Steam Cleaning an Engine

[Guest bofusmosby]

I remember years ago, it seems that everyone wanting to clean the "gunk" off their engines would have their engines steam-cleaned. Now it would seem that no one is doing this, because I rarely see it mentioned anymore. Is there a reason for this? I would think that giving an engine a good steam-cleaning would still be the thing to do, even if chemical cleaners were to be used afterwards.

Opinions?

[MCHinson]

I think that steam cleaning fell out of favor due to the amount of oily residue and similar stuff that ended up on the ground when you steam cleaned an engine. I remember steam cleaning engines. When you were done the engine looked really good but the ground outside the shop was a mess afterwards.

[Paul Dobbin]

Jim & Matt,

It seems to me that the new "degreaser's" are designed to break down the grease and oil into biodegradable waste. In the old days we just blew all the oil, grease & dirt off the engine with a steam cleaner and gunk, and ended up with an oily mess on the ground. The oil slick lasted forever. The new degreasers don't leave such a mess and can be rinsed off with a garden hose.

Now let's hear from the experts.

[Bhigdog]

FWIW, maybe once a year I give my regular car's engine bay a bath with a couple of cans of Gunk Engine Brite. Wash it off with a garden hose right on my macadam drive. Hasn't hurt the drive at all , never had any engine problems, and they never get dirty enough to be a problem. My collecter cars gets hand cleaned.....................Bob

[Dandy Dave]

In a commercial repair business, or even out behind the barn, the EPA does not want you doing that anymore. If some "Concerned person" complains, along comes a man from the EPA to check on your misadventures with a book of fines. They say, "Dispose of it properly." Of course what they do not tell you where the proper place to, "dispose of it" is either. From the ground it washes to fields and streams and the plant life, animals, and fish are exposed. Fines can be as much as $10,000 or more. You use to see sand blasting of bridges and such and the sand and old paint and rust was just lost in the water. Now everything has to be done under covers and everything is collected and hauled away. For this you can thank a Tree Hugger, and Goberment agencies that need revenue. Dandy Dave!

Edited February 4, 2013 by Dandy Dave (see edit history)

[joe_padavano]

I think the real reasons are 1) no one bothers to lift their hood anymore - cars go 50,000 miles without a tuneup and 2) the vast amount of electronics on today's engines isn't fond of steam cleaning.

[Guest Skyking]

I think the real reasons are 1) no one bothers to lift their hood anymore - cars go 50,000 miles without a tuneup and 2) the vast amount of electronics on today's engines isn't fond of steam cleaning.

I agree......... The last time I cleaned an engine this way was on my '89 LeBaron convertible. It caused a short that a (on the ball) PepBoy's mechanic spotted. It was a burned out fuse-able link that caused the A/C unit to not function.

[MCHinson]

In addition to all of the previously mentioned reasons with modern engines, modern lubricants and almost never being driven on dirt roads, engines simply don't get the amount of crud caked on them that they did many years ago. My daily driver is 10 years old. It gets routine maintenance and the engine basically gets a little bit of dust on it, which can be wiped off with little trouble.

[Guest Magoo]

What we called steam cleaning back in the say was usually a hot-water pressure washer, and it fell out of favor mainly because modern engines just don't get as disgustingly grimy as they once did.

Along with all the environmental problems so capably described above, the practice was really good at lifting paint and breaking all the little plastic and phenolic clips and brackets. So you often ended up with a sparkling clean engine compartment that looked like hell. And the high pressure could also push water in past the weather seals and put moisture in places it was never intended to go, like inside circuit boards and connectors.

Personally, I am very fond of the new generation of citrus-based engine cleaners such as Gunk Citrus Engine Brite. Sprays on and hoses off and does a decent job with much less of the grief and drama in the foregoing.

[Restorer32]

Dad was a heavy cigar smoker and had a tire recapping business and in general was a slob so over time his '71 Cadillac became incredibly grubby inside. No problem! He simply took it to the local car wash and power washed the INSIDE, windshield, dash, seats, floor, everything. He left it sit outside in the July sun for maybe 2 weeks with the doors open. It dried out and everything was fine and nice and clean with one exception. The instruments were slightly fogged up inside from then on but they worked ok.

