PSA: Wash your engine for your mechanic!

I took my car to the local mechanic today.

In preparation for the appointment:
Yesterday I removed the engine cover and washed the engine for $2 at the local do it yourself place.
It takes a minute to get the engine cover off and five minutes at the car wash to shoot it with the pressure washer.
Yes, just one round with the pressure on rinse is usually enough to make working on a car pleasurable!

I do this because I know personally how much it sucks to work on a dirty engine.
Getting dirty before you've turned a wrench TRULY SUCKS!

Trust me, your mechanic will love you, and so will your car!
You'll also appreciate not having a nasty engine when you check the fluids!

I always wash the engine when warm and drive at least a half hour afterwards to ensure any water that gets in vaporizes and burns.
This also drys the engine, which is less important.

Good PSA. That's definitely a nice move for whoever your mechanic is.

Curious, since you mentioned pressure washing, to what areas do you avoid direct water pressure? I'd imagine the bellhousing sight hole, and exhaust/turbo components, electronics. Anything else?

don't forget wheel wells for your alignment.

Normally [modern] engines do not get too terribly dirty unless they are leaking something.

As someone who works on cars for a living, there are far bigger things that peeve me:

Car that are unusually filthy inside, particularly full of trash and garbage...old food, cups of what looks like dried vomit, dirty diapers, bags of dog poop (gosh I HOPE it was dog poop), sticky gooey gross crap all over the steering wheel, pictures of your kids/wife/pets/naked ladies/whatever plastered all over the instrument cluster covering the odometer and any of the multitude of warning lights you've been ignoring, so much empty beverage bottles and cans jammed behind/under/around your seat that it cannot be adjusted so I can safely drive your filth pit car, and of course cars that are rolling cancer den ashtrays or pot dens. This is bad enough if the only time you have to spend behind the wheel is moving the car in and out of the shop, but it is a real pain when you have to tear into the center console or something. I do not need to see or touch your feminine hygiene products, your pictures of you posing with nasty hookers on some beach in Mexico, your bong, your collection of opiates in various prescription drug bottles from 5 different doctors, your half eaten melted Snickers bar, or your stack of wasted money in the form of 100 non winning lottery tickets.

Wheel locks: hate these like poison... BUT, if you have them, know that you have them, and if the nature of your visit may mean your wheels will have to be removed, just hand the key to the service writer! And if YOU cannot find it in your own car, what makes you think I can find it any easier? Fortunately I have a master set for most VAG products.

Fuel level: if the nature of your visit means that we'll have to drive your car, at least make sure it has some fuel in it! Because if it doesn't, we have to send a porter to fuel it up, which takes time, and costs YOU money, since we do not work for free.

Mystery noises and other random strangeness: don't bring your in when the conditions to reproduce and diagnose a complaint are not pursuant to finding the cause. Example: if your car is making a "rattle noise from the rear", kindly remove the items from your trunk like the crock pot, golf clubs, mason jars, bag of clothes hangers, your Uncle Waldo's extensive VHS collection, and any other non-essential items you have for some reason felt the need to drag around with you everywhere you go.

And please, when we tell you your car is due for a normal service like an oil change, don't flat out lie and say "No, I do that myself" when you have a Jiffy Lube sticker in the window, and the JL's "tech" scribble on the oil filter with a Sharpie.

And if you have a "brother-in-law" that can take care of something broken for you, maybe you should tell him to do a better job so that it doesn't break in the first place.

And if you have a bad hood lift strut.... LET US REPLACE IT FOR YOU. They are cheap. And that way, we *may* actually believe you when you say "Oh, yeah, I check my oil regularly!"

Oh, and if you make an appointment... please try and keep it! Or if you cannot, let us know! I will often make sure one of my racks is clear awaiting a car for something that never shows up.... and other cars get put off because of it! And if you show up at 10am for an all day job, don't call at 2pm asking if it is done. It isn't. It won't be.

Oilhammer, all good points. Glad you could have a place to throw the Hammer down!

netjustin said:

Good PSA. That's definitely a nice move for whoever your mechanic is.

Curious, since you mentioned pressure washing, to what areas do you avoid direct water pressure? I'd imagine the bellhousing sight hole, and exhaust/turbo components, electronics. Anything else?

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Avoid directly hitting anything that may have a leak to much, valve cover, PCV etc.

