Powerwashing the engine bay

[Oh Randi]

Anyone have any tips or advice on this? I don't have a splashguard and its looking pretty bad in there. Are there any areas I should be careful to avoid?

[The NEW Ringo]

AVIOD Anything electrical !!!

Trust me I have been doing this to all my cars threw the years. AVoid for sure"

the Atenator cover with a plastic store bag unless you want to buy another one

The reulator, spark plugs etc. can short out

air intake

If possilbe dry the engine compartment off with a leaf blower before you start it back up. A little water on an electric componet can cause it to short, then you will have poor preformance if at all. It may dry later and the perfomance may come back or you could short out the compent and have to get a new one only after you figure out what is bad..

Good luck, keep a steady aim.. LOL

[yoyorob]

how about any advice on using degreasers?

i've always just handwashed any surface i could reach....

[BeetleMyHeart]

I lightly spray the engine bay with water after I put plastic bags over at least the alternator. Wrap any connectors that you can see with some plastic too. The more time you spend covering stuff up the more sucessfull you will be. Just like masking before painting.

After rinsing the bay with water I spray a fairly fine mist of simple green cleaner on the engine bay and let it sit for a minute or two. It's pretty tough stuff so you really need the water to dillute it. Don't let it sit too long. Use a brush with long plastic bristles that isn't too harsh but will still scrub some dirt off. After scrubbing rinse the engine bay off and let dry. Remove the plastic you put in after it dries and little and let it full dry before running it. If anything got wet it's best to let it dry out before turning anything on. This has worked pretty good for me.

Also, another product that is great is CD2 engine cleaner. Follow those instructions and it works great.

[CoriBug]

Daisy has her battery cover and engine cover on so I decided to wash the bay cause it was looking pretty dirty. I used the engine/tire degreaser option at the car wash, trying to avoid the paint. Then I rinsed it off, without squeezing the trigger so it's not high pressure. I didn't get too close to the engine either. That was Friday and I didn't have problems starting her up afterwards.

[marvins_dad]

Originally Posted by CoriBug

Daisy has her battery cover and engine cover on so I decided to wash the bay cause it was looking pretty dirty. I used the engine/tire degreaser option at the car wash, trying to avoid the paint. Then I rinsed it off, without squeezing the trigger so it's not high pressure. I didn't get too close to the engine either. That was Friday and I didn't have problems starting her up afterwards.

I routinely do the same thing as Cori. Only once were we too aggressive and something came came loose in the middle of the engine. Ever since then I still use high pressure, just don't labor on the engine block around the glowplugs anymore.

[EvilinaDM101]

SO....this may seem like a silly request but does anyone by chance have a picture of the "washing of the engine" process? Evilina needs one BIG time but I'm not 100% sure which pieces could get wet to which ones needs to be covered in plastic. Thanks to everyone in advance!

~Shonnel

[CoriBug]

Does your battery have its cover? That's what I would be concerned about because it's electrical.

[kate_the_valkyrie]

How does one remove the engine cover?????????????????????

My battery has the enrite plastic casing. Is this stock???

Is the only benefit of washing the engine bay looks?? Or is it worth giving a good cleaning every now and then for maintenance/performance??????

[CoriBug]

I watched my mechanic remove the engine cover but I couldn't tell ya how he did it. It was easy though. Yours might be different than mine b/c of the engines anyway. I've never washed the engine before in 4.5 years of ownership but I think it's a good thing to do. Like waxing your paint, not exactly necessary but beneficial. The black plastic cover over the battery is stock.

[marvins_dad]

LOL I have kept mine clean since I bought it new for Shows.
I have gotten compliments from mechanics. The guy that did my timing belt at 70k told me it was the cleanest TDI engine he had ever worked on.

I can't remember how the 1.8t covers come off, but they are different from the early TDI's...mine had two torx screws under caps.

[wawalker]

Originally Posted by CoriBug

I watched my mechanic remove the engine cover but I couldn't tell ya how he did it. It was easy though. Yours might be different than mine b/c of the engines anyway. I've never washed the engine in 4.5 years of ownership but I think it's a good thing to do. Like waxing your paint, not exactly necessary but beneficial. The black plastic cover over the battery is stock.

Later ones just pull up in front and then slide off the rear peg. Washing an engine helps it run cooler, prevents engine fires and helps you better identify leaks when they happen. Clean engines are easier to work on too.

[CoriBug]

Originally Posted by wawalker

Later ones just pull up in front and then slide off the rear peg. Washing an engine helps it run cooler, prevents engine fires and helps you better identify leaks when they happen. Clean engines are easier to work on too.

Thanks Bill. I need to pull mine off to clean off the oil that dripped before the gasket under the oil cap was installed properly.

[noR]

Don't presure wash it. Get some good engine degreaser and a small brush for corners.

Use a trickle of water so you can control what's getting wet and what's not.

Cover your bare wires at the injectors, the alternator, coil if you've got one (wouldn't worry about the Coil on plug), and anywhere you see the wires going down into a plug. (Water in a wiring harness is bad news.)

I generally use a plastic grocery bag, cut it into strips, and wrap those around or over the delicate parts. Then hose it all down w/ Gunk Foaming Engine cleaner. Then rinse, and repeat w/agitation where necessary.

[Oh Randi]

Thanks for the tips! I'm leaving to go get him from the shop, and with the new motor I'm motivated to clean the bay now!

I'm so happy!!!

[MichelleRoze]

Clean the engine bay? Hmm..never thought of that. Though my TDI mechanic says the underneath of my engine is super clean for being a 2002. Best he's seen! Though I never thought about cleaning the engine way, I'm way to afraid of destroying something. Maybe I'll wait until I have some money saved up...just in case I fry some wiring...

[VW Lady Bug]

I use the Engine foamy bright from Gunk and some engine degreaser and scrub with the brush. It's very helpful to remove the black metal piece underneath the windshield wipers too to get back inside. My TS engine cover pops right off when you unscrew the oil cap.

I do the whole degreasing, washing, air drying process at least twice a year - at spring cleaning and before Waterfest. We're mid process right now.

I may or may not have some pics, depending on how much work my step-dad's done while I'm at work.

[Ollie]

I've just hand cleaned until now- still a bit wary. On the performance side, it probably is better for the engine to have less gunk on the outside. It might not be as important as on an air-cooled motor where the cylinder fins, etc. should be kept clean to allow heat to dissipate quicker and so on, but eliminating heat-retaining crud is probably good medicine for any engine.
For things to tight to wrap, I wonder if electronics cleaner would be a good pre- or post- barrier/wash?

[Oh Randi]

To bring this back from the dead, anyone want to post pictures of what they cover up? I'm a little dumb and need pictures. hahaha.

[SMG]

Tinfoil works great for covering things since you can mold a shell around it and still get the areas around the covered things clean.

Alternator
Battery
Coilpack (if 2.0)

Not sure if there is anything specific for the 1.8T but I know on my 2.0 and TDI I'll cover those things and go nuts.