I've just spilled some oil on my engine trying to fill it up. I cleaned most of the spill but I'm worried about the places that are not reachable (pretty good amount of oil was spilled behind the plastic cover that covers engine air filter). Is it safe to wash it down with water hose? or should I just leave it alone?
I guess it depends on how much "some" is. Just a splash, you could wipe up what is visible using a suitable active surfacant like Simple Green on some paper towel. There are seals on the spark plug coil towers that you see arrayed across the top of the valve cover. It is possible though that some oil could leak down into a plug chamber. My only concern here would be accumulation of dirt in any oil that leaks down there which would then drop into the cylinder the next time you change plugs. Would not recommend washing it down with water. If water gets into the plug chamber you will get corrosion between the coil pack connector and the spark plug and a possible misfire later on. I would go ahead and remove any coil packs that might have been exposed and wipe out the plug chamber, just to be sure. If you find that there is significant oil accumulated in a spark plug chamber, then I would recommend a good cleaning with a degreaser and water, followed by a vacuuming with a wet-dry vac to eliminate most or all of the water. Let it air dry for a day and put it all back together.
I'd just get as far as you can reach/see with rags. Use a funnel next time. My 2 cents: When you hose down an engine bay it's bad news, both due to water getting where it maybe shouldn't get, and what happens to that water with oil, where it's gonna go.
agree with the above, use some paper towels, etc. with a dowel or what ever will fit in the nooks and crannies to sop up whatever you can get to. i don't think it's going to be an issue, but if it's sitting on a hot surface you might get some smell/smoke.
Agree, if it got on the exhaust manifold or heat shield, it's going to stink when the oil starts to burn off. SCH-I535
I haven't tried this so take care to do your own research. There's this mechanic on YouTube who advocates the use of Brake Kleen to "clean" engines without water. He demonstrates how this product breaks down oil. Engine Steam Cleaning? - Do This Instead Perhaps this would help if "some oil" turns out to be a puddle or two. Good luck.
Brake parts cleaner can damage rubber parts and painted surfaces so you want to save that chemical for use when you are serious about removing oil and other contaminants on metal parts only.
