cleaning engine bay...

[Sho_Freak]

is it alright to spray down the engine bay?????with my hose and one of the nozzles that puts soap in with the water then spray it all off????idk about the water and electrical parts thing??????how do u all clean ur engine bays?

i didnt know where to put this, so it went here.....

 

[Jrodm12]

I went and got mine detailed for almost nothing cause i have a freind that works there. They spray some stuff on it and then let it sit and then spray it off. But idk if you still wana start spraying the engine and stuff down especially cause water can get in the plug wells sometimes.

 

[Ishodu]

Water under you hood is a big no no. Try a damp rag with simple green or similar cleaner, oh BTW just do a search on this and you will see all the problems it can create.

 

[Sho_Freak]

i was just gonna ask about a wet/damp rage with simple green on it.....i might spend me some time doin that tomorrow....thanks
i was also thinkin of using some degreaser on parts....just spray on, wait, and wipe off??

 

[yamahaSHO]

Water under you hood is a big no no. Try a damp rag with simple green or similar cleaner, oh BTW just do a search on this and you will see all the problems it can create.

That will not get the motor fully clean... You can use a hose to water down your motor. I personally use Gunk engine degreaser and a hose. I have done this MANY times and am yet to have a problem.

Just don't go crazy around electrical connectors or plug wires.

 

[qwik huh]

Be VERY careful with a hose and an SHO engine. I found this out the hard way last week and am still having problems with mine....

 

[SHO_Driver]

If you must clean it with a hose take some precautions. Cover the alternator with a bag. Cover the front and rear valve covers to prevent water from entering the plug wells. After you've finished washing do not start the SHO. Take WD-40 and spray all electrical wires and connectors. Remove bags and spray alternator and spark plug wires. You will most likely have to clean the valve covers by hand to remove all the buildup.

 

[93SHO_2]

My car wash/high pressure hose incident produced 2 problems
1.) it lossened the coil pack connection (the plastic retainer was broke, not the power washer's fault but on a 12 year old car those plastic connectors get brittle)

2.) the coolent overflow sender /or/wiring shorted out sending my 30 amp fuse into a tizzy (which is hard to diagnose because it cuts off the codes)

 

[Sho_Freak]

i just did what yamahasho said to do, and yes, it is wery clean now, i like that gunk engine brite stuff... no problems yet, and i jsut got back from a 75 mile round trip after cleaning the engine bay...THANKS!!
like he said, dont go crazy around electrical connections......
and i looked no water in the plug wells!(just the regular old oil.....)

 

[yamahaSHO]

If you must clean it with a hose take some precautions. Cover the alternator with a bag. Cover the front and rear valve covers to prevent water from entering the plug wells. After you've finished washing do not start the SHO. Take WD-40 and spray all electrical wires and connectors. Remove bags and spray alternator and spark plug wires. You will most likely have to clean the valve covers by hand to remove all the buildup.

There is no need to cover the alternator and valve covers... In fact, covering the valve covers would defeat the purpose of cleaning. If you already use dielectric grease on your connections, you will be perfectly fine. Also, I don't recommend WD-40 on your electrical wires, only on the throttle and cruise cable after everything has dried.

 

[SHOgerm]

There is no need to cover the alternator and valve covers... In fact, covering the valve covers would defeat the purpose of cleaning. If you already use dielectric grease on your connections, you will be perfectly fine. Also, I don't recommend WD-40 on your electrical wires, only on the throttle and cruise cable after everything has dried.

yamahaSHO,

How to keep water from going down the plug wells?

SHOgerm

 

[yamahaSHO]

My boots seal like they are supposed to...

 

[shojuan]

WD-40 bad for rubber. Shortens the lifespan. Something silicone based will not harm the rubber. As a rule organic based will.

Is there something magically ******** about the way the SHO electrics were designed and implemented? **** take a yamaha watercraft. Nothing unusual looking about its electrics. No extreme measures that look particularly different than what's under the hood of a car. Yet you are instructed to wash the whole engine compartment out with a hose to clean it preferably after every ride.

If water is hurting your engine then your wiring is just aged and getting messed up and it's going to be prone to flaky problems anyways. Best to know if your motor's wiring is in good shape so you are at least aware that some electrical tracing might be in your SHO repair future. Besides, problems from spraying water on the engine tend to dry up when you let the motor dry up! That's why you clean a warmed up motor and run the thing immediately after and let it idle at fast speed until all the water evaporates!!!

I get sick of people saying no-no to spraying water on the motor of a SHO. I had a customer once, a very short lived customer who was a programmer for NASA up at Ames Research Center. He just thought he knew it all but he was a complete ******* idiot when it came to hardware and he didn't even know it. See, he had people at work to take care of the $50,000 workstations that he used. Anyways he bought a POS modem, lots of those in the consumer space back then, and just couldn't accept the fact that his problems lied there and blamed my COMMERCIAL grade equipment. He tried to tell me how much he knew because he was a hot **** programmer at NASA Ames. Funny, I've heard the same kind of cocky **** here from narrow minded types who need constant self-reassurance of their supposed greatness. Anyhow, the more this guy talked the more apparant it became of how little he knew about any of the hardware that was beginning to trickle down into the consumer space. Yup, because he was a big hotshot programmer on a cool SGI at NASA Ames Research Center and because his paycheck could finally buy his family some poorly chosen crap from Frys he thought he knew it all. Anyways he was one of those fools that I let my competitors have.

 

[yamahaSHO]

WD-40 bad for rubber. Shortens the lifespan. Something silicone based will not harm the rubber. As a rule organic based will.

