[DieselFan]

Cleaning of engine bay is waste of time. neither does it stay clean nor is it visible to people. I see it is a total waste of time to clean engine bay which will get dirty within 20 km of driving.

[bluevolt]

One more concern I have is this that most of us drive around 5-15 KMs to service station and in this time engine gets quite hot and I have seen SVC guys especially Maruti SVC guys that they queue up the car for washing immediately on receiving. The thermal shock can be dangerous for the car but I don't know how these guys do it but still no harm is done.

Honda guys wash the car (and engine bay) only after servicing and till then engine is temperature gets normal.

[black12rr]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

I use WD40 Spray to keep the engine bay clean.
I am not sure if its recommended or not,but i have not faced any problems till date

Isn't Wd40 flammable . I would not do that where things get pretty hot .

PS: Just looked at my can - Extremely Flammable ( propane ) .

[Aroy]

Reminds of Peter O'Toole in "The Night of the Generals" or some thing similar. He had a fetish for clean engine and would inspect the engine of his staff car with his handkerchief! Keeping engine spotlessly clean may be aesthetically satisfying, but serves no purpose technically, unless it is full of grime and oil caked mud.

[shankar.balan]

Even Mahindra service chaps in my observation used to attend to all other things related to servicing first and it is only at the absolute end, that they wash it over completely, including the engine bay etc.
That ought to be standard practice at any service centre in my opinion. Am sure surprised that it does not appear to be the case, going by your post!

Originally Posted by bluevolt

One more concern I have is this that most of us drive around 5-15 KMs to service station and in this time engine gets quite hot and I have seen SVC guys especially Maruti SVC guys that they queue up the car for washing immediately on receiving. The thermal shock can be dangerous for the car but I don't know how these guys do it but still no harm is done.

Honda guys wash the car (and engine bay) only after servicing and till then engine is temperature gets normal.

[Mortis]

I think getting the engine cleaned by pressurized air once a month and getting it washed 1-2 times a year after servicing is more than sufficient for most cars

[AvonA7]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Most of us keep our cars clean and shiny and spend good amount of rupees on keeping the paint fresh and glossy. Very few of us take pain to clean the dirtiest place of a car and that is under the hood.

Now my query is why it is after all necessary to clean under the hood of a car? I have washed my WagonR and Honda City's engine bay couple of times but feared of rust. I also got to read sgitk's this thread http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ting-away.html

And that made me to think twice before I wash this portion of the car. While I know the engine bay is pressure washed during service I would like to know if it is really necessary to keep this portion clean. I fear of rust and damage to electrical components because of water.

Please share your views on this.

I don't think it's necessary to use air, water pressure/wash the engine bay (under the hood).
Why ? - The most critical components are configured in this area.

Well, this is quite common practice to use pressure wash (water) to clean the engine bay.

Sharing my experience of POLO -

SAs @ VW Dealership advised against using water wash (pressure wash) the engine bay, just for information - VW Dealership here in Pune don't do that even if you pay for washing/cleaning the car (well nothing is free @VW ). I never do that (once I did that just after buying the car but made sure ECU/Battery etc are well covered with plastics) and that was 14+months back, that was the first and last time.

Even today if I see my car engine bay it's clean, secret - just clean it regularly with light brush (all kinds of brush - tooth brush to painting brush), apply appropriate protectant to avoid rust/dust accumulation.

Read here in Team-BHP only of many issues reported by members where water pressure wash under the hood created many issues in the car.

In fact even if one goes to the 3M exclusive showroom (at least in Pune), they know that for VW POLO water pressure wash is not required under the hood and they won't do that unless asked explicitly to clean the engine bay using water pressure wash.

The link provided in the opening post - seems the engine bay is not cleaned for years.

IMO, regular maintenance is easy maintenance and why take un-necessary risk.

[supremeBaleno]

There is nothing more pleasing to the eye than a spanking clean engine-bay.
But unlike cleaning the exterior, cleaning engine-bay is tough.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by black12rr

Isn't Wd40 flammable . I would not do that where things get pretty hot .

PS: Just looked at my can - Extremely Flammable ( propane ) .

