rocketX

I'll make a long story short...
I live in a apartment that has a garage and a sprinkler system that houses my 17' GS (12 months old, 4k).
One day I went to go for a drive and I noticed the sprinkler system sprayed an anti-freeze, dirty water, mixture all over the hood of the car. It was rusty, sticky, and gritty.
I contacted the apartment complex and upon inspection they said they didn't believe there were any leaks in the system but they would cover the cost to clean the car. This was after going back and forth via email and phone calls. After I got a quote from a reputable detail shop and it was several hundred dollars, they backed out. So I just spent 5 hours and cleaned it myself (decontam, strip, clay, wash, wax). I moved on because I got tired of going back and forth with them and wasting my time. This happened about 2 months ago.

Well last week, it happened again and I had proof this time because the dry-wall and ground were still wet. I ran to the management office and showed the manager so he conceded there must be a leak. When I say a leak, this isn't a drip, it is a spray of several gal. of water. This time I was actually working under my hood so the mixture sprayed all inside my hood. It is like dirty. stick, water, and it is on everything under the hood. Bottom line, its a mess. Now the apartment complex is telling to me to contact my insurance company and file a claim against them. Honestly, I don't know what the ins. company will do.

So a few questions I'm looking for some opinions on
1) What is the best way for me to clean the engine bay? just spray it down with soap and water? anything to avoid?
2) There are cosmetic damages, staining, dirty, but can there be any long term damages from getting this much water under the hood?
3) any general advice for working with the apartment complex or ins company?

Appreciate your time, John

wgood

Have you tried the Tub of Towels you get from the auto store in the round black and yellow container ??? Wayne

dashotgun

Why should your insurance pay? I think you could just spray some water on it to clean it.

bigsapper

Wrap the alternator with aluminum foil. Use an engine bay cleaner that specifically says it won't harm or discolor plastics. I use Purple Power Citrus Cleaner Degreaser. Wet the compartment with a low pressure sprayer. Hit it good with the degreaser. Let it do the work. Use a soft bristle brush for any accumulations of dirt/grime. After a good soak time, use a low pressure sprayer to rinse it off. Towel dry as best as possible. If you have one of those air blowers, even better.

I've done mine a few times to no ill effect. I do it because my car goes through a regular tunnel-type car wash and the sprayers from underneath go up into the engine compartment. After time the soap residue that remains in the engine compartment needs to be cleaned off.

jkeithnb

I use a steam cleaner it is awesome!

Ron'sGS

orca1946

Good tip in covering the Alt.

rocketX

I appreciate all the feedback. Just to be clear it is in my own garage. I have an attached garage to my apartment. The apt complex was trying to avoid the hassle and told me to call my ins. company. My ins. company said go kick rocks. I ended up just taking it to a detail shop because the dirt and water had a lot of minerals and sediment that made it difficult to clean. The detailer stated he had to use some hard water spot remover after the detail to remove some final stains. I'm working with the apt. complex now to get them to cover the cost of the detail, $175.00