Is it bad to wash your engine with soap and water ?

Question

I want to clean everything under the hood, what would you recommend I do?

Answer 1

Unless you have a sense of what you are doing, let a professional detailer do it.
You can do it at as do-it-yourself car wash, but you MUST be careful where you spray water.
There are a whole lotta electronics in there, and electrons and water ain't the best of friends.
You don't want water around your intake either. Water in the cylinder doesn't compress and can cause a bit of mechanical damage.

Answer 2

I don't know, but what I can tell you is that if you don't get any good answers here, try asking on a hot rod site or on a modding site.

These people actually take pride in their engines and like to show them off, and so some among them ought to be able to tell you how to wash an engine if nobody does here.

Answer 3

I wouldn't wash the engine because the high pressure water can cut through the gaskets and start causing all kinds of oil leaks that will be costly to repair. (mechanic for 10yrs)

Answer 4

Besides electrical componets getting damaged, make sure the engine is not hot ...cold water on hot metals does not do much good for anything.

Answer 5

Uh yeah....your engine needs grease to run smoothly....don't worry about cleaning everything under the hood -- it's just going to get really dirty really quickly anyway. Seriously, leave it all alone.

Answer 6

Use engine degreaser and make sure you don't put high pressure water directly on the electronic componets .

Answer 7

yes it is terrible for it!!!! it will throw off the cattle crystal converter rings and u will be putting calcium chloride into your muffler bearings. sorry about ur luck hope u didnt wash it yet big bucks in your future!!!!!!