I’ve used a garden hose sprayer on the engine bay of every vehicle I’ve owned for 25 years and never had a problem. Usually do it a few times a year and have never covered anything up. I try to stay away from spraying directly into the alternator. One thing I do is drive it down the highway a bit after spraying it. My thoughts are driving it blows the water out and the engine heat helps dry out moisture.
Cleaning mud from the engine bay
- Thread starter LJDC
- Start date
I ended up covering the electronics, the battery, and the alternator, and using mostly Simple Green and very little water.
If you tilt the hood back to the windshield and clean it (a lot of mud was caked on the inside of the hood), the water pools at the lip of the hood, and it's easy to catch with a rag before it hits anything else.
If you tilt the hood back to the windshield and clean it (a lot of mud was caked on the inside of the hood), the water pools at the lip of the hood, and it's easy to catch with a rag before it hits anything else.
I don’t like water in my electronics.
Truth be told, I don’t love mudding; I’d much prefer rocks. But there was more trail on one side and us on the other and mud in the middle.
I don’t like water in my electronics.
Truth be told, I don’t love mudding; I’d much prefer rocks. But there was more trail on one side and us on the other and mud in the middle.
I hate mud, but I also power wash my engine bay with the low pressure at the self serve car wash.
Everything under there is designed to withstand a decent exposure to water. I wouldn’t worry too much about getting stuff wet. Just like others said don’t do things like spray the alternator on full blast.
I don’t like water in my electronics.
Truth be told, I don’t love mudding; I’d much prefer rocks. But there was more trail on one side and us on the other and mud in the middle.
and in our area, it is almost impossible to wheel and avoid mud.
HardSell
TJ Enthusiast
I hate mud and never seek it. Sometimes it's unavoidable. For instance, myself and son in his JKUR drove the 75 miles or so one way from Escalante to see the Hole in the Rock. Not a cloud in the sky. Upon returning, we took a little side trip to investigate some once inhabited caves south of the main route. We could see a thunderstorm building up in the distance over the main road while we were high and dry. On returning to the route a tenth mile long line of 2 wheel drives were lined up approaching a half mile long shallow lake spanning the compacted dirt road. Someone advised that a wrecker service had been called using a front end loader to pull each vehicle through the lake. A young local fellow in a huge power wagon came through the lake from the opposite direction. He thought we could make it in our lifted Rubicons. We did only by means of traction, lift and low range using higher gears with high RPMs. Mud and water splashed up over the windshields completely blinding us but all we needed to do was maintain momentum and steer straight looking out the side window for reference. Fortunately, the mud was comparatively shallow. We encountered three more serious water crossings also with lines of cars before getting back to pavement long after dark to enjoy our comfortable lodging. We never encountered a front end loader on the way out. There were going to be a lot of people overnighting on that road. Southwestern Utah mud is bentonite. Bentonite film is impossible to remove without scrubbing; spraying, even using dissolving agents cannot do it without scrubbing. On the other hand, bentonite is an excellent sealant. If it covers wiring and connectors it can protect those from future moisture penetration. Bentonite is used to lubricate and seal drilling shafts for deep drilling applications. I left mine on without regrets with the exception of the globs that can interfere with access to vital components. I recommend before wheeling, while at home, cover vulnerable electrical circuits and relays with plastic wrap, rubber banding the enclosure to seal out water: simple, cheap and re-doable.
Bad idea. A mechanic working on my Jeep pressure washed the engine bay and water got into multiple connectors causing all sorts of idle problems and error codes. Took hours with an air compressor to get it all out. It seems none of the connectors are really waterproof, at least not after 17 years... Andy
So I will chime in and say that I have washed all three of my TJs (all low mileage and well kept) multiple times with the pressure washer and have never had an issue. I think it depends on how well it’s been taken care of. Cleaning the engine drastically improves the life of the degradable components under the hood like rubber, plastic, seals, etc. if they’re already in good shape.
You start blasting parts that have been weathered like the rubber seals on sensors, they’re probably gonna fail.
You start blasting parts that have been weathered like the rubber seals on sensors, they’re probably gonna fail.
I have always washed the engines of every vehicle I have owned. I don't deliberately try to pressure wash electric components but I have never worried about washing the engine. The only engines I've had issues with washing were old points distributor engines. Modern electronic engines...never an issue.