engine cleaning good or bad business ?

[Kelm]

I've cleaned the engine ouf our Ford with a Trion V8 and even a Honda with Hybrid Technology and all went fine. I highly recommend the C-2 or whatever detailer as it has an anti-static property so it doesn't attract dust.

[refurbish]

just be carefull if you do any older clunkers,
cracked distributor caps,spark plug wires with holes,etc...
those are always a treat.

[theveed_bigberts]

Originally posted by jfelbab
I've been detailing cars for just over 45 years. I never want to detail the engine compartment for the reasons already mentioned. If my customer insists, I make them sign a waver releasing me from any liability for damage. I warn them that there is a high rate of problems that can arise from the cleaners and water. I do my own personal cars but I know what I can safely do and don't let them get all that dirty.

That's what we do also... We have 2 shops in town and engine washing/detailing here is such a common task that people requesdt.

No matter how careful you are, there will be cars that are very water sensitive.

To those who simply work on their own cars, it's not the same story as doing it when someone is paying you to do it.

We clean engines pretty well at our shop, but that's not to say that there are no risks at the back of our heads.

No matter how careful you are with covering and even disconnecting the battery, there's NO WAY you can be certain that an older car is sealed up well.

The most common tips you see in almost all board-discussion about engine cleaning is cover the "usual suspects" like alternator, distributor, intake, fusebox and terminals.

9 out of 10 times, problems start with the plugs getting wet, sensors getting even a tad bit moist (MAF, IACV etc), poorly clamped/repaired electrical wires (those which are just twisted and taped), carburetor vacuum hoses that can dislodge itself easily etc, I can go on for hours.

The liability issue is really big if you're a business owner.

Just because you have the customer sign a waiver doesn't really work in terms of your business image. While it will save you from a lawsuit (which isn't that big of an issue here in our country, people here are not as lawsuit crazy as it is in the US - no offense meant), it's still a mark that you leave in the customer's mind.

Imagine if that same customer have had his engine washed at a drive-through wash a couple of time with no prob (simple spray and degrease), and he brings it to you for a detail (naturally, more "contact-cleaning" issue is present) and something went wrong even if you haven't really done anything wrong...

It's your business' image that'll suffer.

Here, we don't have a choice when it comes to detailing the engine, the competition is quite great... So we do it the best that we can, we can exercise more care with details than with engine washes, which we no longer offer with the exception of really, regular customers...

Our engines here are sooooo dirty compared to the ones I've worked with in the US...

Just to squeeze something in, for example, a LOT of Nissans have really sensitive MAF sensors, they seem to get irritated so easily when presented with moisture.

A couple of months ago, my 1st gen Alty needed some cleaning. It was about closing time in our shop and I decided to give it a quick clean, mainly to remove dusty top and clean the painted areas a little...

Coevered the "usual parts" plus all the exposed sensors (MAF, IACV, etc) Hosed it down with a very fine mist, soaped it, didn't even use a degreaser, rinsed, blow-dry with leafblower, wiped down...

Cranked it and it kinda sputtered, checked the plugs, they were well sealed (the SR20De engine have high tension wires with extra O-ring seals), it still wouldn't run smoothly, after several mins, the car sputtered and died. Had to get it towed to the dealer before it came back to life.


It's just annoying to do engines...

[rascal]

Just remember Grasshopper, water and electricity don't mix. Just be careful guys when you do wash the engines.

Here is my engine compartment.

[Jon_Purdy]

Does anyone out there have any experience with an '05 or '06 Mustang GT? If so, please let me know what you think. I too would like to have a sparkling engine compartment but not if it means taking a big risk.

Jon