Cleaning engine bay

M1ck3y · May 23

So I thought I’d give the engine bay a quick wash; used spot free rinse so it wasn’t high pressure.

It occurred to me later that I probably shouldn’t have done that. And I noticed the little symbol on the battery and computer indicating you shouldn’t pressure wash them…

The truck runs, no codes, or weird electrical glitches.

did I just damage the computer, battery or something else by doing this??

Edited May 23 by M1ck3y

rav3 · May 23

You should be good. I always run the engine to warm it up afterwards this helps get any water to evaporate. Believe it or not, engine bays are made to be water resistant (like your watch lol). Just look at the environment they live it. I wouldn't spray the fuse box but your battery is fine, in my opinion. I've been doing this for 40 years with no issues, on my trucks & bimmer cars. I always say a clean engine is a happy engine. Now I'm waiting for the flames LOL

M1ck3y · May 24

11 hours ago, rav3 said:

You should be good. I always run the engine to warm it up afterwards this helps get any water to evaporate. Believe it or not, engine bays are made to be water resistant (like your watch lol). Just look at the environment they live it. I wouldn't spray the fuse box but your battery is fine, in my opinion. I've been doing this for 40 years with no issues, on my trucks & bimmer cars. I always say a clean engine is a happy engine. Now I'm waiting for the flames LOL

I also washed it when the truck was at operating temp. You think I could have cracked the block?

rav3 · May 24

No, you won't crack the block. Is there something I'm missing on your post? What's wrong?

M1ck3y · May 24

37 minutes ago, rav3 said:

No, you won't crack the block. Is there something I'm missing on your post? What's wrong?

no you’re not missing anything. Just overly concerned I guess.

Thanks for your help!

rav3 · May 24

Your good. I do this cleaning with garden hose spraying on my '17 Silverado all the time. Warm engine & cold. But always run it afterwards to dry things out.

KARNUT · May 24

I had an unpleasant experience spraying an engine bay once. I used to do it regularly. It was the last time I did. The check engine light came on and it started misfiring. It was on a 2001 GMC. It was fairly new. I went to a parts store and got WD-40. After a day it was back to normal. Since then if I do it it’s with a rag.

diyer2 · May 24

I have cleaned engine bays for many years, spray down with a cleaner of your choice and hose off with a spray from the garden hose. Not a power rinse.

I do cold engine. Pull it out of the garage, clean and put it back.

M1ck3y · May 24

16 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

I had an unpleasant experience spraying an engine bay once. I used to do it regularly. It was the last time I did. The check engine light came on and it started misfiring. It was on a 2001 GMC. It was fairly new. I went to a parts store and got WD-40. After a day it was back to normal. Since then if I do it it’s with a rag.

What ended up being the problem?

KARNUT · May 24

3 minutes ago, M1ck3y said:

What ended up being the problem?

I hit all the electrical connections, plug wires connections with WD-40 and drove to my hotel. I was out of town working. I used my trucks on pipelines it was dusty. I was at a self service wash bay using low pressure with their cleaner. Truck was running. After the engine I sprayed the truck and headed to my hotel. During the drive it started misfiring, on came the light. I stopped got WD-40 spray the connections. Next morning it was fine. It was going to work regardless. Happily she went back to normal.

KARNUT · May 24

One of the things that came to mind after the problem of the miss fire. Was flood vehicles. A problem in Texas. You can clean the vehicle like new with exception of the creep of water into electric connections. So any kind of pressure can force water deep into those connections. Some videos I’ve watched about cleaning the engine has everything getting wrapped to keep out water. The few vehicles I cared about keeping the engine bay clean since. I used a paint brush a few shop towels and hand wipe. The rest just stay dirty. I’ve never had a service writer suggest an engine cleaning. They don’t miss when it comes to making a buck.

M1ck3y · May 24

Well, truck seems to be ok so far. Fingers crossed!

rav3 · May 24

1 hour ago, KARNUT said:

One of the things that came to mind after the problem of the miss fire. Was flood vehicles. A problem in Texas. You can clean the vehicle like new with exception of the creep of water into electric connections. So any kind of pressure can force water deep into those connections. Some videos I’ve watched about cleaning the engine has everything getting wrapped to keep out water. The few vehicles I cared about keeping the engine bay clean since. I used a paint brush a few shop towels and hand wipe. The rest just stay dirty. I’ve never had a service writer suggest an engine cleaning. They don’t miss when it comes to making a buck.

Yes, a flooded vehicle is NOT the same as washing the engine bay. As I said above, they are water resistant Not waterproof.

Washing off the Beauty Cover, Firewall, fan shroud & inside fenders usually doesn't push water into electrical connectors. However, they can create a short to ground for spark plugs & plug wires, but they will dry out & once the water is gone, so is the ground.

KARNUT · May 24

16 minutes ago, rav3 said:

Yes, a flooded vehicle is NOT the same as washing the engine bay. As I said above, they are water resistant Not waterproof.

Washing off the Beauty Cover, Firewall, fan shroud & inside fenders usually doesn't push water into electrical connectors. However, they can create a short to ground for spark plugs & plug wires, but they will dry out & once the water is gone, so is the ground.

I was using that as an example. My opinion such as it is. Why take the chance? Some vehicles with unique engines are one thing. Truck engines something else. I just started cleaning them by hand. Like usual I pass on examples of my experiences. That lead me to research the proper way to clean an engine. I never got burned by following the recommended vehicle maintenance procedures either. Like lifetime transmission fluid or 150K anti freeze. Now converting to the 150K plus vehicle usage more frequently doing service is a must. Having luck doing something that could be risky. Could be costly. I’ve been very lucky. I’m just a little more proactive these days.