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  #1  
Old 10-07-2003, 12:13 PM
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Waterproof Engine?

I will be changing the valve cover gasket and the oil pan gasket soon. Afterwards, I intend to really clean the engine bay. Is the engine basically waterproof? I will be using some rinse-off engine cleaners. Are there any specific parts I need to protect from the water spray? Thanks in advance.

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  #2  
Old 10-07-2003, 12:33 PM
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Be sure to do it with the engine cold. Cold water hitting a hot injection pump can result in $erious damage.
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  #3  
Old 10-07-2003, 12:33 PM
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I would strongly suggest doing the spray-down on a cold engine. If you do it on a warm engine and get any water on the injector pump, there's a chance of messing it up because of rapidly cooling down the unit, which has very tight tolerances.

Otherwise, I think you're safe...just don't completely douse the alternator. If I'm wrong, I'm sure to be corrected soon.

Good luck!
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  #4  
Old 10-07-2003, 12:59 PM
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Seems like I remember somebody saying to be careful of the brake fluid reservoir as well. I think there was a way for water to get into the reservoir if it wasn't protected by a baggie or something to keep the water out. That may only apply to high pressure washing only, I am not sure.
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  #5  
Old 10-07-2003, 01:09 PM
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You might consider the wonderful fact that an oil coating prevents corrosion, both to aluminum and steel. Remove that coating and you're going to start down the process of fastener and engine mount decay.



Ken300D
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  #6  
Old 10-07-2003, 02:14 PM
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I agree with Ken.... and am occasionally shooting clean oil on anything that looks rusty at all after thoroughly cleaning the engine with solvent to remove black grit. Ever notice while wiping oil from the valve cover that valve cover surface under the oil is not oxidized like the back section? You can even oil the injector pump casing and it wont mind. Am also occasionally feeding oil to the rusty looking exhaust manifold and its bolts.

Otherwise, cleaning the engine will help you spot any oil leaks and make working on the car alot easier too. Alloy parts like vacuum pump, intake manifold, etc really look sharp when free of grime.

Assuming you remove the air filter box, make sure you seal the intake opening very well with thick plastic baggie and rubber bands.

Best engine cleaning product comes in yellow plastic pump bottle, unfortunately have forgotten its name. Product called 'Gunk' or 'Foamy-Bright' is useless. Use an old toothbrush too for nooks and crannies.

Comical sign seen at motorcylce repair shop: "BRINGING A DIRTY MOTORCYLE IN FOR REPAIR IS LIKE GOING TO THE BUTT DOCTOR AND NOT WIPING YOUR ASS."
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  #7  
Old 10-07-2003, 02:41 PM
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Foamy Bright

DieselDog is right about Foamy Bright. It is, however, a fantastic product for cleaning junk off of license plates. With the can I've got, even after wasting a bunch of it on an old motorcycle engine, I bet I can clean my plates 1000 times. Whodathunkit?
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  #8  
Old 10-07-2003, 03:02 PM
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Quote:
Cold water hitting a hot injection pump can result in $erious damage.
I hear this over and over yet, I can find nothing in any technical literature saying that irreparable harm will come to your IP if it gets sprayed down or even immersed in cold water.

Do you think there is any cold water on this Mog's IP?
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  #9  
Old 10-07-2003, 04:16 PM
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I agree with RLeo. Anyone have any empirical evidence of damage to an IP from cold water? One the other hand, any theories about what tolerances are so important and what would happen if the metal was cooled down quickly?
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  #10  
Old 10-07-2003, 09:22 PM
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I'm with Ken

Why take off the oil unless its absolutely necessary. An Old Timer once told me to never hose off a diesel engine. I've owned em since '86 and have been obedient ever since.

Don
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  #11  
Old 10-07-2003, 11:29 PM
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Why wash?

Get in there with 5 or 6 cans of engine degreaser and a few brushes. Clean it by hand, it's loads of fun (Really ), you can get to know your engine compartment's details and it will clean things that a high pressure washer could never reach.

I did a deep hand clean over a week. After I finished I was suprised to find my engine compartment was the same paint color as the rest of my car
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  #12  
Old 10-07-2003, 11:40 PM
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I've used the foamy engine cleaner and it's worked great for me.
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  #13  
Old 10-08-2003, 11:08 AM
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steam cleaning is the best way to clean the engine. my mechanic does it for me every time i take it in
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  #14  
Old 10-08-2003, 04:47 PM
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I'm a big fan of steam cleaning my cars engine, radiator, a/c condensor, tranny, differential, and brake assemblies. My dad worked for Mercedes in Southampton, NY and he did it to cars he had to really get into.
Whenever you drive in the rain or a big puddle of standing water, you "shock cool" the engine area, albeit from the bottom.
However, caution should be taken and the prefered method is to do so with a cool engine and to avoid the electrical connections, direct spray on hoses and connections, and any other area that isn't a metal to metal seam.
Have fun, Adam Bsuh
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  #15  
Old 10-08-2003, 11:38 PM
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I got the engine in my '80 300SD steam cleaned after I returned from a trip to Alaska.

Driving it back from the shop where I had it cleaned, it ran terrible. It ran like an old type gasoilne engine with a bad set of points, missfiring and running rough.

I put it away for the night as I was going to try to diagnose the problem the following day. So the next day I started it and it ran as good as ever and has since for 10+ years and 100,000+ miles.

I never did figure out what the problem was but I thought it must have been something electrical that just dried out from the engine heat. Anybody have any ideas?

P E H

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