power wash engine

[drscott]

Wanting to give my motor a good cleaning. Would it be a problem to
power wash it? I of course would not use full force. Would like to do a little painting in the engine compartment afterwards.

Thank you.

[grapp]

should be fine, don't get distributor wet.. any wiring may fray from the water pressure...

[Terry, NJ]

I always warm the engine a little before I powerwash an engine, Not hot! Just warm, it dries a lot quicker and if I get water in any electric stuff it dries it.
Terry

[socalplanedoc]

I have an Epps wet-steam washer @ 3000psi. did my engine quite nicely.
One thing is discovered though was all the crud that gets blasted off ends up all over the inside of the fenders.. now I put a tarp of them before cleaning.

[drscott]

Great idea about the steamer. I have one of them also. Might make less mess.

Thanks for the hint.

[gweilbaker]

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Actually, I just use Gumout engine clean, the foamy stuff, let it soak and hose it off. This works for annual cleaning but caked grunge go for the pressure sprayer. Follow the cautions already posted and wear goggles too.

[denis4x4]

Still use Oven-Off to clean engines.

[FL&WVMIKE]

Originally Posted by denis4x4

Still use Oven-Off to clean engines.

denis ...................
Doesn't Oven-Off take the paint too ?
MIKE

[denis4x4]

Originally Posted by FL&WVMIKE

denis ...................
Doesn't Oven-Off take the paint too ?
MIKE

In all honesty, I've used it on engines that stripped them to bare metal and others that didn't even change color shade! Industrial grade engine paint doesn't seem to be affected. Same for sheet metal painted parts, works on some, not on others.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I use gasoline and a paint brush to clean the engine. After it's clean and dry I put a few drops of oil on each head nut and any other unpainted parts. After running the engine and getting it heated up the oil spreads to a thin coat of oil all over the engine.

I used VHT Newcast to paint the exhaust manifold, and for 3 years it looked like a new manifold, but it's ready for another blasting and paint job as you can see. This is just a temporary engine, so I don't really bother keeping it very clean.

The camera angle makes the fan belt alignment look way off, but it's perfectly straight.

[Benson]

Word of caution:

Look closely at your fender and sheetmetal paint in area where you powerwash. If there are any cracks or bare spots in the paint, be careful as the washer can lift the paint right off in large chunks!

[Drive Shaft Dave]

Tom, what brand and Part # on the spark plugs you have pictured?

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Drive Shaft Dave

Tom, what brand and Part # on the spark plugs you have pictured?

Champion 1 COM.
They're the plugs that came in the engine when I bought it. They've never missed a beat and the color looks good, so I'll just keep running with them.

[Jordan]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

I use gasoline and a paint brush to clean the engine. After it's clean and dry I put a few drops of oil on each head nut and any other unpainted parts. After running the engine and getting it heated up the oil spreads to a thin coat of oil all over the engine.

I used VHT Newcast to paint the exhaust manifold, and for 3 years it looked like a new manifold, but it's ready for another blasting and paint job as you can see. This is just a temporary engine, so I don't really bother keeping it very clean.

The camera angle makes the fan belt alignment look way off, but it's perfectly straight.

You're missing your engine pans. According to some here, that must attribute to overheating

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Jordan

You're missing your engine pans. According to some here, that must attribute to overheating

Yep, I have them in the basement and will put them back on when I reinstall the original engine. The car cools great since I did the vinegar treatment. Someone painted the cast water inlet black, instead of the correct engine green.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Tom, That's a good lookin' dependable WORKHORSE engine room, don't apologize for nuttin'! Glad to see you don't use that danged armored cable clamp. Can you imagine how many head gasket leaks or maybe serious engine damage were caused by those clamps?? Have a Merry Christmas, Tom! Bill W.

[sturgis39]

Nice Power House Generator.

[drscott]

If I may ask....what is the vinegar treatment?

[1crosscut]

Looks like your parked in the fire lane Bill. Where does Buster sit?
Dave

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by drscott

If I may ask....what is the vinegar treatment?

I ran straight pure white vinegar in my engine for 30 days to clean out the rust. Here's a link to the thread:

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showth...+cleaning+mess

Thanks Sturgis39. I restored that powerhouse about 12 years ago. Too bad Ford didn't stick with the powerhouse for all 4 years of the Model A.