Cleaning engine bay

Submitted by samearl14 on

Forum: 

If i take off the battery, is there anything stopping me pressure washing the engine bay on the fourtrak? It got a little dirty on Sunday on account of the muddy water that was up to and over the bonnet.

H2O

Submitted by Mace on

Dont get water into the alernator, starter motor or any other electrical component. Just because the battery is out its does not stop problems when the battery goes back into the motor!

Wash it

Submitted by ajcaine on

Wash it with the engine running, don't spray directly into the alternator but a few splashes won't do it any harm. The black electronic boxes need to be kept dry though.

Washing

Submitted by assassin on

Washing the engine bay with a pressure washer is to be avoided, use a hosepipe, and with the engine stopped, and cold.
Hot engines have a lot of cast iron components, particularly exhaust manifolds and turbocharger housings, hitting these suddenly with cold water could crack them, or cause other problems.
Remove the underbody protection and jet wash these, spray degreaser onto the cold engine and allow it to work, this will fetch off most of the oily deposits when hosed off.
Let the engine compartment drain for a few minutes and start the engine, run the vehicle about for a couple of miles to dry it out. When it is reasonably dry, mix one part washing up liguid to four parts of water, paint this all around the engine bay, leave for ten minutes and wash off with the hose.
Do not worry too much about hosing anything under the bonnet, as these vehicles are designed to cope with a fair amount of water ingress.

Should you do a lot of off road work in wet conditions, marine chandlers supply an alternator waterproofing spray. With a cold engine, spray this into the alternator through the cooling slots on the front, leave for 30 minutes to allow the solvent to evaporate, run the engine, and when it is cold, repeat the procedure, do this 4-5 times to fully coat the alternator.