abouzahrr

I have only washed my engine after mudding to get the mud off that has made its way up there, but could it mess anything up? .. I washed it off a little yesterday after mudding and I accident pushed some of the filters plastic and pushed a little row of em over to the side.. Not big enough to screw anything but still, opinions?

BobLobLaw

You can wash your engine but cover the alternator, air filter, and disconnect the batttery. Let everything dry completely preferably all day and over night before starting. I once fried some wiiring in my vw because I didn't let it dry

clubsfit

I wash the engine while its running and making sure not to get in air filter housing. Never had an issue.

mechanicboy

The biggest problem I have had when washing engines is if they do not have a good seal on COP. I used to pressure wash my 4.6 town car engine once a month or so and never had an issue. That thing looked brand new when it was 15 years old

With this engine I am not sure.

BobLobLaw

Never wash an engine while it's hot. The cold water on the very hot metal can cause it to possibly crack.

CaSCrew11

Same here! The dealer who has pressure washed my other truck before my ecoscrew said always leaving the engine running while pressure washing. I've always gone by that and never had any problems either.

XtraLargeTall

I think if it was just started or barely at temp you should be fine whereas when people spray down an overheated engine to cool it down is when you run into troubles

Georgiaboy5.0L

Let it cool down to warm.....I've always used a bathroom type spray cleaner.....scrubbing bubbles works great........spray over entire engine and wait a few minutes.....then spray with a soft shower type spray nozzle to rinse........after it dries...spray engine compartment with a tire shine spray.....looks brand new for months........I've done it for year and years...works great.....not one problem.

2011BlueScrew

I never used water under the hood on my Crown Vic because I've heard horror stories about water getting down in the COPs and shorting them out. I washed the engine on my truck, however, blew the COPs out with air (as well as whatever else I could under there) and waited a while to start it. Then I let it run for a while to completely dry. Finished up with Griot's Garage Undercarriage Spray. No problems.

yzedf

Coils and knock sensors don't like the bath