Is there something magically ******** about the way the SHO electrics were designed and implemented? **** take a yamaha watercraft. Nothing unusual looking about its electrics. No extreme measures that look particularly different than what's under the hood of a car. Yet you are instructed to wash the whole engine compartment out with a hose to clean it preferably after every ride.

If water is hurting your engine then your wiring is just aged and getting messed up and it's going to be prone to flaky problems anyways. Best to know if your motor's wiring is in good shape so you are at least aware that some electrical tracing might be in your SHO repair future. Besides, problems from spraying water on the engine tend to dry up when you let the motor dry up! That's why you clean a warmed up motor and run the thing immediately after and let it idle at fast speed until all the water evaporates!!!

I get sick of people saying no-no to spraying water on the motor of a SHO. I had a customer once, a very short lived customer who was a programmer for NASA up at Ames Research Center. He just thought he knew it all but he was a complete ******* idiot when it came to hardware and he didn't even know it. See, he had people at work to take care of the $50,000 workstations that he used. Anyways he bought a POS modem, lots of those in the consumer space back then, and just couldn't accept the fact that his problems lied there and blamed my COMMERCIAL grade equipment. He tried to tell me how much he knew because he was a hot **** programmer at NASA Ames. Funny, I've heard the same kind of cocky **** here from narrow minded types who need constant self-reassurance of their supposed greatness. Anyhow, the more this guy talked the more apparant it became of how little he knew about any of the hardware that was beginning to trickle down into the consumer space. Yup, because he was a big hotshot programmer on a cool SGI at NASA Ames Research Center and because his paycheck could finally buy his family some poorly chosen crap from Frys he thought he knew it all. Anyways he was one of those fools that I let my competitors have.

BRAVO RICK!!!

 

[sdpatt]

Yamaha watercraft, or any other brand, are designed to be able to tolerate exposure to water since that is their operating environment. The electronics under the hood of a ground based automobile are not. They are designed to protect against ambient and transient moisture with the rubber seals in the connectors, but not forced liquids. Spray away, but don't come crying back here after you experience engine control system problems.

 

[shojuan]

That is simply not true. There are NUMEROUS ON-ROAD scenarios in which substantial water can and will enter the engine bay of a passenger car while traveling down the road. Just because it doesn't rain in Texas doesn't mean that water isn't out there. During these events proper vehicle operation must be maintained in the name of safety. Plowing through water forces a significant quantity of water throughout the engine bay. A lot of lives would be at much greater risk if engine electrical connections were as frail as you suggest. Auto manufacturers would be totally open to lawsuit from people living in wet states getting hurt because their cars stopped when they needed to get out of a bad situation. It's actually a pretty serious matter that cars be able to tolerate direct water exposure in their engine bays.

 

[SHO_Driver]

There is no need to cover the alternator and valve covers... In fact, covering the valve covers would defeat the purpose of cleaning. If you already use dielectric grease on your connections, you will be perfectly fine. Also, I don't recommend WD-40 on your electrical wires, only on the throttle and cruise cable after everything has dried.

Since when do alternators like to be soaked in water. Ever see what happens to a Honda when it goes thru a huge puddle, the alternator quits cause it's so close to the ground. Granted that's cause the motor is running at the time. Better not to risk a short when you start up. It's true about WD and rubber but it can be used to remove water from an electrical system.

And yeah, because of all the precautions it may be easier to just clean by hand.

 

[Sho_Freak]

like i said, i cleaned my bay yesterday. sprayed it with gunk engine cleaner and sprayed it off. nothing wrong here and ive put about 200 miles on it since then...

Just don't go crazy around electrical connectors or plug wires.

very good advice, the only thing i did after it dried was wd-40 my throttle and cruise control cables....
oh, and YamahaSHO do u use the engine brite stuff on your intake manifold???i got some on mine and it had little spots on it, i had to scratch-x and polish it b4 they went away. didnt see the spots on my valve covers tho?

 

[yamahaSHO]

Since when do alternators like to be soaked in water. Ever see what happens to a Honda when it goes thru a huge puddle, the alternator quits cause it's so close to the ground. Granted that's cause the motor is running at the time. Better not to risk a short when you start up. It's true about WD and rubber but it can be used to remove water from an electrical system.

And yeah, because of all the precautions it may be easier to just clean by hand.

Okay, I did not think I had to say it... But don't stand over your alternator with a hose and try and fill it up I wash my motor periodically and the only thing I cover up is the air filter(did not even have to do that with the SS CAI). Either you guys are too paranoid or just do stupid things when washing the motor.

oh, and YamahaSHO do u use the engine brite stuff on your intake manifold???i got some on mine and it had little spots on it, i had to scratch-x and polish it b4 they went away. didnt see the spots on my valve covers tho?

I only use Gunk Engine degreaser... Then when the motor is completely dry, I mist Armor-All over the whole engine bay. I am currently looking something other than Armor-All to get the job done.

 

[shojuan]

I think Meguiars probably has some good products to use. I'd use their vinyl and rubber stuff before using Armor All personally but that's just me. I certainly don't want to stop you if you like the Armor All and haven't run into problems with it like rubber turning brown.

For degreaser I really swear by Gunk/Pennzoil Steam Premium. Really, I think everybody who uses a degreaser on their engine should try a can of that stuff. For starters you will fall in love with the smell. Plus it does a great job. Did I mention the smell? Oh it is SO nice working on an engine that's been recently cleaned with that stuff. Heaven.