The underbonnet on my S-type is filthy ! I doubt its ever been cleaned in its life. I could clean it all by hand, but thats going to take a very long time and there is a lot which is innacessible.

There are a few local valet companies and mobile services who do underbonnet valeting including steam cleaning.

Can you advise me on what to do please? Or do I avoid steam cleaning?


(I've put this question in the technical section because there likely technical issues).

 

In a word.

NO.

Not a good idea with any "modern car", no matter what the advertising.

I do my actual BAY with a p/pack degreaser, and great care, and then a pump sprayer with water to rinse away. YES, it takes time, but the beast always starts afterwards.

The engine itself is a virtual no go zone even for me. I use a rag soaked in solvent when it needs cleaning, and never, ever, spray it down. Way too much electrikery stuff to screw your day.

Once you get started it is not that time consuming.

 

Grant has gave you great advice
Steam cleaning under the bonnet??
NO NO NO NO NO

Apart from the hand painted JAGUAR lettering in red, everything else you see her was achieved in around an hour



Don't have a before, but there was 80k+ miles of dirt and crap that needed removed and cleaned
Here's an old before and after we did on Peter's little Clio using the same method
Before...



After...



A simple spray bottle of APC (All purpose cleaner ) rags, a 2" paintbrush, some fairy liquid / Dawn and some wet n black ( tyre black dressing or similar ) and you're good to go
Simply use the spray bottle to dampen the affect area
Use your brush dipped in hot water with a fritz of fairy liquid etc and work away.....the brush bristles get into all those little nooks n crannies , another spray from the APC and then wipe clean

Makes sense to start with the underside of the bonnet and bonnet liner, then the deepest recesses of the engine bay you want cleaned, finally cleaning the engine cover and bay area itself
Afterwards a spray of your chosen tyre dressing type product and a final wipe down will accomplish so much more.
You can be as quick or as thorough as you choose and the costs cheap / result good

Cheers
Jim

 

The advice of NO steam cleaning/pressure washing is spot on. Coming from an OEM's point of view, none of the electrical connectors are designed to withstand high pressure water spray.

 

Appears I have been tempting fate for a few decades. I just go to a standard high pressure gun car wash with a can of degreaser. Spray any exceptionally gunky bits (thats just usually with new arrival cars. I dont normally let them get that bad). Select suds, DONT pull the trigger, there is always a gently spray coming from the gun. I just use that around the engine bay. Take the gun out, change to rinse by blasting onto the ground (you will see it run clear) then again a quick rinse again without pulling the trigger.

My logic is that the engine bay can take a gently dousing, it has to by design and I dont like the idea of sluicing sludge and detergent into the drains or the ground (the car washes claim to filter and recycle). No , I havent done this on a genuine Jaguar of any age, they may be more brittle in this regard. I currently do or have done it on a Toyota, a Subaru, a 1986 BMW, a LUMP Jag, ,a 1960 Morris Major and over the years on a mixed bag of company and my own cars as a kid.

Usually I follow up with a wipe over with a general lube/cleaner like Ballistol to make things shiny and pretty.

 

As suggested do not steam clean or pressure your engine! This is how I did both of my cars but use caution not to over wash (soak) the engine bay.

Link JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

 

Steve,

I used to drown the engine bays on all my Jags until the X300 joined the fleet, as those coil overs are just not sealed that good.

The 2 S Types are hand done as per Jim's way, and thats simply how it is.

The V12's were never an issue, nor all the 6cyl Series cars.

Steam clean, NO way.

Always started fine after the drowning.

 

Thank you very much for the advice which I most certainly will take.
I like doing this kind of job because in doing so I will find everything that is loose, broken or missing while I clean.
But thanks guys I appreciate it.

 

This is true, its amazing what you start to see and what you find just by spending time and poking around.

 

Cleaning is good.

But _steam_ cleaning is very hard to do on such tight engine bays without risks, as people have posted.

 

Started on it today and one side is looking very much better allready.
I've used WD40 and also a good silicone household spray polish which cleans almost as good as WD40.

I cannot work in a filthy engine bay, its got to be clean.
If you take it to a workshop they don't want to work in that either.
I think the smell of all that grime in a hot engine bay filters through into the car?

 

WD40 is p*ss poor as a cleaner and leaves a residue behind that will attract more dust.

 

When I worked at the Jaguar Dealer we always got cars delivered on a tow truck after the owner pressure washed the engine. The customers would demand that we repair it because it was still in factory warranty.

Jaguar does NOT cover self inflicted damage and we told the customer to call their insurance company.

There are LOTS of electrical connectors in the engine bay to clean and blow out with compressed air. All it takes is TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I repaired many.

bob

 

Thats interesting mikey, I swear by the stuff, I use it a lot on bikes and cars. But I don't leave it on the surfaces, I wipe the residue off with a clean dry cloth.

I've got Autoglym's bike cleaner but tbh it's not very effective with real gunge.

 

Hey Busa, you will of course be coming back here with dedicated before AND after pics with what you've managed and your take on the process after this?


Lol.......looking forward to seeing how you get on
Jim

 

Jim I must admit I thought about taking before photo's for the forum and then I got carried away with enthusiasm and did half of it. But I will photograph the dirty half and then the finished work. I enjoy this kind of work really and I'm certainly not bothered about getting dirty.

Since joining the forum work so far:
Replaced the lugnuts as advised with chrome one piece.
Fitted the xenon headlight bulbs (Not HID kit) and white LED parking lights bulbs.
Fitted the flat aero windscreen wiper blades.
Fitted the new wheel centre caps.
Cleaned the wheels again today.
Cleaned the whole dashboard and centre console with dash wipes and then clean cloth and spray polish.
Polished one exhaust stainless steel tail pipe today.
Topped up the coolant after checking all the fluids.
Cleaned all the windows with Fastglass.
Spent another couple of hours again today cleaning the headlight lenses which seem to have tree sap on them from a long time ago. Its hard work and I am alternately using WD40 and silicone polish with clean cloths. It is coming off but very slowly.

Planned work asap is: an engine oil and filter change.
Remove the front wheels and clean the ABS sensors.
Change both air filters.
Have the type 2 gearbox fault sorted as detailed on the forum. Pending an ATF change.

Its only a 58k car and it shows, but theres still work and preventative work to be done.

The forum has a huge amount of useful data, I'm still going through it slowly.

 

I use WD-40 also..Funny thing, it is excellent for areas you want to protect from water...I guess the WD stands for Water Displacement for a reason...

Anyway..I wash my engine and compartment once a year..I put a plastic bag over the Brake Master cylinder cap/reservoir and use a hose with just light spray with tap water pressure. I try to avoid direct contact to the alternator or any electrical connectors. Just take it easy and get-er-done..

Once I have it all hosed out..I take a leaf blower and blow dry the whole compartment and components and then let it sit in the sun with the hood open for a couple of hours...All dry and spic-n-span....Then apply a little vinyl shine to everything plastic and she's pretty as new again.

 

Sounds good.

Next job: Waxoyl. (Not the actual engine.)

And be sure to check fuel trims annually as you can catch problems before damage instead of waiting for codes.