I honestly don't worry about much else. The electronic components should be water tight and good luck hitting the turbo much, even well enough, to cause issues.
Driving after will dry the turbo well enough not to worry about it.

Vacuum lines that are cracked and in poor condition should be replaced and should be avoided.
If hitting them with the washer decentigrates them, you probably found the issue!

I know pressure washing engines/engine bays is fairly common, but it's something I never do. I have a hard enough time keeping water/moisture out of electrics as it is, I'm not going to add any more. I'll spray brake cleaner (the friendly stuff) around a specific area I'm working on if need be to remove oil/grime.

Plus, I pay to have rustproofing sprayed on every year, and I spray some of my own, so I'm not washing that off. Unfortunately rustproofing can make vehicles REALLY dirty to work on. I put up with it.

Washing the exterior (and interior) is another story though. I stay on top of that stuff pretty good. We actually have an indoor wash bay in our shop at work and I've been making good use of it this winter.

Oilhammer makes some great points above. While I may not be willing to wash my engine before taking my car to a shop, everything else on his list above is always well taken care of.

There goes letting OH work on my car!!! LOL

Bad idea. Water can get into the electronic ruining your day.

Ol'Rattler said:

Bad idea. Water can get into the electronic ruining your day.

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I'll second that emotion...

I agree with everything oilhammer said having lived through them myself. I might add one more that we really don't see often but irritates me on more than one level. Breathalyzer lockout devices. We will not work on a car with one unless they bring us a brand new sealed in the package adapter that you blow on.

When we make that stipulation some of them get a little hostile and act like they are the victim here. Or they say "I will just be in the waiting room, come grab me when you need to start it."

One day we had two cars with those in them, one of the guys that owned one of the cars came in and climbed all over us for allowing someone in his car without permission. He said that his was due to be updated but he was offended that we let someone do that to his car without asking him first. He noticed the serial number on the unit was different. First of all we wouldn't do that, nor do we care that it is not updated. We called the place that installs those things to see if they had actually done that and they said no, they hadn't, and the car was supposed to be at their place for the update last Wednesday and he blew it off. The serial number was the right one if he had looked into his car, not the other, as it turned out. We checked from their records and all was as it should be. Furthermore they commented that they are supposed to remotely kill the car if the unit is not checked periodically and offered to do so then. We told them to wait so the car would be able to leave our lot, they agreed to kill it after 5 that night.

I do appreciate a clean car for sure, but if it is dirty enough underhood it isn't much trouble to run it into the wash bay and douche it off.

Another note on washing your engine, don't run into the car wash with the engine steaming hot to wash it or you may inject water where you don't want it by contraction. Best done stone cold if possible. Don't use soap either, might not wash out of electrical connections and corrode them.

Oh, heavily perfumed cars irritate me too, the ones with 40 christmas trees hanging in them.

oilhammer said:

Car that are unusually filthy inside,

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My favorite one was the guy who had been using a McD's cup as a spitton for his chewin' tobacco, and he left it standing on the bench seat. Of course as I turned right to drive it into the bay the cup spilled all across his seat and on my leg. NASTY!

oilhammer said:

Wheel locks: hate these like poison... BUT, if you have them, know that you have them, and if the nature of your visit may mean your wheels will have to be removed, just hand the key to the service writer! And if YOU cannot find it in your own car, what makes you think I can find it any easier? Fortunately I have a master set for most VAG products.

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Oh the hours I've spent hunting for these on various cars. I also now have a master set and dont have to hunt on Vw's much.

oilhammer said:

Fuel level: if the nature of your visit means that we'll have to drive your car, at least make sure it has some fuel in it! Because if it doesn't, we have to send a porter to fuel it up, which takes time, and costs YOU money, since we do not work for free.

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With special requirements of diesel cars I wonder what happens when customer brings in a diesel low on fuel and it runs out on the test drive? Since it has to be primed and that's not super easy to do on the side of the road, who pays for the tow to the shop? Who pays the shop time to prime injection pump and bleed injectors?

oilhammer said:

And if you have a bad hood lift strut.... LET US REPLACE IT FOR YOU. They are cheap.

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I was charging a battery and the hood came down due to worn out hood strut, and the battery charger clamp dented the hood and then burnt the hood as it heated up due to positive clamp touching ground. Who pays for that damage?

