[Hurting]

Any problems with using just a regular water hose/nozzle (no pressure washer or anything like that) to wash the loose dirt and mud from under the hood, the motor and around the engine compartment? What about getting the pad on the bottom side of the hood wet? Maybe take it off first?

I used to take my old truck to the car wash, cover the breather with a plastic bag and wash it like that with no problems. So I figure new vehicles should be sealed up even better nowadays and there should be even less of a chance for a simple wash-down to cause an issue. Besides, when its raining, you get plenty of water splashing around in there anyway (not to mention all the muddy water that washed all up the top of the motor this past weekend).

 

[8th Man]

Garden hose. Works great.

 

[XterraOverload]

I wash my engine every week and then put Armor All tire care on it.
NO problems at car wash or you hose at the house.
If it gets real dirty grab some purple power!

 

[armandov99]

Only do it when the engine is COLD. Rinse it, spray it down with simple green, let it sit for a little bit, rinse it again. Wait till it's almost dry to start again. It works OK, it's what I do.

 

[Glucola]

The only thing to make sure of is to have the engine running when ever you are using water in the engine bay and if you are doing this at a car wash do not use the high pressure setting when spraying it down especially anything electrical. The hood, etc is fine to hit with high pressure. The reason for leaving the engine running is in case you have any cracks in any wiring such as your plug wires, then the electricity there will instantly dry it and won't leave ya stranded.

If you don't and your engine won't turn over that's the reason and will have to wait until they dry out on their own which could take a while. Avoid direct spraying of the alternator as well.

 

[Bruzer]

I talked with a Nissan repair technician (Cyclemut) about this very question. He said not to use a high pressure blast on the engine. He suggested spraying with an engine cleaner and just misting the water over the engine. He suggested the high pressure spray may force water where it shouldn't be.

 

[usmc xterra]

He's right, I did mine 3 times and I used as little water as possible. One time I chased some dirt onto the belt and it made it squeak and had to get a new belt to stop it. (Contaminates on belt) Now I do as much as I can by hand. And stay out of the mud. This is not funny but I use scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner and a towel, after I used a brush on the end of the Shop Vac. I think this is a case where the easy way will make more work. MC

 

[syndicate]

^^^ Dude, if I was a truck, I'd hope it was yours...
________
Cuban recipes

 

[BGXterra]

^^^ Dude, if I was a truck, I'd hope it was yours...

no kidding... and I thought that I was annal on keeping my X clean.

 

[usmc xterra]

Dirt = Wear Clean = longevity. Bonus is when you clean you notice things going wrong before gone wrong. I do 6 cars same way. If you mist your electronics and electrical with silicone, more unlikely you will have any problems. Just regular silicone not Nissan's, it's too sticky, you want clean and non sticky like food grade. MC

 

[Hurting]

Yeah, I'm not really trying to keep my X "showroom clean" but in the engine compartment dirt attracts oil which attracts more dirt and so on. Then when you need to do some work under the hood, everything's a mess and you start to worry about dirt getting somewhere it really shouldn't be.

Same with the undercarriage. Dirt attracts water with tends to lead to rust :sad1: . So after any trip to the beach, through the mud or over salt treated roads, I wash underneath my X as well (got a 'water wand' I made so I don't have to lay on the ground to do this).

I'm looking to get 10 years of use out of my X so the cleaner I keep it, the longer it will last. The funny thing is, I can't stand to do normal washing/waxing the exterior so I always take it to a pro to get that done and get it done well.

 

[XterraOverload]

'm looking to get 10 years of use out of my X so the cleaner I keep it, the longer it will last. The funny thing is, I can't stand to do normal washing/waxing the exterior so I always take it to a pro to get that done and get it done well.

I'm on the other end on this one. I love keeping mine clean and have hundreds and hundreds of dollars of pro detailing equipment and polishes sealants waxes ect.
I spend a min. of a hour a week on it. But I like it.

 

[Old Navy]

^^^ Dude, if I was a truck, I'd hope it was yours...

no kidding... and I thought that I was annal on keeping my X clean.

You don't want anger the Dirt Gods.

 

[BGXterra]

:sign5:

 

[S_e_X-Terra]

Someone take a pic of MC's .... Uh i mean Sally's X. and use photoshop to change it pink. Then he will have to use it as his avatar. :tongue:

Just messing around!! (it would be funny though)

 

[js479]

 

[mtdewmike]

:laughing3:

 

[kokopop]

That is ghey!

 

[usmc xterra]

Ha ha haa! That is funny! MC

 

[armandov99]

*Bump*

How do you guys clean the mud off the inside of the hood? There's soft stuff there, seems like it's probably not a good idea to spray it with the hose. Is that mud just destined to be there forever?