k so as some of u may new im pretty newb when it comes to the mechanical aspects of cars. i work on computers and do art so yeah lol

anyways, can someone take a pic of the engine bay and show me all the parts i need to bag and cover when washing the engine.

what ive heard so far and know where they are is

alternator
battery
exposed wires

now any others i dont know what they look liek or where they are. i know ive heard covering the ecu but dont know what it looks liek or where it is.

so i would appreciate it very much if someone could help me out.

and if u had a 2200sfi that would be even better!



The biggest hole, is the illusion of invulnerability.

:::Creative Draft Image Manipulation Forum:::

Everything in the engine bay gets exposed to water, it just depends upon how much. For what you listed, that's good enough. Battery and alternator would be enough. I've never covered my computer tho.

When I clean mine I spray the bad stuff with engine brite or some other cleaning stuff, let it sit, spray it off. Then I use a brush with some carwash soap and water and get to it. I don't cover anything tho.



http://www.cardomain.com/ride/676422/1

What he said ^^. It really isn't necessary to cover anything as it all gets exposed to water anyways, and if you have exposed wires somewhere under your hood then you have a whole different problem. You aren't going to hurt anything by getting water on it unless somehow water makes its way past connectors and into your computer, which I've never heard of happening.

I just cover the entire engine, and under part of the hood with simple green.. Let it soak in for a good 10 mins, then lightly hose it off.. Don't even bother covering anything, and I haven't had any problems yet..




Red 2005 Saturn Ion-3 Coupe
Burgundy 2006 Saturn Ion - My winter beater

I never worry about any of it and just blast everything. I figure it all gets wet if I run thru a big puddle so whats the difference? Never had a bit of trouble either.

Good Luck




Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.

i hardly ever wash my engine (yea, it's sad, i know) but the couple times i have i never covered anything.

Jackalope wrote:I never worry about any of it and just blast everything. I figure it all gets wet if I run thru a big puddle so whats the difference? Never had a bit of trouble either.

Good Luck

Blasting away at things is only going to mess something up in the end.

Well since I looked at your profile and I saw you have a 2200. The main thing you really need to watch out for is the coil packs and it's wiring. All of this is on the back side of the engine towards the bottom. So for the most part you are save on those. Watch out for the spark plug wires in the front. Sometimes if one is worn it can ark onto something. I always would keep my engine for the most part very clean when I had my 2.2. Instead of washin' it in at the car wash just wash the underside of the hood, firewall, and the wheel wells. After you dry the whole car off you can head over to your autozone or whatever to pick up some CD2 engine degresser and detailer. It is just a spary on and wipe kinda deal, and the dealer is just like a gloss shine stuff. You will be very happy! Trust me on this cause I'm not going to lead you wrong.

i hit my old bonneville with foamy engine bright and a pressure washer at one of those diy car washes.

After a day or two the check engine light went off.

I loved my 3800.

I use the simple green and lightly hosing method. No problems. SO long as your not forcing water into tiny cracks you shoudl be fine.


-Chris

I do the same thing jackalope does. Spray that bad boy (not with high pressure), wipe off the electrical stuff afterward and away I go.

If you would only give CD2 a try. It is the best stuff in the world for this. I guess I know thing workin' at a dealer and all. I only ran the detail department for like hmm a year.

TRD Cav Fire, I do thank you for your concern for my engine ( Its not everyday that someone on the org actualy is nice ) But I've been safely presure washing the engines of my cars for almost 20 years now and the only problem I ever had was the belts squeeling afterwards for 30 seconds or so.

Now if they're really nasty try a product called STEAM thats made by Pennzoil. Its in a black can with chrome letters and its theee very best de-greaser I've found for engines.

Good Luck.




Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.

Jackalope - Thanks, but I just wanted to addthis. Tellin' you not to do that t is like tellin' someone that smoking is going to kill them. So just to prove their point they light one up showing you that it didn't kill them, but in the end it will help kill them in some way down the line. So just be carefull doing that to much. The new smaller wiring that GM is now workin' with is crazy for shorts due to the smaller connects. If you could only see the new connect traning I'm watching at the dealership while the techs are traning.