Also I have a scar on my forehead where the "pointy" secondary latch on a ford probe hit me as the hood strut dropped the hood on me like a guillotine. Who pays for my loss there? My modeling career suffered greatly when that happened. (giggle)

As for customers cars injuring me... once I got in a older ford truck to back it up to drive into the garage but the park brake was on. I pulled the handle to release it and the park brake pedal flew up incredibly hard and smacked my hand that was pulling the handle. My ring finger swelled up and was bruised, I thought it might be broken it hurt so bad, but it wasn't.

Customer had to know it was that way because they set the park brake when they parked the truck there in the park lot and set the brake. I'll bet to keep their hand from getting smacked every time they released it, they put their foot on the pedal, and controlled the pedal as it came up. If they used it they knew whatever stop was supposed to be in place to keep it from smacking your hand was not working. Simply not setting it, or warning us would have been nice.

I was pissed. It happened on friday and that weekend I was playing in a USAV "A" rated volleyball tournament (big deal for me at the time) and as setter I needed my hands! Of course I needed my hands at my job also (mechanic). At the time I was too concerned about my job, so I didn't sue, but I seriously considered it.

Didn't really expect the responses!
Get it out! You'll feel better!

Ol'Rattler said:

Bad idea. Water can get into the electronic ruining your day.

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I never have an issue with electronics, I don't focus on them and there aren't that many directly on the engine.
I did say wash the engine...
Mostly connectors, any If those get water in them I use dielectric around the seal to keep it out.

pdq import repair said:

Another note on washing your engine, don't run into the car wash with the engine steaming hot to wash it or you may inject water where you don't want it by contraction. Best done stone cold if possible. Don't use soap either, might not wash out of electrical connections and corrode them.

Oh, heavily perfumed cars irritate me too, the ones with 40 christmas trees hanging in them.

Click to expand...

I always wash the engine when warm and drive at least a half hour afterwards to ensure any water that gets in vaporizes and burns. Definitely not a hot engine! And drive after.
I prefer warm engine washing without soap to get the oil off easier.

I definitely can't stand perfumes! Hell, I can't stand walking by a woman with too much on!
Clean the car and you shouldn't need much!!!
I smoke when driving alone, I have one peach scented tree.
No cigarette buts as I roll my own and their biodegradable!
Cigarette butts keep a bad smell in a car, second of course to dirty diapers and spoiled milk!!!

I had the spilled milk spoil a month ago, what a nightmare!
I was sure to do the best I could with the best cleaner I could find before asking the alignment tech to get in it!

My ALH engine at 381K miles. I pressure wash at least once a year. I like to know if and where leaks are happening. Plus, it keeps dirt out of important areas should you need to service the motor.

eg: when i replaced the glow plugs it's nice to not have dusty sand crap just waiting to drop into the hole.

eddieleephd said:

Avoid directly hitting anything that may have a leak to much, valve cover, PCV etc.

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Good thoughts. My valve cover gasket is old and hardened, so I imagine it won't stop too much outside pressure getting in.

eddieleephd said:

The electronic components should be water tight and good luck hitting the turbo much, even well enough, to cause issues.

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I was thinking more the alternator and starter. The BEW alternator sticks out like a sore thumb, but the starter not so much, and that someone who rarely if ever turns a wrench won't necessarily know the location.

netjustin said:

Good thoughts. My valve cover gasket is old and hardened, so I imagine it won't stop too much outside pressure getting in.
I was thinking more the alternator and starter. The BEW alternator sticks out like a sore thumb, but the starter not so much, and that someone who rarely if ever turns a wrench won't necessarily know the location.

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You don't aim the tip into the valve cover gasket for pete's sake. And, you don't put the tip closer than than necessary to clear off the dirt. If you keep it clean it doesn't take much to wash it.

I did not read anyone's response to the OPs post.

But, I have always pressure washed my TDI engines (2000 Jetta and ALH in the Vanagon).... two or three times per year.

Keep in mind, the "pressure" can destroy the Voltage Regulator on the Alternator! The small cover to the small printed circuits does have a rubber seal, but the cover is flimsy, thus, the pressured water will enter ...

A Walmart bag on the ALT works real well.... Otherwise, I have had no issues pressure washing my engines...