Ok... so im still influenced by my lt1 days of optispark induced severe paranoia about my engine getting wet...


but i've seen plenty of ls1 owners at the do it yourself spray car wash... hosing down their engines, underside of the hood etc...


mine could use a good spray itself...


is this safe?

 

If you just lightly mist the engine bay and wipe down the engine bay you should be ok. But be warned you can get water to wick under the intake manifold and that in turn can cause your knock sensor under the intake to short out and fry. It’s not as bad as the Opti-spark in the LT1’s but it still sucks if you have to replace the knock sensor because you have to take off the intake and use new seals to put it back. Just make sure your engine bay never gets so dirty that you have to hose it down to clean it. If your really after a clean engine bay you basically need to detail it every time you wash and clean the car.

 

i would never use a pressure washer or anything.

i usually spray mine down with good soap. i use a spray bottle with dish soap since it is designed to cut grease and oil really well.

spray it down liberally...let it set for a minute and then just use the open end hose to rinse it off.
then i just wipe it down the best i can to prevent spots.

keeps it nice and clean

oh...don't hose down the ECM...

 

i used orange blast

what i did was coat the entire engine with the stuff multiple times, trying to use the spray to "blast" the crap off, then a light water spray to wash it all off and it came out rather nice.

would have looked even better if i had decided not to be lazy and use rags to actually wipe stuff off.

 

How about having a professional do it for like $30 or something. That is what I did, I paid $30 to have a professional do it and it looked amazing and the best part I was stress free about damaging anything. It may seem like too much money but it was worth it.

 

You paid $30 for a shop to spray some degreaser/soap/water mix onto your engine and spray it off with a hose. They also use a drying agent to sheet water/leftover dirt off.

I use the same method as above, except I spray everything with armor-all while it's still wet then dry right away. Leaves the engine looking like-new and shiny.

 

Well i used to detail cars proffessionaly for 5 years, and dont waste your money....all they do is the same thing you can do at a quarter car wash....get some good degreaser, spray it on a warm engine, then go at it with the pressure washer...but dont get to close to the wires n such....must everything is somewhat waterproof, but if you have a ton of miles on it...and your plug wires are bad..then getting them wet will only make them worse. if you want to be really careful..take a plastic lunch bag and cover what you dont want to get wet. After you are done....wipe it down and blow off any additional water with a air compressor...about 75psi, then with a small sponge...wipe on your choice of dressing...armor all, etc.....and dont just spray it on like some hack. take your time and it will look sweet...ocassionally wipe down everything with a damp towel and re-apply the dressing.

if your plug wires have ton of grease on them...then a small amount of laquer thinner on a rag works really nice.

 

Do not pressure wash it. Do you know what pressure washing can do? How about sticking your hand around the nozzle area while you habe the trigger pulled? (Don't do that.) You will lose meat!

I have found that Orange Blast by Greased Lightening is the best. It has natural orange oils in it that won't dry out your plastics and rubber hoses. It leaves a little shine on them.

I only do mine when the engine is cold. I spray a little water on it to get it wet, then I spray orange blast all over it liberally. Let it set a minute or two, and spray it off. I use the "gentle spray" position on the hose handle

Then, I use the elec. blower and blow all the water off the engine and get it 90% dry, and wipe the rest down w/ a towel. You need to use some kind of air to get all the water off the intake, especially if you have fuel rail covers.

I have a LT1 as well, and I had the same fears as you did before I washed my LS1. You should be fine