[Guest bofusmosby]

Thanks guys for the responses. It makes a lot of sense. I was wondering why I hadn't heard about this in a number of years.

Are you saying that these new cleaners/degreasers will actually breat-down the grease, and no staining on the driveway will happen? This would sound like the best way to go, if thatis the case.

[Guest Magoo]

Dad was a heavy cigar smoker and had a tire recapping business and in general was a slob so over time his '71 Cadillac became incredibly grubby inside. No problem! He simply took it to the local car wash and power washed the INSIDE, windshield, dash, seats, floor, everything. He left it sit outside in the July sun for maybe 2 weeks with the doors open. It dried out and everything was fine and nice and clean with one exception. The instruments were slightly fogged up inside from then on but they worked ok.

Sounds like a genuine personality!

[Guest]

I remember years ago, it seems that everyone wanting to clean the "gunk" off their engines would have their engines steam-cleaned. Now it would seem that no one is doing this, because I rarely see it mentioned anymore. Is there a reason for this? I would think that giving an engine a good steam-cleaning would still be the thing to do, even if chemical cleaners were to be used afterwards.

Opinions?

I think most folks today don't even wash their own cars, let alone their engine or engine compartment.

My antique cars are wiped down after every use in the engine compartment and the underneath is wiped down and polished every six months along with servicing etc. Two of those cars, VW beetles get a once a year spray down on the engines with Zep and then pressure washed. We do that on air cooled engines to make sure there is no dirt or grime around the fins on the heads and the cylinder barrels so we don't have different hot spot areas, essentially the same thing we did in the Navy on our 3350 cu. in. radial engines when we pulled a plane into calendar inspection except we used solvent and a fire hose.

On my daily drivers I soap carefully the engine compartment and parts of the engine with the same car soap I use on the exterior surface and do this every time I wash the car. There is no reason to even change wash mitts or sponge because the engine and compartment always is clean. After every service I wipe down the underneath and chassis. If you never let dirt and grime accumulate-the wiping down is never a problem, and it really helps to see problem areas before they become a major problem.

One thing I forgot to mention to all of those who do not work on their own cars: A clean car and engine bay gets much better response (job done) from a mechanic working on it than one that is greasy and dirty.

Edited February 5, 2013 by helfen (see edit history)

[Guest bofusmosby]

On my 37 Pontiac, I don't believe that the engine compartment or the suspension was ever cleaned. I've got decades of hardened grease that needs to be removed. I was thinking of pulling off the front wheens and brushing some kerosene over the hardened grease to help break it loose. Of course, the putty knife will come first. I was going to use an old metal garbage can lid turned upside down to catch the mess when doing it. Now I'm beginning to woner about the other chemicals that have been mentioned.

[Guest Al Brass]

I deal with heavy diesels and the old steam cleaner has been replaced by high pressure hot water blasters these days. They do a better job and are quicker.

Al

[Guest]

On my 37 Pontiac, I don't believe that the engine compartment or the suspension was ever cleaned. I've got decades of hardened grease that needs to be removed. I was thinking of pulling off the front wheens and brushing some kerosene over the hardened grease to help break it loose. Of course, the putty knife will come first. I was going to use an old metal garbage can lid turned upside down to catch the mess when doing it. Now I'm beginning to woner about the other chemicals that have been mentioned.

Many people used to, and maybe still do go to the self serve high pressure car washes and use with hot soapy water to do just that, although it's against the rules listed at those facilities these days. It's getting so crazy these days on the left coast that a couple of years ago the county wanted to ban washing cars in your driveway and in the street because the county was so concerned about runoff. When it was pointed out that the county was spraying the gutters and side of the hwy with oil to stop weeds they quieted down. On another occasion the state wanted to have a regular inspection for oil leaks on your car.

[Guest Skyking]

I deal with heavy diesels and the old steam cleaner has been replaced by high pressure hot water blasters these days. They do a better job and are quicker.

