Side effects of Engine de-greasing?

Sura1973 · April 21, 2018

Almost all reputed service centers use engine de-greasers. But I feel very bad when I sense the oily surfaces over the rubber and plastic components within the engine bay such as bulb sockets etc... Are the modern de-greasers designed not to damage the rubber parts? Should we ask the service station to not to put de-greasers / dressing etc?

iRage · April 21, 2018

Depends on the de-greaser. Most reputable and decent degreasers are pretty mild on the rubber and plastics.

However, what kind of degreaser are you talking about ? If you are referring to de-greaser that is specific for oil leak removal then you should not put that on the rubber and plastics..those are really really hard.

If you are talking about de-greasers that are for engine dress-up and cleaning then those are pretty safe.

So it depends on what the service station uses. Some even use some stuff that smells like kerosene oil.

Personally I would not take the risk. Instead I would tell the service station to not put anything on the engine; then get a detailer to give it a proper clean once in a while and in between those clean-ups just wipe it down my self.

Sura1973 · April 21, 2018

On 4/21/2018 at 11:46 AM, iRage said:

Depends on the de-greaser. Most reputable and decent degreasers are pretty mild on the rubber and plastics.

However, what kind of degreaser are you talking about ? If you are referring to de-greaser that is specific for oil leak removal then you should not put that on the rubber and plastics..those are really really hard.

If you are talking about de-greasers that are for engine dress-up and cleaning then those are pretty safe.

So it depends on what the service station uses. Some even use some stuff that smells like kerosene oil.

Personally I would not take the risk. Instead I would tell the service station to not put anything on the engine; then get a detailer to give it a proper clean once in a while and in between those clean-ups just wipe it down my self.

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Thanks... Actually I was referring those used for engine bay dressing .. These are done by most reputed service stations and the brand can not be detected as they use refillable spray cans... I wish they used proper ones as those service stations are accredited by SBT for warranty period of the vehicles.. Yer as you said in future I too think air cleaning is enough to be on the safer side.

iRage · April 22, 2018

On 4/21/2018 at 1:45 PM, Sura1973 said:

Thanks... Actually I was referring those used for engine bay dressing .. These are done by most reputed service stations and the brand can not be detected as they use refillable spray cans... I wish they used proper ones as those service stations are accredited by SBT for warranty period of the vehicles.. Yer as you said in future I too think air cleaning is enough to be on the safer side.

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Well....most products come in bulk packaging for service stations (large drums, etc...) so that they can put it in to applicator bottles, etc...and use it. So the de-greaser being in a re-fillable bottle is not necessarily a bad thing. It is just that in SL we simply can't trust our service stations.

As for the car agent and accreditation you refer to...I am sorry but a service station being accredited by this agent (or even any of the others in SL) mean nothing. There is no proper accreditation mechanism and there are no QA/QC processes in place to make it any much more different than most of the other service stations and garages, there is no proper training or process to do things. Doing this would be expensive and hurt their profits. It is in place to make sure that you as the owner, does not take the car to a maka baas,break it and then go through a warranty claim process with the agent and manufacturer (it is also a matter of capitalizing on an opportunity for expanding). So do not automatically presume that these guys at "accredited"/"affiliated" service stations know what they are doing.

The agent you have mentioned is notorious for making claims of thorough inspection and global service centers.

As food for thought : If you take your car to the manufacturer's local agent would they still honor the warranty ? After all these are the people who are formally trained by the manufacturers to maintain these cars.

Davy · April 22, 2018

An engine without any fluid leaks really doesn't need any de-greasing as all surfaces of the engine remain dry. Dust formation is the actual problem IMO, and compressed air can be used to remove it.

Whenever I take the car for a service, I make it a point to tell them to strictly keep their high pressure washers and "spray bottles" away from the engine bay. I instruct them to use compressed air to remove dust before the car is washed. Even with the interior, I never let them spray anything as I have learnt my lesson with their harsh chemicals degrading dashboards and interior trims. I clean them myself with a good engine dressing and interior cleaning liquid. Worth the effort.

Edited April 22, 2018 by Davy

Twin Turbo · April 22, 2018

Agree with Davy.

That's how they give work for auto electritians. by killing alternators.

Water and electricity made a bad-combination.... :huh:

I have never had a prob by keeping my engine bay a little dusty. So keep the high pressure water away, enjoy trouble free motoring. !

