washing just seems to greatly increase the odds that you'll accidentally force water into areas where you don't want it to be.

Although I haven't checked recently, there used to be a very good video on Adam's website (Adam's cleaning/waxing/polishing products) which showed how to clean the engine bay. It basically presoaked the engine compartment with a mild cleaning product, then (with the car running) rinsed with a GENTLE spray from the garden hose (with their propriety nozzle of course), then used several of their other detailing products to make things look brand new again. The discussion basically said to have the car running during the rinse so that any problems could be detected IMMEDIATELY and let you know to stop spraying IMMEDIATELY should the car idle begin to faulter. At least that way, if it actually died, you'd have some clue where to begin looking for a compromised (flooded) connector.

Whether this process would make much of a difference for cleaning corrosion on the block (which was your initial question), I'm not sure, but I bet if you contact Adam's, they'll have a good recommendation for you (which will naturally include using their products).

I have to admit, I've never had the courage to spray down my engine bay. My car is a daily driver and no matter how much cleaning I do, within a few days, it looks like I never cleaned it. I've only cleaned the topside obvious, easy-to-reach or remove parts by hand.

Just my .02. Good luck. Hope this helps.

P.S. When you do attempt to clean the engine compartment, please post another thread to let us know how you did it, what problems (if any) you encountered, and what the results looked like. We all learn from each other on this forum.

 

Diluted Simple Green, warm not hot engine, gentle with the water hose.
Stay away from water sensitive areas. Miraculously starts right up and runs fine.

No Q-Tips for me.

Washed mine Friday. Wish I had a before pic.

 

Do not directly put water underneath the intake manifold. Don't ask me how I know You'll wind up submerging the 2 knock sensors and I also had a fuse blow on me that caused 1/2 of the engine to stop working

 

I've never pressure washed any of the engine compartments of my cars, either...especially with the electronic laden cars of today. I don't need any electrical gremlins.

I do use rags, Q-tips, aerosol brake cleaner, diluted SIMPLE GREEN (never on raw aluminum!) and diluted WINDEX depending on the condition.

For the most parts, it's only light dust so cleaning with a rag and 303 PROTECTANT is all that's necessary with each wash after a weekend outing.

I use the same procedure on our daily driver Trailblazer and Silverado as I do on our Z16...

 

Perhaps this

http://www.zepmfg.com/products/products.aspx?

ZEP-A-LUME
TYPE : Aluminum Cleaner and Brightener PROD.# 1063

BENEFITS : Zep-A-Lume is a premium aluminum cleaner and brightener. It is designed for use on aluminum trailers where its fast cleaning and super brightening powers are required to maintain attractive appearance. It is composed of a blend of powerful cleaners and emulsifiers to cut through road film. It also contains the most powerful agents known to provide outstanding brightening action. Removes both dull oxide and unsightly diesel smoke from trailers. Brightens most trailers without prior washing or brushing. Will not "brown" or "snow" trailers. The product`s concentration assures economy in use

 

Hmmmm;

Lots of waxers out there. Racers do it dirty