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Do you wash your engine every annual?

In my maintenance manual there are several explicit warnings about what components should not be washed, because it may get wrecked.

I also heard some (expensive) stories about things which were rotten maybe due to an engine wash. And that a lot of care should be taken.

But do you do it regularly? Are you made to do it, let’s say by your mechanic? Or does your shop do it without asking?

What are the pros and cons? I refused having it washed this time, and did some manual cleaning instead, but would like to hear opinions. Is it worth it?

Germany

Avgas and a brush once the annual is finished… and you have already observed any traces of oil/fuel staining.

The idea of pressure washing an engine, even in a car doesn’t sit well with me. There were some guys who nearly crashed a 210 here trying that. However I’m very happy with Avgas/Brushes/Compressed Air/ACF50 and spend a lot of time doing so.

Buying, Selling, Flying
EISG, Ireland

Do not pressure wash magnetos or ignition harnesses. I am comfortable pressure washing local areas where exhaust gunge or oil deposits have built up. In conjunction with a pressure wash I’ll use a good household solvent cleaner (In Canada, a product called “Spray 9” works really well) to help break up gunge.

Of course, if an engine has been washed, a good ground run should be done before flight. If water on the engine interferes with how it runs, there’s another problem which should be considered. Any moisture in the mags will certainly interfere with their operation – I learned that installing mags and leads in the rain once – don’t do that, you’ll be redoing it before flight! Ignition leads should tolerate getting a little wet, but if they’re aged, they may not. At altitude it’ll be worse, though it you climbed there, they should have dried by then.

Home runway, in central Ontario, Canada, Canada

One interesting and harmless way to clean easily accessible surfaces of the engine, cowls, landing gear etc. is to spend some time flying in a dense cloud. As counterintuitive as it is, a stream of fog can wash off the oil even without detergents.

LKBU (near Prague), Czech Republic

O.K. so I’m not the only one who is a bit reserved regarding engine washing.

Downside is, that it’s quite some work involved cleaning the engine manually. But it’s another opportunity to really see a lot, to check all hoses for leaks and smallest cracks and so on.

Germany

A related question: how do you clean the bottom of the aircraft behind the engine and exhaust? What I did:

  1. Spray bottle of white spirit / mineral spirits to soften the black stuff (facemask, glasses, upwind)
  2. Scrub with rags soaked in spirit (with gloves on)
  3. A normal clean with car shampoo and a brush (extending car wash brush to stay dry)

This is the first time I did it since owning the aeroplane, and it was a very messy job. Is there an easier and cleaner way to do it? I don’t want to use a pressure washer.

EGHO-LFQF-KCLW, United Kingdom

There are several different products available for cleaning the underside of aircraft. I’ve never used any of them, so can’t comment on them very usefully. My plane with 50 years since the engine was assembled does not blow anything onto the belly except lead oxides from the fuel – which I clean occasionally with solvent, mineral spirits or whatever comes to hand.

Last Edited by Silvaire at 28 Jun 14:11

Udo, to come back to your original question… why do you wanna wash your engine, genuine question? Your answer might be “coz it’s dirty”

Should an engine get dirty, determine the reason, and clean as, and if necessary. Non exhaustive list of causes:

  • Oil, the engine has exploded, or is about to… no cleaning needed, replace defective engine
  • Oil, due to a leak… fix, or get the leak fixed
  • Oil, carbonized residues on exhaust… install an air/oil separator, reroute the breather exit
  • Birds (or mice, or…) nest, excrements, remove, some soapy water and sponge will do… install those cowl plugs, go fly more often, or have your cat finally earn it’s keep
  • Smashed bugs, some water and soap mixed with elbow grease should be enough

Generally speaking, an aircraft engine should not accumulate any crud, if properly maintained, and flown regularly (and more than once a year). Engines normally only get fully washed at overhaul

ain't the Destination, but the Journey
LSZF, Switzerland

DeeCee57 wrote:

why do you wanna wash your engine, genuine question?

Because my A&P asked me to do so. He said that on a washed engine you can trace any new oil/dirt better to its origin. But I insisted that I do not think that it’s a good idea, that there’s more to destroy than to learn from that. This is where I was looking for some backing up, to “test” if I’m right or not.

But of course there are things that get dirty in an engine. There’s mud from the tire, with a wide open wheel well (retractable); There are lots of things to be greased right around the engine, and the grease distributes to quite about everywhere; There are lots of mechanical connections to be oiled, according to the manual. And then there is removal of the oil filter, where at least some drops inevitably find their way along some tubes, if all goes well.

So the answer is: “coz it’s dirty”

Germany

I would wash an engine with avgas and a brush, but never by spraying water over it. It won’t do the ignition any good, for a start.

Re the belly of the plane, avgas is quite popular too But there are “less hazardous” solvents.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
13 Posts
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