Al

When I bought my '64 Chevelle brand new I used to go over to the quarter car wash and wash the engine down periodically with the soapy wand. Of course I had to do this at night when the owner wasn't around. That used to do a great job.................what ever happened to the quarter car washes?:cool:

[Hudsy Wudsy]

My friend who owns a large service facility cautioned me a while back to be very careful about where I aim a car wash gun under the hood of a car. It seems that water introduced into some wiring and electrical accessories can penetrate far enough back to dry very slowly and thus enable corrosion. He went on to say that over time corrosion can and will migrate far enough to create electrical problems that are near impossible to find. According to him, that is often the demise of cleaned up and otherwise presentable flood cars months and even years after they were bought. If this is the case, it's likely that this applies to home pressure washers and steam cleaners, as well.

[Curti]

Get your self a good pressure washer, like 1200 lbs. Raise the Pontiac as high as you can on one end, keeping saftey high on your list. Remove the tires and have at it.

If you live in a bedroom comunity, maybe you want to go to a friends house out in the country. A rule of thumb, is if it is environmentally friendly it dosn't work very well.

[Dandy Dave]

When I bought my '64 Chevelle brand new I used to go over to the quarter car wash and wash the engine down periodically with the soapy wand. Of course I had to do this at night when the owner wasn't around. That used to do a great job.................what ever happened to the quarter car washes?:cool:

LOL... Yeah, They're all over a buck now if you can find one. And don't take a dirty, greasy, oilly, old Bulldozer motor on a trailer to wash cuz they will run you out, or catch up with you tommorow with all the camera high tech today. In those days, The water went down a drain and out back to the local swamp. Today the water is recycled and the equipment is much more expensive to maintain. Dandy Dave!

Edited February 6, 2013 by Dandy Dave (see edit history)

[64Riv-King]

I specifically did a search for 'steam clean' on here because I wanted to see if anybody took their classic or antique car to a detail shop. I took my daily driver, a 2007 Chevy Equipinox, to a detail shop becuase of a coupon in the clipper magazine for a "full detail including scratch & paint chip repair". I was absolutely amazed at the results. The exterior is ice smooth, the leather seats are like silk, the dash, armrests and floors are spotless missing all the greasy fingerprints. All the paint chips and scratches were touched up flawlessly.... HOWEVER, what blew me away was when I opened the hood. My mouth fell open when I saw what they did.... The motor looked as clean and brite as the day I drove it off the lot!!! I looked it over very closely and there is not any damage whatso ever, no frayed wires, no paint flaking from the steam cleaner, no discolorization from any chemicals. This got me to thinking about what they could do to my 64 Rivi. It's exterior is great aside from the sporatic paint chip but the motor is showing it's age with oil and grime around the gaskets and under the carb. I tried in vain to remove the 49 years of buildup with a quarter of the success as the detail shop. So, should I or shouldnt I take the Rivi to them?!?

[Guest]

I specifically did a search for 'steam clean' on here because I wanted to see if anybody took their classic or antique car to a detail shop. I took my daily driver, a 2007 Chevy Equipinox, to a detail shop becuase of a coupon in the clipper magazine for a "full detail including scratch & paint chip repair". I was absolutely amazed at the results. The exterior is ice smooth, the leather seats are like silk, the dash, armrests and floors are spotless missing all the greasy fingerprints. All the paint chips and scratches were touched up flawlessly.... HOWEVER, what blew me away was when I opened the hood. My mouth fell open when I saw what they did.... The motor looked as clean and brite as the day I drove it off the lot!!! I looked it over very closely and there is not any damage whatso ever, no frayed wires, no paint flaking from the steam cleaner, no discolorization from any chemicals. This got me to thinking about what they could do to my 64 Rivi. It's exterior is great aside from the sporatic paint chip but the motor is showing it's age with oil and grime around the gaskets and under the carb. I tried in vain to remove the 49 years of buildup with a quarter of the success as the detail shop. So, should I or shouldnt I take the Rivi to them?!?

Only speaking for myself I would not. Why would I pay someone money for something I can do.

If you tried in vain to do the job to remove 49 years of buildup with only a quarter of the success then it's time to find out either what your doing wrong or what they are doing right and then apply your new found knowledge and save money in the bargain.

[Guest bofusmosby]

I see the logic in this helfin, but if what they did was THAT good of a job, maybe let them clean it up for you, and then just keeping in clean would be a lot easier then trying to do it all himself. Of course, I didn't see any price mentioned. That to me would be the determining factor on if I were to let them do it.

Kevin, how much did they charge for this detailing that you had done?

