How do you guys do it? When I had my '02 SS I would hit it with a pressure washer spray with simple green then rinse with the pressure washer, when doing this I also wrapped a plastic bag around the electronics and intake.Could I do this with my Corvette? I would assume that if I could on the LS1 it would work with the LS2 but I would like opinions before I destroy my car.

 

Simple... I don't.

 

You can wash the engine bay, but I would not direct that high pressure at any connections at all, I doubt you even need high pressure.

 

I got to tell you, no way would I use a pressure washer for under the hood on any vehicle except a tank.

 

I've used pressure washers for years on many vehicles...never had a problem. I'm always careful not to get too close especially around electronics.

 

Check out the following link to Autopia Car Care

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-engine.html

It is a good resource on detailing your car.

 

I will provide you with a slightly different train of thought ... might be worth exploring.

Why not detail the engine compartment each time you detail the interior ?? (most detail outside finish weekly or biweekly, where as interior is done monthly at best).

Simply take the time to wipe down the area with a damp towel versus pressurized water. Dress the rubber surrounds and tubing. Wax the painted area's. Use an All-In-One type product ( I love the acrylic protection of Klasse AIO for underhood as it lasts a long time) underhood to help keep it up monthly. Use a compressor, or blower to keep any sand and dirt out of the knooks and crannys.

While using pressurized water can help with a disgusting engine bay, it is not without potential damage. Water can get into areas not meant to be exposed to it (near battery, computer areas for instance) and the cleaners usually used can be caustic and cause harm down the road. A damp towel with a little car wash soap is usually at that is necessary. Just an idea.....

 

 

A light misting and wipe down is O.K. but Simple Green or other cleaner I like the compressor idea instead of water for the dust and dirt in knooks. I will try this.

 

well ive tried a gas leaf blower and it dosnt get all the dirt out like the pressurewasher did with my Camaro. ive also tried a keyboard cleaner with no effect. I try to clean my engine bay once every few months so its not terribly dirty its just the parts i cannot get to that are really bugging me.

 

I used to use a pressure washer on my engine bay and also my motorcycle up until a few years ago. I took the bike into the shop for service and when the mechanic opened up the rear pumpkin he noticed a little water (Shaft drive). First thing out of his mouth was "do you use a pressure washer on your rims.

NEVER AGAIN !

Now I just use simple green or S100 and use a hose with no nozzle. Once I got the entire engine cleaned, it was easy to just wipe down every so often with a spray bottle and a damp towel.

 

So what's the safe method for the c6?

 

The way I have detailed the engine bay in the past, is to use a good vinyl interior cleaner on plastic items, hoses and the whole bit. For the engine itself I would use simple green or brake cleaner if greased up. On the hood, I would use some good paint sealant. Refreshing it up every weekend makes the job of keeping it clean that much easier.

 

Although many will say not to use that method.... and it's probably very safe advice.... that method can work with no problems if you're careful.

I bought a 98 coupe with 118,000 miles on it. The engine was VERY dirty. It had been used as a DD and he hadn't cleaned the engine in I don't know how long.

I went over to a buddies who also happens to have a 98 coupe. He outlined that exact process and said "A lot of people don't like to use that method so
if you don't want to then we won't....but I did it to my car when I got it and it's fine." He's very picky about his cars and it runs perfectly so I said
"What the heck." (a little reckless but oh well).

After letting the engine cool to just warm, we sprayed it down with Simple Green full strength and let it sit for about 2-3 minutes and then sprayed it with
the pressure washer on the very lowest pressure setting (it's also just an electric pressure washer so the power output is not that high...1450 at max setting).

Then he followed it up with Armour All. I would recommend 303 Aerospace cleaner instead. He just sprayed the heck out of it all. It collected dust pretty fast
though. I'd go with 303 and wipe it down by hand. It was a quick job we did that day (we were washing the car, engine and doing a whole wax job on the car
AND trying not to get in trouble from the ladies for wasting their Saturday that could be spent tourturing us by taking us to the mall ) so you can see there
was a little left for me to do (the fuel rail covers needed more cleaning...they were off the engine when we sprayed and I just quickly wiped them down with a
wet towel).

But here are the results... the before pictures don't do it justice on how dirty it was... when you looked down lower in the engine it made the "before picture" of
the top of the engine look pretty clean . Afterwards, everywhere you could see looked as clean as the "after" pic.

In the pics we did SG spraydown, pressure washer, Armour All, and then wiped down the parts that we didn't spray (battery area etc.)

10 minutes work made a lot of difference!





Obviously as stated above avoid the electronics with the spray (battery, Alt, etc.) It's nice that the battery is separated sort of.


Rob

 

How do you cover the alternator? with plastic wrap or Al. foil? Do you need to keep water away form the coil and other stuff under the fuel rail covers?

Good work, by the way, Rob.

 

Gunk it it has a great fragrance.

 

Thanks

I have heard many people suggest foil as the best method because you can shape it around stuff you want to protect and layer it well to really keep stuff out. To be honest when we did it we didn't cover anything...we just avoided spraying those items directly and I wiped them down by hand with a wet towel (coils, alt, battery area)

Rob

 

^ Do you guys cover teh coil packs or can I get those wet too?

 

Rob

 

You must not show your Car's. Even if you don't you should do some type of PM.

I've used the same hose I wash my Car with on lot's of Cars over the years including my C6 'Vette with no problems. I also use a cordless blower to dry it off, final touch up with cotton towel.

C64Lucky