Engine bay: what should i do to keep it clean?

Hi Paul,
As a mechanic, you definitely know that dust accumulates under the hood in the engine bay and other areas. I have seen some people use water and detergent to clean this area. Something I am not okay with on my car.
Someone told me about using a degreaser, which I think may be a better option. From your experience, what is the best way to keep this part of the car clean and relatively dust-free or grease-free?
Mimi

Hello Mimi,
When you operate a vehicle engine in our dusty tropical conditions it is inevitable to find dust in the engine bay area. It is useful to try and keep the engine clean and as dust-free as possible because dust tends to degrade anything it gets in touch with.

When dust accumulates in the engine, it will prevent you from easily spotting trouble spots like fluid leaking points. Where there are oil leakages, contact with dust forms a sticky paste or greasy grime, which will gradually damage engine plumbing and vacuum hoses.

The best way to maintain a relatively dust-free car engine bay is to regularly use compressed air to blow the dust from the engine bay with medium pressure. Engine cleaning with degreasers, detergents and water should be done with care and reservation. Most engines today have exposed electrical components that should not get into contact with fluids lest they cause short circuits or corrosion damage.

Careful or selective use of compressed air and a damp cloth with a degreaser or very mild detergent after covering electrical components such as alternators, throttle units and control modules should help. Avoid water jet spraying during engine cleaning. I think we should even pay more attention to preventing dust from accessing the internal part of the engine. The vulnerable points are the air intake and lubrication systems.

Dust contains silica, which acts as a lapping compound and therefore is abrasive. When dust enters your engine through a dirty aged air filter or loose oil filler cap, it will damage fast-moving metallic parts such as pistons and bearings.

You need to replace your air filters when they accumulate to much dust. Blowing paper air filters with compressed air may actually worsen the problem when the bursts of air create small holes, which will let in the dust during engine operation.

It may be better to simply tap the dusty air filter on a clean floor surface which will evacuate most of the dust or out rightly replace it. Some parts sellers stock air filters with additional dust proofing to prolong air filter life.

Hello Paul,
I live in Bushenyi and drive a Toyota Corolla with a manual transmission. I need some advice; while I am driving, gear number four jumps out. Can it be repaired?
Kandole

Hello Kandole,

What you are experiencing with your manual gearbox is called gear ‘pop out’. This is when you engage a gear on your manual transmission and it simply disengages. This situation can result from a failure of the gear fork pads. On the odd occasion, worn out bearings or shift bushings can cause gear number four pop out. Sometimes a gear number four pop out is misconceived to be a synchroniser failure.

Synchronisers are wet clutches designed to engage the cone of the speed gear during a shift and speed it up or slow it down. You need to find a good mechanic to inspect your manual gearbox and confirm which of the above components has failed. In case your gearbox has ever been repaired, it is possible to experience the above gear pop out as a result of improper gearbox rebuild. It is also important to have access to good quality replacement parts if the gearbox repair job will be succesful.

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