Anyone here who has used steam to clean an engine, what kind of machine did you use? We have a Sanitech MkIV that (might) work, and was just curious.

Its listed as 1500 psi steam, and 2.0 gpm. Too much?

 

Given the age and fragility of the wiring and connectors in my truck,

I'd rather have a running engine than a clean engine bay.

But that's me...

t
If it's working, don't mess with it...

 

That's fair, it was just an idea.

 

I'd say if you protect wiring and any plastic, cleaning the block and frame is fine.

I agree id be hesitant to clean it to much. Make sure to check your fluids are good and not contaminated after cleaning.

 

I would spray the engine with some simple green, let it sit and cautiously use it. Don’t get close, let the steam do its thing. Just be very careful. It is easy to damage a connector.

 

cover the carb, and the dist ( take the cap off and use a gallon sandwich bag and rubber bands), and be careful around the alternator, disconnect the battery, and go to town no direct steams, don't stay in one spot too long. the engine compartment gets wet when you drive down the road in a rainstorm just don't go ape crazy. if it is a diesel stay away from the fuel pump.

 

I have my own steam cleaner that I use on all my vehicles. Mine is only a 1000 psi but the water will get to about 180 degrees.

I usually start off by putting a cheap tarp over the engine and clean and scrub the underside of the hood. If it’s a real dirty engine, I will give it a once over first with just the pressure washer to remove all the big chunks.

After that I will blow the water off with compressed air to remove the big puddles of water sitting on the intake manifold.

I then spray down engine and firewall with full strength Super Clean and let it set for a few minutes. Then I get in there and scrub with sponge and brushes.

As others have mentioned, avoid direct spray at the alternator, distributor, starter; then I rinse everything again. If you need to, pull the tip off the pressure washer wand to eliminate the high pressure and just flood with the hot water.

From there I will drive the vehicle up on some ramps to get better access to the underside of the motor and chassis.

I bought a locking swivel off of Amazon for the pressure washer tip. It makes a huge difference washing all the hard to reach areas and the underside.

While you’re washing, spray up under the bed sidewalls and try to get on top of the wheel arches. It’s surprising how much dirt hides up there.

When finished washing, blow down the engine compartment again with compressed air. Then I start the engine and let it idle with the hood up until all the water is evaporated off the motor.

As mentioned, the engine compartment is designed to get wet, just watch the pressure around the electrical connections.

 

long in the past, I've just taken mine to the local DIY carwash (the kind with the spray wands) I've sprayed the engine with degreaser with the engine nice and warm so the degreaser works better, wait five minutes, then just used the pressure spray with hot water (and soap if that car wash has the option). Good enough for me, and I don't make an oily mess on my own driveway... Yeah, I got kicked out of a few car washes back then...

 

​​​​​The Sanitech is a 200 lb behemoth of a cleaner, electric pump and a propane heat exchanger. Might do more harm than good if I go blasting with it. However I do have access to hot water from a hose, so I may just use that if I wanna clean things up.

 

Yep, good old fashioned GUNK degreaser worked wonders. Let it set for 5-10 minutes to soften the crud... Then spray - with high pressure hose nozzle and the hottest water you can get!!

Now bear in mind, I didn't spray near the distributor (this was in the points era).. Mostly I was trying to get rid of oil from leaks from around the valve covers/ intake front/rear 'china wall', timing cover, etc... Maybe an oil pan leak if I had the quarters for the time to spray the underside of the car...

 

I wonder if maybe just covering the hoses and electrical with plastic or a tarp might help for if you are spraying the engine? I have heard mixed opinions about spraying your engine while it's running and the hood is open.

 

Never heard of someone hosing down the engine while it’s running.