Steam cleaning my engine

[Reimotim]

Hi Guys,

Owning a TD, my engine bay is rather oily and sooty. I'd like to tidy it up and also track down exactly where the oil is escaping from. I was thinking of buying a karcher steam cleaner and giving the engine and engine bay a blast of steam.

Has anyone else done this? Will the Karcher be up to the job?

Thanks
Tim

[Plasticman]

errr i think you mean a pressure washer ?? steam cleaner £k+++
Id go to a jet wash place at a garage, jizer it all and then jet but it dont half make a mess inside
mm

[Reimotim]

errr i think you mean a pressure washer ?? steam cleaner £k+++
Id go to a jet wash place at a garage, jizer it all and then jet but it dont half make a mess inside
mm

http://www.tesco.com/direct/karcher-sc1 ... 8-0057.prd" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Still get a bit of change from "£K+++" !

[Plasticman]

thats a bliddy hoover and a crap one at that,
mm

[Plasticman]

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/prod ... re-cleaner" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and this is not a particularly good one
your better calling at a local wagon place and asking nicely with a case or two of beers
mm

[Reimotim]

Not planning on starting up my own business, just tidying up my van!

[itchyfeet]

Remember , all that old oily crap is stopping the salt and warer corroding stuff, looks good for 6 months then you wish you hadn't.

[Plasticman]

ah look, we'll start again,
the item you linked to is a hoover with a steam attachment for upholstery etc,how good or bad that is is another matter.
you said you wanted to clean the oily engine and engine bay ? so i said that that is not a steam cleaner as in one that garages use to clean engines and stuff
pressure washers are good for some things but not much good on oil etc as there is no detergent, also think of the mess as it splatters about your van cos it really does trust me there
now if you went and bought say 5ltrs of jizer or equivalent, then soak the engine with it, and boil a kettle or 5 and if you fill a watering can with water as hot as you can (add shower water as you need volume) with a good dollop of squeezy in it ,you will find this will shift the jizer laden grime with little mess to surrounding upholstery, ok you will have to do it a few times if its bad but its cheap clean.....ish and works
mm

[Reimotim]

Hahaha!

No worries!
Just wondering if it'd work, that's all. Guess there's not really a quick alternative to good ol' fashioned hot water, detergent and elbow grease.

[Wychall]

I have a similar steam generator which just about copes with the vinyl flooring in the cooking room at home. It achieves nothing on the engine, and mine is a reasonably clean lpg unit.

For downright dirty cleaning I recommend Bilt Hamber Surfex HD. Just as good as Jizer for shifting the muck but hoses off beautifully with cold water, leaves no mess on the drive and doesn't smell afterwards. Use neat for thick gungy stuff, 10% dilution for oily mess and 100% dilution for general cleaning.

I love the stuff.

http://www.bilthamber.com/surfex-hd

[ghost123uk]

The splattering onto the interior is why I never went the [garage] steam cleaner route.

The [right] mess on the driveway is why I never went the Jizer route.

So Wychalls stuff seems a good idea

For downright dirty cleaning I recommend Bilt Hamber Surfex HD. Just as good as Jizer for shifting the muck but hoses off beautifully with cold water, leaves no mess on the drive and doesn't smell afterwards. http://www.bilthamber.com/surfex-hd

I wonder what happens to the oil it washes off? I suppose it must stay in solution and rinse away to somewhere.

[Porkscratching]

I use Gunk 'green' and I'm impressed with the results. Wash it off with a garden hose or a few kettles of water and Robs ya mothers bro'. No residue on the tarmac taboot.

[ELVIS]

£1 paint brush, jam jar and TFR and a hose is my weapon of choice now. Work TFR in and rinse with hose. Couple of times needed. With engine lid on I do as much as I can with the steam cleaner ( huge karcher on four wheels) from underneath.

Have only cleaned an engine once with the steam cleaner and it's a ball ache TBH. By the time you tent off the engine bay so the interior doesn't get trashed - plastic sheeting from the sides and top of rear apperture to around engine bay then bag up tailgate , you can be done using a brush.

[Oldiebut goodie]

18 month old post reopened by a Canadian spammer!

[Titus A Duxass]

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/prod ... cleanerand this is not a particularly good one
mm