Engine Bay Washing/Detailing When Below Freezing

Common sense tells me I shouldn't have the engine bay done when it's in the teens and twenties outside, but is there a risk if the detailer dries it well after?

 

Bad idea. Do it in the spring when it doesn't get below freezing if you must detail your engine.

 

Oh hell no. Don’t do it.

 

Nope.

 

I would definitely not do that. I would not even wash the car let alone an engine bay in those temps.

looking for trouble otherwise

 

Do it and tell us how it turns out

 

If the work is being done in a heated shop and then you're going to drive the car long enough to get the engine up to temp, I don't see any issues. The engine heat will quickly dry things out.

No different than driving down a wet/slushy road and then parking it outside when the temps drop well below freezing. The engine gets lots of residual spray from the road.

The best reason I see against doing it now is all of the winter road grime that will immediately start accumulating. I would wait for spring for that reason alone...

 

I passed until spring... better safe than sorry and likely really just better to do after the winter.

FWIW it would have been done in a heated environment and driven after.

 

LOL

Sorry, but everyone in the Midwest is having a chuckle at that.

I washed my car more in the winter than in the summer.

Getting the brine off my vehicle on a regular basis is a big priority - and a shared one based upon the fact that car washes continue to operate throughout the winter.

It’s funny when you get little foam icicles on your mirrors coming out of the wash.

Detailing your engine seems like a waste of money in my book on something like a 4Runner, but you don’t need to wait until it’s a perfect 72 degree day to it.

 

I meant I would not wash it while temps are in the teens. I am in Michigan so familiar with the temps and salt. I usually wait until around 25 degrees or so myself to prevent the door seals from freezing up.

Maybe I focus on mid 20s plus because I am the guy taking two 5 gallon buckets of soapy water to the quarter wash to hand wash and and spray the undercarriage. Personally I would not do the engine bay now at all.

Luckily for myself 4R is spare vehicle and stays stored in winter so only the Accord is subject the to the salt. Someday I’ll say the hell with all this and spend winters in Florida

 

When it’s really low, I do make it a point to open all the doors and give a bit of a wipe down OR I’ll simply leave them closed until I got home. Garage was insulated so it rarely got below freezing - and even then only slightly so.

The one thing I would strongly suggest is against a heated garage.

Cold is your friend when it comes to delaying rust. Salt brine plus moisture plus a heated garage speeds things up.

I always made sure my subscription to the car wash included the undercarriage spray. Does a pretty good job, but you can still find some stowaway mud in the skid plates.