Cleaning under the hood

[ego7army377]

I was doing a lot of mud this past weekend and I looked under my hood and the mud is EVERYWHERE. Its even on the bottom of my hood. Is it safe to use a hose or pressure washer to clean it off? My theory is if it wasn't safe for stuff to get in there, then they would have blocked it off to protect it more. It's a 2004 explorer so my guess is all the computers and stuff that can't get wet are under the dash. I don't know much about cars so any help would be great.

 

[jpserra]

It's safe until it is not. I've used pressure hoses to clean under the hood for years, and was careful around electronics equipment and the air filters. Water in the connectors will short them out, but the systems are designed to be wet, sometimes. It's good to clean off the "stuff" under the hood. I usually either use a leaf blower or my shop vac to blow moisture away from critical components and use a shop rag to dry off wiring harnesses.

I have had rough idling after a session, only to have things smooth out after things "heat up" under the hood. The long term issues are possible corrosion of exposed wiring or connectors, so take some care to pull apart connectors to dry them completely and use a water displacement like WD-40 to draw away moisture and keep new moisture from creeping in.

Also, make sure not to get water into the crankcase or transmission through fill ports.

JP

 

[aldive]

I would never, under any circumstance, pressure wash under the hood.

 

[jpserra]

Well, that is your choice.

JP

 

[aldive]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122171&highlight=detailing post # 16

 

[davey2451]

i have cleaned under the hood of 50 + car/trucks with presser wasers, just dont be an idiot and use common sence when ur doin it, like dont put the nozzle to close to the imprtant $hit like electrical and stuff and then if u really want to get into it u could buy a $2 can of
wd-40 and just cover everything and when i say everything i meen everything paint/electrical/metal/alumnium/ anything u want to be nice and shiny new lookin, but dont get discuriged right when ur doin it cuz u have to wait till it dries to get the full effext but it looks way better then mud and dryness ya know

just puttin in my 2 cents

 

[Dylansav]

When spraying off the engine, what shouldn't the WD40 come in contact with? Are there any spots on the newer explorers that react in a bad way with the stuff?

So far I only used it to loosen up bolts and rust but I didn't know you could use it to cover up engine parts during a wash

 

[davey2451]

well after u wash it off with a hose or presser washer then just go crazy with the wd-40 i have never had a problem with spaying everthing cuz i dont think that is that strong
and if u have any dowts just take a blow gun and blow it off after to get the extra off
and it will be fine

 

[jpserra]

Hey, what part of the Twin Cities are you in?

JP
Plymouth, MN

 

[Dylansav]

Downtown Minneapolis U of M

haha enjoying that snow we got lastnight? happy april fools day







thanks for the help

 

[Russ in CT]

The WD in WD-40 stands for Water Displacement, its original purpose was to remove water from places it shouldn’t be. Since it’s a somewhat volatile solvent (its basically kerosene), it evaporates faster than water. So if you hose off your engine, WD-40 could be a good product to use to get the water out of places you shouldn’t have gotten it in the first place.

There are Pressure Washers, and then there are PRESSURE WASHERS, The little electrical home owner ones and the contractor grade gas powered ones. I wouldn’t use the latter to clean an engine. I might use the little one to ‘hose off’ the fenders and hood, and maybe carefully around a few strategic places on the engine, but that’s about it. When I want to clean under the hood I usually use an engine degreaser then regular hose pressure. But I would think mud would be better served with some dish soap. Use a hose on the engine (don’t spray the alternator or other electrical stuff), pressure washer on the hood & fenders.

Most of the stuff under the hood is well sealed, those guys that forge deep streams with intake snorkels are certainly proving that.