I've been reading a few posts about people washing their engine and it screwing with the opti. Is this true?

I just bought my brothers '94 Z28..I'd like to clean it up a little but not if it will cause any problems.

I've had a '76 Camaro for a few years so the opti and it's problems are new to me.

TIA.

 

I'm personally afraid to hose down my LT1....but if you do, cover all electronics w/plastic bags or tin foil, and keep water away from the opti. Yes, you can screw up the opti if you get it wet.

I prefer to mist + wipe with a rag.

 

Yeah this is true. When you wash your engine bay with a hose you are more prone to getting your opti wet. If you really want to make the engine bay look nice get some rags, sponges and degreaser and go at it by hand. Put a towel on the top of the engine while cleaning the underside of the hood. This will prevent any dirty water or chemicals from dripping and merssing up other areas. Be careful that you don't scrub to hard otherwise you'll take off the paint that is there (know from experience). Just put some elbow grease into it. Then use some armoral on the hoses to shin them up. Good luck

Jp

 

If you have a vented opti you can leave the engine running so that the opti is getting air, and carefully spray out the engine bay, but not directly on the front of the engine where the opti is. Ive done that a few times with no problems.

 

dont do it !!! I did my best job trying not to get it wet. 1 month and a delteq later my car is running good again. I am never hosing that sob down again !!!

 

Just do it by hand with a rag and some degreaser...sure its time consuming but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

Thanks alot.
Yeah, that opti is a PITA afterall.
Even points/condensor is less forgiving

 

I washed both my 94 and 97 and had to replace both opti's. Don't do it. It is not worth the headaches and money. I'll never do it again.

 

You can wash your engine bay just don't spray the front of the motor. Lots of people wash theirs.

 

My plan is to wait till the original opti goes bad.(Cause I know it's just a matter of time) Then I'm going to wash the crap out of the engine bay right before I install the new one.

 

I've always sprayed mine down. However if I didn't have a vented opti I'd perform different techniques to ensure the front of the engine didn't get wet.

 

i always cram a shop towel over the water pump/opti, just for safety. To many people are paranoid about opti failure. Im at 140K miles, wash my engine down before every car show im in and im still going strong.

 

i have probably washed mine down 10+ times with no problems. although now that i jinxed myself it will fail next time i do it

 

I take mine to the car wash. Spray down everything with simple green and powerwash it. Just dont directly spray front of engine or wire connections. I also always leave the engine running while i do it.