| Author | Message | ||
     Darryll Mills (Emnat) New Member Username: Emnat Post Number: 20 Registered: 11-2003 |
I want to clean the under side of my engine, oil leaks and 5 yrs of muck. Can I pressure wash it with the engine running?? How do most people keep it clean? | ||
| Robin Cooper (Cooper1) New Member Username: Cooper1 Post Number: 15 Registered: 12-2003 |
elbow grease my friend. 5 years of muck won't pressure wash off unless it's really powerful washer. get some degreaser, a brillow pad, and a hose. | ||
| Alyssa Brown (Alyssa) Senior Member Username: Alyssa Post Number: 361 Registered: 01-2003 |
DON'T! Your car will leak like a sieve without all the gunk holding it together. | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Senior Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 515 Registered: 05-2003 |
Darryll, I know some guys who use brake cleaner, but I've never tried it (most probably because I don't have any). In my opinion, Dawn dishwashing detergent is the best "degreaser" around for home use. Do you have a walmart near you? They have a great sprayer nozzle that has a dial that turns for different types of spray. It is less than $6 and it works great. I think there are 11 spray settings. The "stream" setting forces water to spray hard somewhat similar to a a pressure washer. The "shower" setting puts out a good amount of water very very gently. I have never dealt with 5 years of build up, and I don't know if what I'm about to tell you is ok to do: I like Dawn dishwashing detergent because it breaks up every kind of greasy, oil, mucky stuff I get into. I use an extremely mild solution and rinse it off right away on moving parts (or anywhere near my engine). Anything that needs lubrication should be dried off as well as possible and re-lubed (for example, a bicycle chain). I use it straight on clothes and leave it on longer (for example, this weekend I got gobs of rusty red lift grease penetrating the shoulder and thick sleeve of a sweatshirt) poured Dawn directly on, left it for a few hours, and it washed right out. Good Luck, it sounds like you've got quite a job ahead of you. Jamie | ||
| Lewis Jones (Cutter) Senior Member Username: Cutter Post Number: 274 Registered: 10-2003 |
when I cleaned the engine on my '68 Jeepster last week I sprayed easy-off oven cleaner all over it, let it soak and powerwashed it off. It ALL came off (paint too). I'm not suggesting that you spray the whole engine, but you could spray the pan, crossmembers, etc. Robins got the correct idea, elbow grease....but I'm always finding myself out of it  | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Senior Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 516 Registered: 05-2003 |
Darryll, I forgot to add that I don't clean my engine while it is running. I just saw Alyssa's post and I would listen to her. She knows about those things. In addition, her post sounds very logical. Jamie | ||
| Ron Brown (Ron) Senior Member Username: Ron Post Number: 608 Registered: 04-2001 |
not to mention when you hit the ECU or crank sensor with water you will be sorry. | ||
| Alyssa Brown (Alyssa) Senior Member Username: Alyssa Post Number: 362 Registered: 01-2003 |
Jamie, I'm not sure if you're making fun of me or not, but I've seen too many customers falling into the "I washed my engine and now it won't run" followed by $3000 worth of repairs scenario. Detailers in this area won't touch a rover engine. It falls back on them too often. There is a delicate balance in a rover's engine compartment, and you mess with nature when you try to disturb that relationship. The oily mud seals things up very nicely, and really holds things together. ESPECIALLY after 5 years of buildup, your engine will NOT be happy. Now, if you've been cleaning your engine since day one, and nothing ever built up, I may have different advice. But it's a rover. Who does that? | ||
| Ian Kreidich (Ian95rrc) Member Username: Ian95rrc Post Number: 106 Registered: 03-2003 |
I used to degrease these engines on a regular basis. You would be surprised at how much water they can take IMHO. They always left my bay without a problem. However, a guy I worked with did kill an ECU once. If you are careful and cover up all the critical parts you should be ok. This topic came up earlier this year and if you do a search there was some discussion about specific degreasers. Alyssa is right about the 5 year gunk. It will leak more after you degrease it. I don't think that's a good excuse for not doing it though. "But it's a rover. Who does that?" I do that. If you take your truck to a dealer they should degrease it after they work on it as well. Why do people think because it's a rover you should treat it like a piece of crap? I just don't understand that mentality. I drive my rover hard but I wash and wax it and keep the engine degreased as best I can. | ||
| Ian Kreidich (Ian95rrc) Member Username: Ian95rrc Post Number: 107 Registered: 03-2003 |
Oh yeah, I would avoid the pressure washer unless you are just hitting the oil pan. Just use a regular garden hose, brush, and degreaser. | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Senior Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 518 Registered: 05-2003 |
Alyssa, I was not making fun of you. I read your posts whenever I see them, and know you work for Land Rover. Unless I have missed something, your posts have always been "right on the money". Additionally, I have great respect for your input because I feel that you continue to demonstrate a very responsible approach to rover ownership erring on the side of caution. Personally, this is highly important to me because I don't have as wide of a safety zone as other drivers may have. Who cleans their engine since day one? I have and will continue to do so. It can be a pia - especially when I am tired, dirty, and hungry. However, most of the time I operate solo and I don't always have back up. Until I reach the point where I am good at fixing stuff (which may never happen), I'd much rather find any trouble in my own driveway. I try very hard to keep even the undersides clean, each time attempting to recognize how everything is supposed to look like so that I will hopefully be able to recognize any problems if they occur. When the parts of my rover are dirty, they all look kind of the same to me. At this stage, I can recognize leaks (for