Engine Shampoo

[Spicoli]

Has anyone shampooed there engine? If so what did you use and what do I need to cover up and or avoid while doing so. Any tips would be great.

 

[stevewithOCD]

Well Paul Mitchell would be too expensive, so i stick with Simple Green. Some degreasers can damage rubber pieces & there are ALOT of hoses in this tri-cloptic monster. Rinse, lather, toothbrush & repeat. Rinse, lather, toothbrush & repeat....

 

[stevewithOCD]

Of course i was referring to my Sidewinder. There is a car foam out there that's a spray & rinse product. It works awesome, but i'm always afraid it will get in all the connectors & not come out. I'm gonna see if i can find out what this product is...

 

[Spicoli]

Thanks very much, if you have more info that would be appreciated

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk

 

[Kkurz]

The thing that bothers me about my engine is that it gets a white-ish powdery looking residue on it that makes it look dull. Is this oxidation? Does it cause any real threat?

 

[Riceburner]

Yes oxidation.

No threat.

 

[sxr70001]

You can spray it down with wd-40 every summer. I used to do that with my 2 strokes. spray the skid too after it's washed and greased.

 

[Sevey]

I use engine cleaning that sprays on and foams up from Crappy Tire. Seems to work ok.
I run the engine good to warm it up. Spray this stuff on, let it soak, then wash it off. Start the engine up and run it again so its good and hot.
that should burn water out of anywhere it shouldn't be.

MS

 

[whitedust1]

I get why you want to wash your engine but just not worth the risk to get water in wiring and other electronics then corrosion...beware.

 

[Sevey]

If you warm the engine up good, and start it up afterwards - and do it on a day well above freezing you pretty much minimize the chances of water corroding things.

Let it sit around wet - you are asking for trouble. If it is not a nice dry-air day, I will prop up the space heater to bake the engine bay to continue to dry things.

I have bathed my car, truck and sled engine annually and have made out ok over the years.
Its great to have things clean inside. Makes the problems easy to spot.....
MS

 

[Hooray!]

Old school, get in there by hand with as mild a cleaner as you can to start, I start with 409 on a small section at a time with a non-scratch sponge, a small battery powered bristle brush and get the first coat off. See what you have, then hit a few hard spots with brake cleaner, mag rim cotton, repeat. Targeting cleaning vs. the foam the entire thing and hose it down approach. Takes longer but you actually see issues as you clean them and avoid all the wires and connectors that water will penetrate with the hose 'er down approach (which is way faster I know). Sniper vs. shotgun takes me 2-3 hours to go around the engine top to bottom, cleaning the side panels, etc. I have some Yamaha silicon spray for outboards that I prefer to use vs. WD-40 as they both are keeping water at bay, the WD-40 just makes things greasy IMO but does work. At the end I will hit the rubber items with 303 protectant, the painted frame items with wax, a little excessive perhaps but I have always enjoyed looking at a clean engine with a beverage or two (or three)... the 303 and wax protects things and makes it really easy to clean the next time, more like a touch up if you do it annually. A clean engine, frame, etc makes it simple to see wear and issues easily. This sled is new to me so I am only on round one (pics below from tear down) with initial grime, dried on oil and rubber from belts takes a few rounds to remove. A-arms back from powder coating (black satin) now and have all new front suspension re-build parts (Oilite a-arm and ski bushings), building up today, will post some after pics when detailed...

 

[Hooray!]

Interesting after this post I was starting my front end rebuild and found some packed mud between the engine and frame member. Decided to degrease things and hose it down to the limits I normally use. I sprayed things down with NAPA engine degreaser, let it sit, then hosed off with a jet stream being careful not to hit electrical wires and connectors. As you can see in the pictures below, I am careful not to hit anything above the oil tank where you see electrical connectors start and never spray directly into things like the brake pads, etc. The areas above the oil tank is where all the electrical items sit and can be cleaned by hand without electrical concerns. Results are only good with the degreaser but major junk is gone, now I take some brake cleaner and paper towels on the stubborn grime and then some mag rim cleaner cotton to go over things, let dry and polish off with a microfiber cloth. I have not done the brake cleaner or mag rim cotton yet in the pics below but still looks pretty good. The mag rim cleaner is key IMO as are fresh from powder coat A-arms and spindles and new hardware! Dreaming snow...