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is it safe to wash your engine?

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Old Mar 16, 2010, 04:56 PM
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is it safe to wash your engine?

my buddy just washed his evo 8 motor and covered up the air filter and did everything right and now the check engine light is now one and sputters a little bit. would this be water got down in the spark plugs? i used to always wash my old engine and never had this problem. anyone got a guess besides he messed something up. thanks in advanced for help.
Old Mar 16, 2010, 08:43 PM
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Seriously? With all the electrical connectors and electronics under the hood he literally sprayed it with a water hose? :sigh:

Do you have any more information other than it sputters. What is the check engine code? That should tell you really where your problem is.

I doubt water got into the spark plugs but its not hard to pull off the coils and see. Hopefully he didn't cause damage and whatever is wet will dry out and it will start working again.

Last edited by cheedo; Mar 16, 2010 at 08:45 PM.
Old Mar 16, 2010, 08:45 PM
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It should be fine. Just let it dry
Old Mar 16, 2010, 08:46 PM
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no man just sputtering bad at first but once it got going it seemed to go fine. no he didnt get the code checked yet. pretty much he waited to wash it when it was gettin dark this way. at first it started right up he said and then idled real low and almost shut off and then went back to normal idle and then did it again but shut off that time. hes not my brightest friend.
Old Mar 16, 2010, 08:47 PM
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spraying down a turbo engine is a bad idea, casue of all the vacumm line, turbo itself, ic pipes. oil lines and wiring. If he has a CEL get the code and find out. I clean my engine just by wiping down with a rag.
Old Mar 16, 2010, 08:48 PM
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Originally Posted by erald01
spraying down a turbo engine is a bad idea, casue of all the vacumm line, turbo itself, ic pipes. oil lines and wiring. If he has a CEL get the code and find out. I clean my engine just by wiping down with a rag.
i used to always do it before on my srt4 motor and just let it dry but he only let it dry for about 2 hours usally let mine sit all day.
Old Mar 16, 2010, 09:05 PM
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Let it dry and if he still has the code get it checked.

Haha...did he remove the cover from the air filter..haha

On a side note....as stated in post already spraying the engine is not a good idea.. even if it dries if the water was on electrical connections it will speed up corrosion and reduce the life of the electrical components.
Old Mar 16, 2010, 09:11 PM
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Originally Posted by 06redrocket
It should be fine. Just let it dry
+1 redrocket. water gets through the vented hood all the time, and literally soaks the motor and its fine. although itd be better off just washing it with a mitt and bucket hen spraying randomly like a careless animal, but hey your car
Old Mar 16, 2010, 09:18 PM
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yea but no one around here every keeps their cars for over 2 years so the corrosion wont affect us to much but its a good point. yea i was scared about washing my own evo because of that damn hood vent.
Old Mar 16, 2010, 10:45 PM
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the key is to cover your air filter, coil packs/spark plugs, fuse box, battery, injectors, and main wiring harness by the intake manifold. Run your car first to get it hot then park it and spray it down with simple green, let soak for a few minutes, then wash off. Some people let the car sit for a few hours to completely dry and others immediately start it up and air dry it; i've seen both work.
Old Mar 16, 2010, 10:56 PM
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Originally Posted by erald01
spraying down a turbo engine is a bad idea, casue of all the vacumm line, turbo itself, ic pipes. oil lines and wiring. If he has a CEL get the code and find out. I clean my engine just by wiping down with a rag.
If getting the turbo wet is a bad idea, then why do we have a hole in our hood where rain can easily hit the turbo? Also, my IC pipings get wet after a rain but it doesn't affect much of anything. If the oil lines and vacuum lines are properly secured and do not leak, they're fine from being wet.

Only time when water screwed up my engine was from water reaching my ignition coil and literally imploding it.
Old Mar 16, 2010, 11:05 PM
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The last time I washed my engine, I didn't cover up any thing. As long as you give it time to dry a bit, it should be fine.
Old Mar 16, 2010, 11:09 PM
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i PRESSURE WASH my engine bay all the time?? Why is everyone saying its a bad idea to wash your engine?
Old Mar 16, 2010, 11:10 PM
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Same I spray my engine bay with water being careful to avoid certain things. I've done this on my past 7 cars as well as my last gsxr. I've also driven it seconds after spraying it down.
Old Mar 17, 2010, 02:14 AM
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I have sprayed all my cars. I always cover the intake and the ignition and then go to town with simple green and water.
I don't pressure wash because I don't need water forced into things I don't want or damaging them (e.g. radiator).


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