I am aware. I spray it on a cold engine, then wipe it off with a cloth,engine has not caught fire till date

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

One more concern I have is this that most of us drive around 5-15 KMs to service station and in this time engine gets quite hot and I have seen SVC guys especially Maruti SVC guys that they queue up the car for washing immediately on receiving. The thermal shock can be dangerous for the car but I don't know how these guys do it but still no harm is done.

Honda guys wash the car (and engine bay) only after servicing and till then engine is temperature gets normal.

I dont think so there would be any thermal shock for the engine although I havent seen any car being taken to wash first and then the servicing being done. Whats the point in doing so when post servicing the car has to be washed/cleaned again? Or does Maruti guys do such a great job that it does not need any cleaning at all. I doubt it.

Post servicing too the techs do take it for the spin and then move it to the washing bay. IMO the engine is hot anyways then.

I dry-clean my Linea's engine compartment under the hood regularly using painting brush and cloth. I don't do pressure-wash under the bonnet so as to avoid the risk of water entering the ECU/sensors resulting in display of error messages.

[rahul4640]

May I safely apply WD-40 to clean the engine bay on a weekend, when the engine is cold and stop using the car for two days? As I have a secured garage, I may even leave the car for a few hours, keeping the bonnet open. Although WD-40 is flammable, will not the residue evaporate by then? Will there remain any major fire hazard, considering that I use a petrol car?

[the-rare-one]

Who would not like a clean shiny engine bay? It is difficult in the Indian conditions and I have seen this at TATA dealerships regularly :

1. Before service - body and underbody wash - so the mechanics / technicians get a clean car to work with, also helps keep the workshop a little cleaner than otherwise
2. After service - complete body wash with shampoo and engine bay pressure wash after interior vaccum cleaning

V.imp - Indica V2 petrol is known for its electrical issues - I have never ever had any issues after the pressure wash at any authorised TATA A**.

It definately cost me an ECU replacement when a friend of mine borrwed the car for his brothers marriage and then washed it outside before giving it back.

I have stopped washing the engine bay and live with that No problems now !

[blackfire_9]

Originally Posted by abdriver2000

Considering the fact that WD40 can loosen bolts, I would never use it in the engine bay. Besides, it may be flammable too.

Even at the service centers, the cars are allowed to cool off for few minutes before spray washing, since there is a risk of electrical components failing due to sudden wide temperature fluctuations.

Buddy, WD-40 cannot unscrew the bolts on it's own. It only loosens them up so that they can be opened up easily with a suitable tool (maybe a wrench).

As for WD-40 being inflammable, yes it is but only if you expose it to fire or high temperatures. Spray it on a cold engine & with restriction. And WD-40 works great at displacing water at hard to reach places, where the accumulated water would have otherwise played havoc.

Originally Posted by JustCause

The Engine bay was never meant to be water washed at home. Moreover, if done by an inexperienced person, it can actually lead to costly repairs. Areas like the fuse box & under bonnet ECU module are most vulnerable in this case.

If the ECU is outside in the engine bay, then it would be a sealed unit in most probability, like in your Alto unless some manufacturer decided to play spoil-sport. The Swift (at least the older ones) did not have a sealed unit & hence was located somewhere behind the dashboard due to which a lot of ECUs went kaput in Swifts due to windscreen film installations.

For cars with sealed units, go ahead & pour a bucket of water & nothing would happen to the ECU at least.

[JustCause]

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

If the ECU is outside in the engine bay......
For cars with sealed units, go ahead & pour a bucket of water & nothing would happen to the ECU at least.

I wouldn't take the manufacturer's word for it. Nothing will happen, maybe a few weeks/months since the event. But, it will sure result in problems later on.

You see, there are many trays & nooks in the engine bay where water can be retained for months. And the waterproofing might easily give way if the water is persistent enough.

And, you quoted me at a very opportune day. My neighbour came up to me and asked me if I could do anything about his two month old Fabia, whose Power Window motors which were supposed to be water resistant at the very least, developed a snag as a result of rains. With the result, all the windows are open & I could still hear the whirring sound of the motor, even when the windows are fully open.