example) better on clean parts than I can on parts that are dirty. Hopefully, this will change with time and as I become more familiar with my rover. Learning about the components in my truck and how they interact DOES NOT come naturally to me and it is a slow process. To better illustrate this learning experience, I feel like someone has given me a recipe and I head into the kitchen to fix it. Forget finding the ingredients, measuring them out, and combining them properly - I feel like I've walked into the kitchen not even knowing what the oven, frig, and stove look like - or even where they are. Back to Darryl's inquiry and your response: there are "natural glues" in the components of nature. Hypothetically, it would be possible to crack something on the trail, drive through "cement type" mud that stops any leak that would have come thru the cracked area and/or other areas that the crack may have weakened. If this hypothetical scenario occured, years later a pressure washer could loosen all that "natural glue" and reveal several leaks. I thought "leak like a seive" painted an excellent picture of what "could" happen. The first thing I thought of when I read that was - uh oh, BIG $$$ repair bills. Jamie | ||
| Darryll Mills (Emnat) New Member Username: Emnat Post Number: 21 Registered: 11-2003 |
Thanks for all the info, one last question where is the ECU and what does it look like, Thanks. | ||
| Ian Kreidich (Ian95rrc) Member Username: Ian95rrc Post Number: 108 Registered: 03-2003 |
When looking at the engine from the front of your truck, the ECU is on the left, next to the firewall. It's somewhat under the left side of the washer fluid reservoir. You will see 3 wire bundles going to it, with a plastic cover over it. Make sure this cover is on tight and avoid getting any water near that area. Unless your washing out mud, you really shouldn't be hitting it anyway. On a side note, I see your a pilot. Who do you fly for? I'm working on my CFI at the moment. | ||
| Alyssa Brown (Alyssa) Senior Member Username: Alyssa Post Number: 363 Registered: 01-2003 |
Ok... *I* don't do that. But I also didn't buy my rover new. Nearly every rover I see come through has a crap covered engine. On our BMW, ok, I think we are going to keep that nice and clean. If I bought my rover new, I might keep the engine really clean. My discoweb advice is different than advice I give to my clients some times. My customers keep engines clean. I'm assuming many of the people here bought their cars second hand, and many go off-road. I'm thinking D-web people are a little less anal about their LRs, since there is inherent risk in taking your rover out in the woods. If you off-road, you care less about scratches, little things like that. You care less about having a pristine engine, as long as it runs strong and keeps the fluids in. Jamie, sorry...it's so hard to tell someone's tone on the internet. | ||
| Chad Meyer (Ccdm3) Member Username: Ccdm3 Post Number: 179 Registered: 07-2002 |
Ian, I think you have witnessed the killing of more than one ECU...or did you forget LBL! | ||
| Ian Kreidich (Ian95rrc) Member Username: Ian95rrc Post Number: 109 Registered: 03-2003 |
Well I wanted to give you a chance to bad mouth Plaza on your own. Here is our futile attempt to save Chad's ECU.  | ||
| Chad Meyer (Ccdm3) Member Username: Ccdm3 Post Number: 180 Registered: 07-2002 |
If anyone is interested...it costs $400+ to get a Rover towed from LBL KY to Nashville TN... | ||
| Aro and Joe (Deepdoo) Member Username: Deepdoo Post Number: 93 Registered: 08-2003 |
If anyone is interested...it costs $300 to get a truck towed off the sand to the road in Pismo Beach, CA | ||
| Darryll Mills (Emnat) New Member Username: Emnat Post Number: 22 Registered: 11-2003 |
Ian, I work for a clothing company flying their learjet. Thanks for the info on cleaning the engine. Darryll | ||
| Tony Zuniga (Tony23007) Member Username: Tony23007 Post Number: 227 Registered: 05-2003 |
I think the best answer has been elbow greese, the reason is because you actually see or could find possible leaks on your car. The only problem is that it is messy as heck and you better wear something you can throw away. I cleaned my engine when I first got my truck, kept it nice and clean for about a year or so, then well lets just say I got tired of cleaning, and cleaning and cleaning and seeing the same muck after only three months. If I were you Darryll, I would clean the parts that make sense, clean IAC valve, clean your air filter, clean your electronic connectors, your air hoses and stuff like that, the much undreneath your car leave it alone, it helps insulate the car | ||
| Jaime (Blueboy) Senior Member Username: Blueboy Post Number: 835 Registered: 02-2002 |
what about a gentle steam clean? it has worked for me in the past although not sure if its done anymore. Jaime  | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Senior Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 525 Registered: 05-2003 |
Darryll, Are you an actual employee of the clothing company or do you contract/charter yourself out for pilot services? You don't have to answer that, just wondering. Jamie | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Senior Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 526 Registered: 05-2003 |
Jaime, I'm sitting here watching your rover roll over for maybe the 10th time. I just luv that! How do you guys make those things? I wonder if I could get one in pink that just drives back and forth? (I don't want to do the roll over manuever) Jamie | ||
| Jaime (Blueboy) Senior Member Username: Blueboy Post Number: 836 Registered: 02-2002 |
Hi Jamie, also thought it was pretty fun myself. found it on the web somewhere. I'll send it to you via e-mail. Just store it on your harddrive and upload as an attachment. See you, Jaime  | ||
| Darryll Mills (Emnat) New Member Username: Emnat Post Number: 25 Registered: 11-2003 |
Jamie, Hi, I am employed with the company but also do a lot of contract work with other jets. Great rover you have... Darryll | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Senior Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 527 Registered: 05-2003 |
Thanks Jaime! Darryll, if only I could get it to fly... (sigh)... | ||
| Darryll Mills (Emnat) New Member Username: Emnat Post Number: 26 Registered: 11-2003 |
Jamie Sent you an e-mail... Darryll |
