Technical steam cleaning?

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Technical steam cleaning?

uno_man

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Joined
Nov 19, 2002
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Location
Yeovil, United Kingdom.
hi guys,
sadly, i have to sell my beloved uno soon and was considering having the engine steam cleaned for two reasons:
1. a parting gift from me to my car
2. it'll look a hell of a lot better when the goons come to inspect under the bonnet :D

so, a couple of questions:
is it really a good idea on a car of this age (88/E), i mean i've heard horror stories of people who had their engines steam cleaned and ended up getting water in the cylinders...[xx(]

does anybody know how much it is/how long it takes?

does it really make that much difference to the overall appearance of the engine? i mean ive got 14 years of encrusted grease and god knows what crap under the bonnet! :p

thanks for your help, its appreciated! :)
 
Hi UNO-MAN .
If the appearance is good you stand good chance of selling it.

It says alot about the previous owner eg car been looked after
serviced etc, you may get the full asking price:D

As for steam cleaning ...well if you go down to you local car wash and use the jet washer you may get the results you are looking for at a couple of quid.

BUT.. spray wd40 /or some type of water repellant over the electrics, coils, plugs etc. Cover any opening with a plasic bag and attach it by tape or string, this will hopefully stop water going into your engine......when finished remove bag etc start up and run until dry.
If you get a misfire eg running bad, stop the car remove plug lead's one by one & spray with wd40. Replace next lead etc, restart hopefully all is ok.

good luck

Plus bit of mot and road tax may help.:)


RED HGT[8D]

rear wiper working
 
Steam cleaning the car is a very good idea particularly if the overall condition is good and has been regularly serviced and generally looked after.

But without being too much of a wet blanket, if the engine looks too clean then any prospective purchaser would wonder if it had been done to hide an oil leak - a little bit of "honest" muck and grime won't put them off! But I steam clean my car every other year - it makes the engine easier and more pleasant to work on!

If you do it, please look very carefully at any bodywork that has been revealed, any paint that's flaking off will leave the steel unprotected as the layers of grease will have acted as a rust-proofer.

So make sure you have a good stock of WD-40 to protect any exposed steel parts!

Steve
(I'm also on [email protected])

panda3.jpg

1989 Fiat Panda 1000CL "Rustwagen"
Electronic Distributor
Metamec copper brake pipes
Currently immobile with a knackered gearbox
Replacement 5-speed 'box and new QH clutch in garage ready to fit
and is likely to remain there for some time yet due to my EXTREME
LAZINESS (and it's wet out there - okay, so I'm a wimp) ...
 
My experience with "gunk", a brush, and a hosepipe gave a misfire [V]

The sparkplugs on the "Fire" engine are down a hole, which will fill with water if you're enthusiastic enough.
It gets up inside the insulating boot over the plug after a while.

Managed to get most of it it out with some cloth, then took the plugs out and dried them.

Your mileage may vary.


Regards



John H
 
Been there... done it, got the T shirt... never again... however all the above will make your chances of it starting afterwards a whole lot better.

I would just say be careful where you poke your weapon when cleaning the engine.. all pretty obvious really

Steve Anderson
Punto 1.7D
 
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