Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Washing engine

[milehiscott]

Are there any electronics, etc that should be covered before squirting? Or does everyone just open the hood and have at it?



Spinks,

An ale in the summer, a porter or stout in winter.



Scott

 

[Jim S]

Yuengling Lager. After a couple of these my engine sparkles.

 

[LR Smith]

Simple Green works very well as an engine cleaner, I have used it for many years with good results and no kerosene smell or residue. Spray down the entire engine compartment and rinse off after 5 min. If using a pressure washer, use low engine RPM to reduce the pressure. This will keep from blowing the cloth insulation and tape off of the wiring harness. Do NOT use purple stuff cleaner as it will remove the clear coat from any aluminum component and turn it black (been there, done that). Never had a problem with Simple Green, biodegradable, doesn't stain the driveway. Cheapest place by far for Simple Green is at Sam's Club in the gallon+ container, approx. $7. 00. With use at every oil change, your engine compartment will stay looking like new.



Lain

 

[Chipstien]

Simple Green will work better if the engine is still warm from a drive. (Not hot. ) Seems to get the dirt off better.

 

[rspinks]

Yuengling Lager?! We must be pretty isolated up here because I've sure never heard of that. I'll stick with Big Rock Traditional, an Albertan classic. Scott I like the idea of switching beer spec's summer/winter, kinda goes along with winter blend diesel.



So no problem with electronics/plug connectors with a complete engine hosedown? This would certainly be the easiest way to clean up all the nooks and cranny's that collect the muck.



Rich

 

[Six_Man_Diesel]

Every time I take the truck to the car wash, I just open the hood after washing the truck, and spray the heck outta everything, just don't get the pressure to close.

 

[The patriot]

Originally posted by SLewis

Every time I take the truck to the car wash, I just open the hood after washing the truck, and spray the heck outta everything, just don't get the pressure to close.

Man, youre gonna have fun if you ever do your injectors... ... .

Eric

 

[John]

I spray on Simple Green (a tip given to me by my friend Evan Beck) on everything in my engine bay (AFTER removing my Air Bulldog intake air box, and cover my turbo inlet with two Zip Lock freezer bags and rubber bands for retention and superior sealing ability, cover the heater grid relays, cover the PDC and cap or cover the intake on my BD spool valve). After letting the Simple Green work for 5 minutes or so I rinse it off.



Then I get serious! I reapply Simple Green, let it work for a few minutes and then get to work!... scrubbing that is. I use detail brushes made just for this type of thing. The results are fantastic!



BTW, I usually only detail my engine compartment before a show-n-shine.



I use [censored] for EVERYTHING else underneath my Ram.



BTW, even though I have over a gallon of the Castrol counterpart (of Simple Green), I wouldn't use it in my engine bay for anything! That is REALLY caustic stuff!

 

[Big_Daddy_T]

What do you mean Patriot?

 

[The patriot]

Originally posted by Big_Daddy_T

What do you mean Patriot?

All that water weeping down into the injector holes..... rust!!!

I used to wash my engine all the time, until I did my injectors.

Now, I'm real careful around the injectors. Also, when I'm done, I'll blow all the water away from the injectors with compressed air.

When I replaced mine, I lubed the crap of them with never seize, but I still dont water seeping down in there.

Not to mention the fuse box... ...

Eric

 

[zimman20]

Anybody on who's tried Simple Green?

If someone who's used Simple Green for washing the engine can tell me, do you use it in concentrated form or are you diluting it as per the mixing instructions? Getting ready to do this and want to find out if best results are to mix or use the concentrate. Thanks.



zman

 

[FL70CAT]

BE CAREFUL , do not wash an engine that is hot and try to restart it. It is possible to cause internal damage to the injection pumps close tolerance parts.

Try to wash a cold motor or if you need to wash it hot, let it sit for a while with the hood closed afterward before starting.

 

[Dkevdog]

Ditto what Eric said- there are alot of REALLY expensive electronic components down there that don't need to get wet if they don't have to. I wash my engine very seldom now after learning the hard way. It's an engine. It's supposed to be dirty .



Kev

 

[cpollard]

Go to Wal-Mart and buy the siminoz car boat wash. Put half concentrate half water, spray with a garden sprayer every nook and cranny rince with a hot water pressure washer or a kickin garden hose



I wash trucks and steam equipment as my business for the last 6 years



try it this way your motor will be clean and degreased



Chris

 

[merryman]

A caution on Simple Green

When I used simple green, I ended up with a white scale like deposit on everything that was dark colored. I suppose it was that we hava a well and have minerals in the water, but it was most frustrating to end up with an engine that looked worse after trying to clean than before.

I used the proceedure described here; spray it one wait a few min---but not long enough for any to dry, then hose off.

By the way, I do not get the white scale when just rinsing off with our straight well water, so I would guess its a reaction between the simple green and our minerals

Vaughn

 

[zimman20]

Thanks

Thanks for all the input, guys.



I wound up using the Simple Green yesterday, mixed on a 1:1 with water. It did a TERRIFIC job cleaning the grime off of the engine. However, I did have the problem that Merryman describes where it discolored the turbo boot and made it a whitish color but I'm not overly concerned about that.



I'm not normally nor do I plan being psychotic about having a clean engine, yes, it's an engine and it's supposed to be dirty to a certain extent. However, I believe that if the engine compartment is reasonably clean that leaks and other signs of trouble are much easier to spot. Plus with the diesel you got your soot factor so this worked well to clean that up as well.



Thanks again... .....





zman

 

[JGarcia]

I am officially casting my vote for the beer method!!! Maybe someone should write an article for the next TDR magazine on other valuable uses for this method!!!



JRG