STEAM CLEAN

[deanrosc]

we took delivery of an all singing all dancin jet wash/steam cleaner at work today. So at the weekend i'm gonna give my engine a blast. Can anyone give me some does and dont's other than cover the electric bits up, i figured that out by myself.....honest.

[warthog]

IMO - Don't do it. You stand more chance of getting water into places you didn't intend/realise were there even if you're really careful.

High pressure steam on rubber hoses/wires can have a disasterous effect. By the time you've covered/protected all the electrical bits, there's not much left showing and the time taken could be better spent with a stiff paint brush and proper engine cleaner (eg gunk (although this smells terrible)) that can be washed off with a low pressure hose pipe.

In my opinion, the only engines that should have a steam cleaner anywhere near them are old style non electronic controlled diesels and even then with care.

[George Holmer]

That is when I miss driving the diesel on a daily basis, I could wash that with tonnes of boiling hot water and litres and litres of solvant and degreases and what not, it would look sparklingly clean and nice. Never did it any harm.

George

[link:www.ttsservices.co.uk/my%20volvos.htm|http://www.ttsservices.co.uk/Signature.JPG]

'95 Volvo 945 Polar LPT
'87 Volvo 745 GLE Turbo Diesel Intercooler
'86 Jaguar Sovereign 4.2

[highlander]

please tell me this guy is not serious, please, if you are take georges good advice and forget it, to fire a hi pressure jet of water (up to 1000 psi) at a complex, delicate bit of kit like your engine is not the brightest idea in the world is it? if you want to clean it do as george says get some degreaser and a brush and clean it, god help us!

[vinny]

to right, my mate at work borrowed the pressure washer to do his almost new superbike.
He took the decals off the one side and the engine was a trip to the dealers to get it running again,I can't remember how much it cost him but it was well in the hundreds
If you use some gunk or jizer you can wash it off with a watering can.Even better is l;eave the bonnet shut in public and leave it as it is.

[tonyflynn1]

I considered cleaning my car once..............

[deanrosc]

i wasn't going to put it in full whack, give me some credit! I had a faulty oil cap on and oil spilled over on to the block and in the little square bits at the front. And i was only asking for some help. No need to speak to me as though i was six.

[deanrosc]

thanks for that brian. i only comtemplated it as the demo man for the unit said you could use it on car engines. I'll have to get my tooth brush out and do it the hard way i suppose. Thanks for not being patronising....unlike some people.

[roy chu1]

I had mine done ages ago, I put a plastic bag over the fuse box and covered the MAF. They only aimed the jet from about 2.5 feet away at the block. I also left my engine running, so the water would evaporate. But it was ok.

I had it done a couple of weeks ago as well. He sprayed the engine block and by the starter from afare. It was very good, there was one problem to address. Some dirt does get caught in the fan behind the intercooler. When this kicked in, it sounded like it was all rusty.

But thankfully it wasn't, it just had crap in between. It will take a while to clear, but you might want to avoid that hassle.

Oh dear the things I get myself into!

Roy

[bigandquick]

Hi Dean
As someone who had to fork out for a new air flow meter some time ago after a steam claening I would advise you not to.
A jet wash even from distance will put water in unintended places, and at pressure.
Steam by its very nature will settle and condense where you don't want it to.
It's not just the electrical components which would need covering, but every single connection too, and more.

[George Holmer]

I did not say that, in fact what I was saying was that on my old diesel I could clean it with high pressure hoses and steam no problem.

George

[link:www.ttsservices.co.uk/my%20volvos.htm|http://www.ttsservices.co.uk/Signature.JPG]

'95 Volvo 945 Polar LPT
'87 Volvo 745 GLE Turbo Diesel Intercooler
'86 Jaguar Sovereign 4.2

[Billy Sasterd]

Dean,

Stop that sulking at once, or you will not be allowed to stay up past your 7 o'clock bedtime ever again.....lol.

Make sure the engine is nice and hot, squirt the gunk on, then rinse it with the steamer on low, i.e dribbling as opposed to full wack. Done mine many a time.....once


Chris

[m0bzy]

Keep steam cleaners away from your car,a new Toyota Corrola at work was stripped back to primer after just one session with the steam genny,it will need a complete respray!!
mike

[sholtby]

I steam cleaned an engine once and everything was rusty after a couple of weeks. A little oil, grease, wax helps protect the engine and its ancilliaries from corrosion. Dont do it!

Simon

[vinny]

You're spot on,I have seen this happen on steam cleaned machines unless you spray it with some protective coating as soon as it's dried.