Edited April 22, 2018 by Twin Turbo

Sura1973 · April 22, 2018

On 4/22/2018 at 2:25 AM, iRage said:

Well....most products come in bulk packaging for service stations (large drums, etc...) so that they can put it in to applicator bottles, etc...and use it. So the de-greaser being in a re-fillable bottle is not necessarily a bad thing. It is just that in SL we simply can't trust our service stations.

As for the car agent and accreditation you refer to...I am sorry but a service station being accredited by this agent (or even any of the others in SL) mean nothing. There is no proper accreditation mechanism and there are no QA/QC processes in place to make it any much more different than most of the other service stations and garages, there is no proper training or process to do things. Doing this would be expensive and hurt their profits. It is in place to make sure that you as the owner, does not take the car to a maka baas,break it and then go through a warranty claim process with the agent and manufacturer (it is also a matter of capitalizing on an opportunity for expanding). So do not automatically presume that these guys at "accredited"/"affiliated" service stations know what they are doing.

The agent you have mentioned is notorious for making claims of thorough inspection and global service centers.

As food for thought : If you take your car to the manufacturer's local agent would they still honor the warranty ? After all these are the people who are formally trained by the manufacturers to maintain these cars.

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Thanks... The warranty for engine and gear box become null and void when we get the services done from non accredited places during the warranty period. So going to local agents of the car is not possible for that period. This is a common issue for all the grey market imports from Japan I think. The service station I refer is reputed for Hybrids and is said to have a mother company in Singapore. So I was somewhat convinced on what they mentioned on their sprays.. But I too feel odd to see any liquid patches on interior and engine bay plastics after leaving these places.. So will do that part my self in future.

iRage · April 22, 2018

See..that was the food for thought. If they truly are giving you the total and transparent coverage they claim they do...why isn't it that they don't cover work done by the ONLY people in the country who the manufacturers themselves have trained to repair the cars ? In fact in Japan the warranty becomes null and void if the work was NOT done by a manufacturer's dealer

iRage · April 23, 2018

On 4/22/2018 at 11:00 AM, Davy said:

An engine without any fluid leaks really doesn't need any de-greasing as all surfaces of the engine remain dry. Dust formation is the actual problem IMO, and compressed air can be used to remove it.

Whenever I take the car for a service, I make it a point to tell them to strictly keep their high pressure washers and "spray bottles" away from the engine bay. I instruct them to use compressed air to remove dust before the car is washed. Even with the interior, I never let them spray anything as I have learnt my lesson with their harsh chemicals degrading dashboards and interior trims. I clean them myself with a good engine dressing and interior cleaning liquid. Worth the effort.

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True a de-greaser is not needed. But I think people mix up a general engine room cleaner with a de-greaser (where the latter is actually quite hard).

The issue in some countries/regions is that there is a significant amount of mud build-up (e.g. Hanoi). That is hard to clean with just compressed air and a wipe

Davy · April 23, 2018

On 4/23/2018 at 1:11 AM, iRage said:

The issue in some countries/regions is that there is a significant amount of mud build-up (e.g. Hanoi). That is hard to clean with just compressed air and a wipe

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Agreed. The problem becomes worse if the plastic mud guards under the engine are missing - this was a problem on my CS3 after a local mech misplaced the one of the mud guards. Spent hours cleaning the engine before finally making a mudguard from a black plastic sheet and fixing it to replace the mudguard. Was significantly better after that.

The Stig · April 23, 2018

I had a horrible experience with engine degreaser at "don't care point" .

For the first time in my ownership I had to leave the car there and attend to some other business. When I returned they had emptied an en entire can of degreaser all over the engine bay including over the maf, throttle body etc. I asked them to wipe it off and left since the car seemed OK. On the way back very close to my lane I suddenly lost power and throttle went nuts. I had to push the car home and immediately knew what the issues was.

Called them up and blasted them about 3 times, then they sent a service adviser and the guy who "serviced" my car. They emptied and entire bottle of throttle body cleaner into the intake (i silently watched, it was like watching monkeys learning to use tools), removed all plugs and cleaned. 3 hours later the car is still misfiring like crazy, i got bored of watching "idiots at work" and told them to leave.