[Rusty_OToole]

Back in the thirties, forties and fifties only the biggest garages and dealerships could afford a "steam jenny". But some high end garages automatically steam cleaned an engine if it was dirty, and put it on the bill. Their mechanics did not work on greasy engines.

When the two bit car wash came in you could get your engine clean for a quarter or fifty cents. Be careful not to flood out your carburetor or ignition.

Today you can buy a pressure washer and do it at home. But as others pointed out, engines don't get as greasy as they once did, and a drop of water in the wrong place can kill your electronics.

OK here is the answer. I have been doing this for years and it works great. You can do this inside your garage and it doesn't make a mess.

Get one of these cheap wand sprayers. This one is $7.99, they have them at flea markets and parts stores too.

Pneumatic Spray Cleaning Wand Degreaser Washer : Amazon.com : Automotive

Spread a piece of cardboard under the engine, covered with a piece of old carpet. Used carpet from the dumpster in back of the carpet store is fine. All it is for, is to catch the dirty water.

Scrub your engine with Gunk degreaser and a stiff brush. Don't bother cleaning any dirt off, just loosen it up. If the engine is really caked with dirt, scraping with a blunt screwdriver, putty knife and wire brush may be in order. But if you clean your engine regularly all you need to do is spray it with engine cleaner.

Now get your cheapy wand sprayer. The secret is, to feed it from a 2 liter plastic pop bottle filled with the HOTTEST hot water you can get out of the tap. You may want to wear leather gloves.

The hot water comes out as steam and steam cleans your engine. Very little water runs off the engine. The carpet catches the water and dirt. You can let it dry, roll it up and use it over and over. Once your engine is clean and painted it is very easy to wash it off once in a while and keep it clean.

I have been doing this for years and it works great. Of course, for real heavy duty cleaning the pressure washer is quicker but much messier.

Edited March 2, 2013 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

If you want to clean 75 years of grease and grime off your suspension you will need to jack it up, put jack stands under the frame and start scraping and wire brushing. When you have got all the dirt off or at least loosened up, bow it clean with compressed air, spray or brush with degreaser, scrub it in, and wash with the pressure washer. You may have to go back, dig grease out of some corners, and wash again. If you want to get all Felix Unger this can go on forever.

Blow dry with compressed air and brush or spray bomb some Rustoleum or other rust proof paint. This is a tough rubbery type paint that stands up well on chassis parts. You should do a complete grease job as soon as possible to drive the water out of the joints before it causes rust.

[64Riv-King]

$129.00 plus 6% to Pennsylvania

[Guest bofusmosby]

Kevin, if this was done as good as you said it was, then it sounds like money well spent.

[Guest]

$129.00 plus 6% to Pennsylvania

And if you did it yourself you could have taken the wife out on the town for dinner and drinks and dancing.

[Guest bofusmosby]

And if you did it yourself you could have taken the wife out on the town for dinner and drinks and dancing.

True. What concerns me is the fact that this was done to a newer car, and the engine couldn'

t have been nearly as bad as the old cars are. I would be curious as to how an old car would look after this cleaning.

[Guest]

True. What concerns me is the fact that this was done to a newer car, and the engine couldn'

t have been nearly as bad as the old cars are. I would be curious as to how an old car would look after this cleaning.

Jim, I didn't say it correctly as I should have said; And if you did it yourself you could have taken the wife out on the town for dinner, drinks and dancing........and have a clean car!

[Guest bofusmosby]

Jim, I didn't say it correctly as I should have said; And if you did it yourself you could have taken the wife out on the town for dinner, drinks and dancing........and have a clean car!

Well, I myself don't dance, and rarely drink, but I sure like to eat!

[Guest]

Well, I myself don't dance, and rarely drink, but I sure like to eat!

That's great Jim, so in your case it's a clean car and depending on where you eat two or three time out to dinner!

[64Riv-King]

How about have the wife clean the motor herself and I'll take the money out on the town! lol. Think I will take my Toyota Tocoma there for a detail and then if I get the same results then the 64 Rivi. I'll be sure to take before and after pics too.

[Guest bofusmosby]

Think I will take my Toyota Tocoma there for a detail and then if I get the same results then the 64 Rivi. I'll be sure to take before and after pics too.

Look forward to seeing them.