Good or bad idea? I figured it would be good to get rid of any potential sand/dirt that could get into the engine..I have a 95', should I still cover the opti?

 

Just remove the opti first, has to come off anyways

It's not a bad idea to clean it up, no.

 

one word comes to mind,......DONT.

If anything, use some brake clean before you open anything up and compressed air to blow the dirt and grime away from anywhere it could fall into the engine when you open it up. In no way should you spray water on the engine unless you plan on changing the opti while you are there, which I would recommend anyways if its high mileage.

 

Opti hates water.

 

He has to remove his opti anyways so after he gets his water pump off, take the opti off then go to town cleaning up.... it's not a bad idea to get the engine as clean as possible before doing a heads/cam job w/ the motor in the car... i know i wish i would have.

 

I pressure washed my engine on a regular basis for 5 years. My stock opti has 120k miles on it, and is still good. Pressure wash that sob if you want to do any good.

 

ANY distributor will act up if it gets wet inside. People here are just too stupid to let it dry out before tearing it off and pronouncing it dead. I would recommend pressure washing it, just don't concentrate on the opti and it shouldn't get too wet.

 

Exactly. I spray the intake, valve covers, sides of the block, fenders, etc. I dont spray the opti. Ive never had a problem.