Hosing off the engine.

[phloop]

I would like to hose out the engine compartment and want to know what I should look out for while doing this. I know not to stand there and blast the electrical connectors, anything else to watch out for?

 

[thejeepdude]

My regular engine compartment cleaning routine consists of:



1. Spray foaming engine cleaner all over EVERYTHING.

2. Wait about 15 minutes.

3. Pressure wash EVERYTHING.



I've never had a problem. Just keep the pressure washer nozzle further away from areas that shouldn't have water forcefully pushed through them (fuse panel, hose connections, etc). That's one of the nice things about a diesel... no distributor or high voltage system to worry about shorting out with water.

 

[Digger]

What the dude said.



digger

 

[bighammer]

I guess I'm on the other side. I only clean the engine if there is a leak or spill. I feel the potential problems caused by the high pressure water outweigh any bennefits. JMHO of course.

 

[thejeepdude]

Originally posted by bighammer

I guess I'm on the other side. I only clean the engine if there is a leak or spill. I feel the potential problems caused by the high pressure water outweigh any bennefits. JMHO of course.

What potential problems do you see? What components under the hood do you think can be damaged by a pressure washer? Of course, I'm not talking about being an idiot and using a 0 degree nozzle at 6" to spray off a rubber hose (I once cut down a tree like that!). Personally, I don't see what the harm is. Anything under the hood of a CTD can stand at least a little saturation. Of course, I do recommend a good drive after washing to heat things up and evaporate any water that got into electrical connections and such. In addition, I believe the initial poster was talking about using a regular LOW pressure garden hose... DEFINITELY not a problem there, IMO.



But hey, it's your truck, and everyone's got different ways of taking care of their stuff. It certainly won't hurt anything NOT to wash the engine on a regular basis, just doesn't look as nice when your buddies wanna gawk over it.

 

[Digger]

I wash and armor all mine once a month. I take the filter off, cover up the intake and try not to spray any electrical.



digger

 

[PJ]

Never hose it off when the motor is HOT. You will be replacing your injector pump if it gets hit with a cold blast of water. Been there, done that, with my John Deere diesels.

 

[thejeepdude]

Originally posted by PBJohnson2

Never hose it off when the motor is HOT. You will be replacing your injector pump if it gets hit with a cold blast of water. Been there, done that, with my John Deere diesels.

This should only matter if you've been running it really hard before getting it wet. Most of us know you need to let it idle for a bit before shutting down for the turbo's sake. Don't spray a hot exhaust manifold with icewater... that's common sense. I've never heard of a CP3/VP44 breaking because of cold water immerision, but it's entirely possible if your pump gets REALLY hot, I suppose. Maybe the Deere's pump runs hotter for some reason? Is it on the exhaust side of the block, closer to where the heat is generated? A warm engine helps the degreaser work better, but a VERY hot engine should not be sprayed with cold water, of course.



On a side note, I completely submerged my '99 CTD engine compartment in an ice cold creek (was deeper than I thought) after some hard 4x4 climbing and didn't hurt anything, just got a BIG cloud of steam. However, the pumpkins and transmission sucked in some water when the hot air inside cooled and it tried to suck in fresh air while submerged. doh. . oh well, lube change when I got home fixed that easy enough.

 

[GCross]

On the older diesels with the TP pump you could get them wet all day long, but these new ones with computers and who knows how many electronic sensors it would not be a good idea to spray water on them.

 

[bighammer]

Originally posted by GCross

On the older diesels with the TP pump you could get them wet all day long, but these new ones with computers and who knows how many electronic sensors it would not be a good idea to spray water on them.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Since I'm not an electronics/computer guru, the troubleshooting of a glitch from that far outweighs a pretty looking engine.



The Bosch P pumps' plungers and barrels are fit so close that just heating up the plunger slightly (in your hand for a minute or 2) is enough to make it expand and fit tighter (if at all) in the barrel.

 

[thejeepdude]

Originally posted by bighammer

The Bosch P pumps' plungers and barrels are fit so close that just heating up the plunger slightly (in your hand for a minute or 2) is enough to make it expand and fit tighter (if at all) in the barrel.

All I know is I sprayed the VP44 on my '99 hot, cold, while running, not running, off, on, etc and never had an issue. All electrictronics under the hood are protected to some degree or they would be having problems simply driving in the rain. You don't hear about all the people in the south (where the rain storms are more like buckets of water falling, and leaving 2" of solid water on the road) sputtering or having any kind of electrical issue in these trucks... I guess no harm done in being super-safe, but to me it's not worth the hassle. Besides, we have a 100K mile warranty that covers all that stuff! To each their own, I suppose.

 

[rbattelle]

For those a little more squeemish about hosing their engine compartment, try a local Cummins service center. The one near here has a steam cleaning bay, and will do a quick steam clean for a reasonable price. They steam clean every engine that comes in for service free.

 

[bighammer]

Maybe if I had some chrome/polished stuff to show off... .