Winter has been rough on my new truck, there is sand and salt all over the engine bay, I'm wondering if going to the wash rack and using the pressure/ power washer will harm anything? I've been told you can do it if you leave the motor running, but is it safe?

 

Do a quick search, i don't want to lead you in the wrong direction.. But i know theres a few good threads out there that have great info on how to clean the engine bay.

As for me, That's on my to do list this weekend!

 

My own approach and many others here.

Cover delicate electronics with plastic (I use wal-mart bags)
Soak engine bay with Simple Green, APC, APC+, or similar all purpose cleaner.
Let is soak but not till it's dry.
Hose off with low pressure water.
let sit, compressed air, or leaf blower to dry
Soak in Hyper-Dressing or in the absence of HD you can use tire foam for good results.
Wipe off excess.
Take a picture!

Others may tweak my list.

I have used the car wash with my previous vehicles and havn't had any problems myself. However some have. if you do and it won't start a little WD40 on the electronic connections is supposed to help.
Don't do it to a well warmed up motor due to cracking stuff like heads, block, etc... Again, I've never seen it happen myself. But it's been known to happen.

 

I did it yesterday, I Just made a thread about it so you could see what I did

 

skrewd what all did you cover up in your engine bay before you started applying the simple green and water?

 

Not a good idea to spray water directly on your belts or altenator with the motor running. Also use low pressure water.
I take my truck to the dealer and slide one of the kids $10 since they have the right stuff and do it all the time.
15 minutes and it looks new again.

 

I do the same. However, I dillute the Simple Green 50/50 with some water and have a dedictaed small garden sprayer that I use for engine and undercarriage cleaning. Also, make sure to keep your fenders and front end paint wet and well rinsed and don't let the cleaner sit on it. It will strip off any wax coat that you have and can cause streaking if you leave it on the paint. I usuall do this right before I get ready to wax the truck anyway.