Had to clean all the plugs again, removed them and realized that they had not gaped them properly. Cleaned the plugs and sprayed contact cleaner on the ignition coils cause they were still soaked with degreaser. Took out MAF and TPS, guess what ? soaked with degreaser ! again cleaned them also with contact cleaner and evaporated all the degreaser on the engine bay using a hair dryer. After about 1 day of drying the MAF, TPS, Plugs and Coils put everything back and she started up without a fuss.

And the best part is they called me after 3 days to check how their "service" was, whoever called might have learned a new word or 2

Still waiting for a reply from them though :lol:

Ruslan · April 23, 2018

On 4/23/2018 at 4:29 AM, The Stig said:

I had a horrible experience with engine degreaser at "don't care point" .

For the first time in my ownership I had to leave the car there and attend to some other business. When I returned they had emptied an en entire can of degreaser all over the engine bay including over the maf, throttle body etc. I asked them to wipe it off and left since the car seemed OK. On the way back very close to my lane I suddenly lost power and throttle went nuts. I had to push the car home and immediately knew what the issues was.

Called them up and blasted them about 3 times, then they sent a service adviser and the guy who "serviced" my car. They emptied and entire bottle of throttle body cleaner into the intake (i silently watched, it was like watching monkeys learning to use tools), removed all plugs and cleaned. 3 hours later the car is still misfiring like crazy, i got bored of watching "idiots at work" and told them to leave.

Had to clean all the plugs again, removed them and realized that they had not gaped them properly. Cleaned the plugs and sprayed contact cleaner on the ignition coils cause they were still soaked with degreaser. Took out MAF and TPS, guess what ? soaked with degreaser ! again cleaned them also with contact cleaner and evaporated all the degreaser on the engine bay using a hair dryer. After about 1 day of drying the MAF, TPS, Plugs and Coils put everything back and she started up without a fuss.

And the best part is they called me after 3 days to check how their "service" was, whoever called might have learned a new word or 2

Still waiting for a reply from them though

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One of My Friends had to Replace the Bearings of Alternator, Idler pulley (There was a whirring noise came after couple of miles) etc, due to Degreaser. Service Jhonnies forgot to cover them.

iRage · April 23, 2018

So the bottom line is engine de-greaser, or any other "thing" for that matter; is perfectly fine when used sensibly as and when needed as directed by the manufacturer and is applied by anyone who actually knows what they are doing

del1972 · April 24, 2018

Do it your self. I don' even take my car to the agent. I use my local garage so I can inspect what thay do and its' properly done. I just buy the service parts from the agent. Thats all I use them for even when I was living in UK. When I brought my first car in Sri Lanka 2003 Honda crv it was agent maintained but to my horror when I checked the cabin filter there wasn't one in there. Now I drive a 2018 Honda crv and I want take it anywhere near the agent.

Edited April 24, 2018 by del1972

Insedious · April 25, 2018

Faced the same issue myself. Naively let them convince me about de-greasing since the concept was new to me. The day after the check battery light was on full time. Ended up replacing the alternator.

Now I only let them use compressed air to clean the bay. That also at a considerable distance, cos if you let them, they will like to get up close and personal wanting to knock off every speck of dust off every cable, every sensor etc.

On the same note, other than the esthetic aspect, is there are rationale behind cleaning engine bays (cases without any oil spills/leakage) ?

Sura1973 · April 25, 2018

On 4/25/2018 at 2:26 AM, Insedious said:

Faced the same issue myself. Naively let them convince me about de-greasing since the concept was new to me. The day after the check battery light was on full time. Ended up replacing the alternator.

Now I only let them use compressed air to clean the bay. That also at a considerable distance, cos if you let them, they will like to get up close and personal wanting to knock off every speck of dust off every cable, every sensor etc.

On the same note, other than the esthetic aspect, is there are rationale behind cleaning engine bays (cases without any oil spills/leakage) ?

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Some says certain dressings improve the lifetime of rubber parts such as hoses and fan belts.. Yet I am not sure if it is right or wrong. I am having a similar battle these days to understand why our local guys don't put manufacturer recommended 0W20 engine oil and instead use 10W30 claiming that 0W20 is too thin and get vaporized in Sri Lanka. After thorough research with reliable web articles I understand that new small engines do need 0W20 immaterial of the ambient temperature to lubricate all the small internal gaps.. I am obsessed with doing technically and rationally right thing with facts and really get pissed off by the so called technical experts in local service centers who fail to prove their argument with facts.. This is the same situation with some human health related conditions and diagnosis in this country.. I think this ignorance is in the genes of Sri Lankans..