Auto Detailing Guide

Car Engine Cleaning Tips

Cleaning your car's engine is important for many reasons. A clean engine runs cooler which helps with fuel efficiency. It also helps prolong the life of your engine. Another benefit is when you go to sell or trade in your vehicle a clean engine will increase its value. This is why car dealers always make sure the car is detailed and the engine is cleaned.

Engine cleaning is a fairly easy procedure provided you have some of the chemicals and equipment to do it. A heated pressure washer is desired, but not necessary to properly clean an engine. With a heated pressure washer or a steam pressure generator you can use less chemical and degrease the engine faster. If you don't have access to heat, a cold water pressure washer will work also. FYI, you can clean an engine without a pressure washer. However, you need to use a much higher level of chemicals and putting that much water on your engine for the length of time it takes is inadvisable. Water and your engine are not a good mix, so if you can get a hold of a pressure washer it is better.

With regards to pressure. You don't need a lot. Anywhere from 1,000 PSI on up to 2,000 PSI is more than sufficient. Any more than that and you run the risk of injecting water into places you don't want water in your engine.

The first step in the cleaning process is to properly protect the parts of your engine that could be affected by direct contact with water. Any electrical parts are important to cover. We usually cut pieces of the thick contractor garbage bags that you can get at your local Home Depot. Find any electrical parts in the engine like the alternator, battery terminals, windshield wiper motor, etc. Cover them with your plastic garbage bag and tape the bottom so it holds while you are spraying chemicals and water. Also cover your carburetor and any spark plug wires and the ports for the plugs in the engine block.

The next thing you need is a good kerosene based engine degreaser. There are many engine cleaners on the market, most of them are junk. If you clean your engine every six months you can use one of the store bought engine cleaners. It will take a lot of it but it should cut through the grease. Kerosene based cleaners are better at cutting through grease than some of the other exotic chemical cleaners on the market. Be sure to let your engine completely cool for 2 to 3 hours before spraying the cleaner on your engine since many of the cleaners are flammable and follow the directions on the can when applying the cleaners to avoid any problems. Spray the cleaner all over the engine paying particular attention to any areas where you see grease or dirt build-up. Let it soak for the time directed on the can of cleaner. Don't let the cleaner dry, you want to make sure you keep the engine wet with cleaner while you are doing this process.

The next step is to pressure wash the engine. It's important to understand that you need to use the pressure washer very sparingly while cleaning, let the chemicals do the work loosening the grease. The longer you keep pressurized water on the engine, the more chance you have of something going wrong and water going somewhere it shouldn't.

Here's another important tip. If you have an older car, some detailers will run the engine while they are cleaning it. You have to be careful doing this though because you run the risk of water entering areas of moving parts. The reason they do this is to keep the engine running and lessen the risk of spraying water in places that it shouldn't go. The theory being that if the engine is running it won't let water into areas it shouldn't be. I always liked cleaning with the engine off, but if you are that worried about this you may be better-off taking your car to a professional detailer and let them worry about it. If you take it somewhere, just remember to read our insurance page first and make sure the shop is insured in case there's a problem.

That's the story behind engine cleaning. Not too much to it. Just be careful to clean everything. Important points of this article were 1) cover everything that you don't want water getting into; 2) let the chemicals do the bulk of the work; 3) use the pressure washer only as much as is needed to spray clean the engine (sparingly); and remove the plastic bag off the engine parts before you start the engine again. Also, you can finish the cleaning by letting the engine dry and spraying an engine protectant product on it. This will help protect the wires and rubber coverings from wear and water from the street that may get on the engine during storms.

Engine cleaning is not a hard process. But if the idea of spraying chemicals and water on your engine bothers you than by all means let a professional detailer take care of this for you. You can expect to pay anywhere from $40 to $150 or more for this service depending on the work they are doing and the condition of your engine. Light cleaning would be on the low side of that pricing. I have cleaned engines for car shows and charged as much as $800, but that was a full day process and a lot of chrome had to be shined. So your cost should be less than a hundred dollars. Also, as I pointed out above, please follow our insurance procedures as a customer of a detail shop and get a copy of their certificate of insurance. Engine cleaning is one of those areas that a lot of shops won't take responsibility for if something happens. You can short out your entire electrical system, fill your spark plug ports with water and many other potential problems. If this happens it's easier for the shop to get you to sign a waiver of liability or just claim that your engine was already damaged. They won't give you their certificate of insurance after the service is performed and they've screwed-up your car. So get it before you even get to the shop and call the agent to verify coverage. Getting an insurance adjuster to pay for damages is a lot easier than taking the shop to the local magistrate and having to prove damages in court.

Have fun and enjoy the process. You shouldn't have any problems as long as you follow the tips outlined above.

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