Every so often we need to start a new thread or bring to the top some of the old good info

Recently I got asked at work and here in a PM about washing the electronically controlled V10 motor

There should be a healthy concern about water on an electronically controlled motor

And there is always the questions about cold water on Hot motor parts and cracking things like manifolds

First...tis a fact---- if you spray cold water on a hot manifold you DO run the risk of cracking the cast part or causing such a rapid temperature change that bolts and studs give out and break

If you MUST wash the motor then do it on a warm/cool motor and the motor is NOT running

Dust and dirt on the motor are not real good reasons to wash it....as long as there are no leaks of caustic corrosive things road salt spray, battery acid, and anti freeze----- then the only reason to wash the motor is for aesthetic reasons...like getting ready to sell the vehicle...

If you need to wash the motor here is some advice:

NEVER use high pressure spray...NOT even from your garden hose nozzle
NEVER wash a HOT motor
NEVER let a "detailer" have your vehicle with-OUT prohibiting him/her from doing the first two things I said to NEVER do

DO wash a WARM motor
DO pre soak every thing with light soapy solution (I use Simple Green) Dawn works well also... IF you got loads of cash the motorcycle cleaners like S100 work very well but they are Gawd awful expensive

As you are "pre-soaking" the WARM motor... keep re-doing areas to keep them wet.... dried up soapy mix looks crappy once rinsed and is hard to make nice and clean looking so you will be too temped to hit it with high pressure water

Once you are ready, use your garden hose with the water set to a LOW pressure and "FLOOD" off the soapy mixture.... you can use your thumb to get a harder spray in the areas you KNOW are no electrical connectors

I use a combination of a compressor and a long reach tube air nozzle and a leaf blower to get the water down in the plug recesses and other puddling areas blown out

Once most of the standing water in the valleys and holes is gone I start the motor and let it heat up

I then take a can of WD 40

WD 40 stands for Water Displacing (oil) 40th recipe

and I spray into and around all the electrical connectors and other areas I think water got INTO and should NOT stay there.... while it is still running and getting warmer, I go back over all this with the high pressure air gun and displace/evaporate all the WD 40 so it is not going to trap a lot of dust and make all the work look like crap in two days...

The whole affair takes about an hour to do. I do it once a year in the spring after the weather clears and I am sure we won't get any more salted roads

 

Thanks Fred

 

Fred, i gotta ques for you, Is it normal for your motor to idle rough kinda likes bogging out when ur done washing it? It stops doing this after 5 mins (once all of the water dries).

 

Yes if you got too much water into the areas around the plugs they will send the high voltage to ground through the water and NOT cause a spark...that is usually why the rough Idle... sometimes a real aggressive power spray can get into the air filter, especially with the ZooDad or similar mod and cause a rough idle

does not really hurt anything----the rough idle that is--- but---- drying the water off the plugs by heat evaporation can speed up the corrosion in that area... and of course if you flooded each plug hole then the steam will rise into the plug boots setting up future corrosion inside them on the springs...

 

Fred Like the idea of the leaf blower to get any excess water out of the plug recesses. The ***** dog 40 .....great advise!!!!!

 

Great post, Fred!

Regular washing is important to keep all the dust and grease from accumulating. Removing all the crud only helps keep the moisture retension down, and keep the connectors from rotting too quickly.

What I've done on my modulars is, after washing, removing the plug wires/COPs... and blow everything out and allow it to dry. And then re-apply dialectric grease. Next time, everything will be even dryer because of the dialectric grease

 

I wash these engines all the time. no problems
Just lots and lots of compressed air to blow dry everything.
Then idle till normalized.
good post Fred

Rich

 

Good post, Fred!!

The reason I came to FTE is because I washed the engine on my truck and things started going haywire. Dealer said nothing about washing engine - DOs and DON'Ts that is.

Everybody needs to know this stuff.

 

Good tips Fred


I usually just wipe as much down as I can with a oily rag every oil change. Blocking off the gap in the fenderwells should help quite a bit to keep the engine clean. I hose off my old F-100 motor only after it gets saran wrap over the vitals. I just don't trust taking the hose on my V10 with all the electrics.

 

dkf

If you pay attention to NOT "spray" water into and around the connectors they are all water proofed pretty good against water with a soft rubber seal... Problem is, water can get past these meager seals with any amount of pressure above simple flooded flow....

I have not have a problem water washing these new electronic motors.... but I am very **** with the WD-40, contact grease, and I do pay attention to NOT even get the ABS or PCM connectors wet at all if I can help it... the few times some bone head dealer prep guy took the high presure wand to the motor bay I cringed .... but in the end the motor fired and ran fine.... lucky buggers....

 

I highly agree with the Simple Green. Not the automotive grade, which doesn't work as well, but the regular stuff avail at almost any store. The engine has to be cold or the SG will dry quickly. It works better than commercial engine degreasers IMO and smells better for a couple of weeks after the wash .

Apply, let set for about 5 min but not long enough to dry and I use the "shower" setting on my hose with very low pressure.

 

Great info!

I am fortunate to not drive down too many dirt roads except during hunting season. I have never sprayed my v10 with water in 8 years. All I do is a lot of wiping with various cleaners and rags. It takes a little while, but if you stay on top of it, like every other oil change, it is not that bad. I can keep it clean with about 30 minutes of work 3 or 4 times a year.

If you drive alot on dirt roads, that is a different story ....

 

AHG! Wrong thread.

 

Hey art ,did you intend to put these in this thread or you been hitin the wobbly pops again!!!!!!!!!

You better help them headers find the way for the exhaust to get out! looks like noodles to me

Rich

 

Nope, just tired, and I SWEAR I had the right thread.

Oh well...

carry on!