Re: Cleaning Engine

["RICHARD VAUGHN" <rav3@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Merlon & Steve:
I have cleaned the engine on every car & truck that I have ever owned. 
How do you think all these dealers make there car engines look so good? 
The trick is just to be careful where yo spray. I don't use high 
pressure hoses. I have used your every day garden hose with typical 
urban water pressure. Some problems I have encountered are:
The oil pressure light would flicker on & off on my '95 740i. It really 
scared me at first but after some investigation I found that some water 
had  gotten into the 'oil pressure' switch electrical connector. After 
clearing the water (a couple of drops) the light did not light up any 
more. So now I don't spray the hose directly at the connector. I never 
had any problems from our '93 325i. I would wash down the engine every 
month or so. On both of these models, the coils & plug wires are hidden 
away under the plastic engine shroud, protecting them from the water. 
Just be careful on where you squirt, not directing the water toward any 
unprotected wires as a precaution. Maybe I've been lucky, but I have 
been doing this for over 25 years. I've had a miss or two, from time to 
time, but it would clear up after it dried out. Running the engine 
afterwards to warm it up will evapoarte most of the water. All 
automotive mfg companies require the connector  manufacture to make the 
connectors water tight & resistant to high temp. Don't use Purple Power 
or cleaners of this type. It will discolor any painted surface. A mild 
detergent will work fine. Good luck & use some simple caution. I think 
you'll be O.K. Has anyone had any BAD experiences?

Richard Vaughn BMW CCA Tarheel Chapter
'95 740i
'96 Z71
'91 G20 Van
'84 Supra


>Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 15:38:06 PDT
>From: "Marlon C." <mccal@domain.elided>
>Subject: RE:Cleaning Engine
>
>Does anybody have a bad experience in steam cleaning their engine? Is 
it 
>because moisture build up in the electrical component? Is it better to 
>wash the engine with regular hose and spray some engine degreaser? This 
>detailer (DetailWerks) recommended San Jose Steam Cleaner (located in 
>Stockton Ave.) in San Jose. He told me that he used them to clean 
>engines. Does anybody have any experience with this place?
>
>**********************************************************************
>Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 15:07:15 -0700
>From: "skaelin" <skaelin@domain.elided>
>Subject: Cleaning Engine
>
>Hi All,
>
>I recently purchased a 1990 325is which runs really good.  Before I 
>bought
>it, I had Dinan do a diagnostic on it and one of the things they 
thought 
>I
>should do is replace the head gasket as the thee bottom oil pan was
>saturated with oil.  Other than that, the car runs great and is in MINT
>condition (only had 50K miles on it). I will be bringing it to Dinan to 
>fix
>the headgasket plus do some other maintenance stuff.  As the engine is
>pretty dirty (oil + dirt), I would like to have it cleaned, but I have 
>heard
>that BMW recommends that you don't steam clean their engines.  Do any 
>shops
>do this or how should I go about cleaning the engine? Any 
>recommendations
>would be appreciated.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Steve Kaelin
>San Jose, CA
>98 M3, 90 325is




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