Locating Oil Leak

[saiyaneye]

I am going to try to locate the oil leak I am having and I was wondering how I should go about cleaning the underside of the engine. Do you guys think it would be a good idea to take it to the spray wash, jack it up w/ my bumper jack then spray underneath?

[gadget73]

I pressure wash them in the driveway on a set of ramps or jack stands. I don't trust bumper jacks at all. Absolutely do not get anywhere under the car if you do use the bumper jack, and stay far enough away that if it kicks out, it won't run you over or anything. I find spraying things heavily with degreaser on a warm (not hot) engine and letting it sit for 10-15 minutes before pressure washing does a real nice job of loosening up the gunk. If you have an old cheap garden sprayer, those work really well for spraying degreaser on the motor.

[91LTDProject]

I use gunk engine cleaner whenever I have to shampoo something. Comes in a white can. I think it works great. Smells alot like diesel fuel. I always warm up my car, not hot like gadget said, spray it on top first then the bottom, let it sit 20 minutes, then pressure wash it with warm water. In my experiences te engine bay comes out super clean. with the crown vics tho, i've found that water gets under the distributor cap fairly easily, so i'd take it off and wipe/blow it out after. hope it works well for you.

[saiyaneye]

Well i wasn't really going to get underneath the car w/ my body, just kind of stick my arm under there w/ the spray nozzle, I don't fucking trust that jack either, I guess I can bring a couple cinder blocks if I absolutely have to use the bumper jack.

[Lincolnmania]

do not use cinder blocks either!! i've seen em break and the car falls and hurts u
blocks of wood are better.....jackstands or ramps are the best

[gadget73]

Yeah, cinderblocks can crack if you don't lay and stack them properly. I use them under the boat, and they can hold weight but they must be on a flat level surface, must be stacked square, and must have a piece of wood on top to spread the load properly. Holes also must be up, not side to side or the whole thing will just crumble. Not a great option for a car stand honestly. The load point where the frame or whatever sits on the block puts too much pressure in a small area, and the block usually likes to break. Especially if its some random old block that was sitting around sucking moisture out of the ground and getting crumbly.