Auto Engine/Undercarriage Steam Cleaning in San Jose ~
#1
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Auto Engine/Undercarriage Steam Cleaning in San Jose ~
So I've been wanting to get the undercarriage cleaned and keep hearing people talk about professional steam cleaning. Did a bit of poking around and it seems these are one of the few in town that does this type of cleaning. (not looking for a car detailer)
Has anyone used these guys before? Impressions?
http://www.yelp.com/biz/san-jose-aut...aning-san-jose
They charge roughly $125 - $200 depending on the car so thinking to give them a shot....
Has anyone used these guys before? Impressions?
http://www.yelp.com/biz/san-jose-aut...aning-san-jose
They charge roughly $125 - $200 depending on the car so thinking to give them a shot....
#2
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Location: San Jose, CA
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I've used them before and recommend them. I paid $60 for just the top of my Miata engine to be cleaned (top and bottom were quoted at $135-$145). They were very fast, polite, and the engine bay looked great afterward. A+, would use again.
#3
I've used them as well. Few notes:
- Price was negotiable in my case
- If you have an extremely greasy engine/underbody, the grease tends to spray up onto the body. Luckily they also have an on-site car wash
Other than that, they were very professional and did a great job, I'd definitely go back.
- Price was negotiable in my case
- If you have an extremely greasy engine/underbody, the grease tends to spray up onto the body. Luckily they also have an on-site car wash
Other than that, they were very professional and did a great job, I'd definitely go back.
#4
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Thread Starter
I've used them as well. Few notes:
- Price was negotiable in my case
- If you have an extremely greasy engine/underbody, the grease tends to spray up onto the body. Luckily they also have an on-site car wash
Other than that, they were very professional and did a great job, I'd definitely go back.
- Price was negotiable in my case
- If you have an extremely greasy engine/underbody, the grease tends to spray up onto the body. Luckily they also have an on-site car wash
Other than that, they were very professional and did a great job, I'd definitely go back.
thanks planning to go this weekend and will report back!
#5
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Made an appt. for 1pm but showed up early and Jim (owner) greeted me and started on my car right away. My car was clean when I got there so wasn't too keen on driving around on this dusty gravel road to the lift area but he took care of it for me later....(will explain).
This is a family operation for roughly 60+ years and it's a family operation with 2 of his sons working there. All of them were polite and explained how it was done. They use a combination of hot steam (roughly 500 degrees) along with a mixture of soap and water to really blast the undercarriage clean. I was skeptical so he did a quick blast in 3 seconds to demo it for me.
What you see below is the BEFORE (my sway bar is powdercoated silver)
Here's the amazing after with him just blasting it for 3 seconds
Needless to say I was impressed and went for the entire package which included the whole underside plus top of the engine bay. He leases some space in the lot to a car wash guy so he hooked me up with a free car wash afterwards which was really nice. The car was dirty because of all the oil/dirt that was blasted away some ended up on the car's exterior which was un-avoidable.
I ended up spending more money than I had planned but overall very happy with the service. It's not something you do monthly or even yearly but once maybe every 5 years which is fine.
Stay tuned for clean pictures!
This is a family operation for roughly 60+ years and it's a family operation with 2 of his sons working there. All of them were polite and explained how it was done. They use a combination of hot steam (roughly 500 degrees) along with a mixture of soap and water to really blast the undercarriage clean. I was skeptical so he did a quick blast in 3 seconds to demo it for me.
What you see below is the BEFORE (my sway bar is powdercoated silver)
Here's the amazing after with him just blasting it for 3 seconds
Needless to say I was impressed and went for the entire package which included the whole underside plus top of the engine bay. He leases some space in the lot to a car wash guy so he hooked me up with a free car wash afterwards which was really nice. The car was dirty because of all the oil/dirt that was blasted away some ended up on the car's exterior which was un-avoidable.
I ended up spending more money than I had planned but overall very happy with the service. It's not something you do monthly or even yearly but once maybe every 5 years which is fine.
Stay tuned for clean pictures!
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#8
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Honestly I don't know if it's harmful but it's just water and soap really. Unless you have old cracked hoses I don't see the harm.
P.S. I brought my own plastic ziplock bags and tie-wraps to cover the battery, filters and other needed items.
Keep in mind you don't do this often, maybe once every 5 years is what he told me unless you off-road the s2000.
P.S. I brought my own plastic ziplock bags and tie-wraps to cover the battery, filters and other needed items.
Keep in mind you don't do this often, maybe once every 5 years is what he told me unless you off-road the s2000.
#9
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That makes sense to do some preventative coverage but I'm unsure how well a ziplock bag can stand up to 500 degree steam? Maybe it's a non issue but I'm curious what people think about areas getting wet that aren't necessarily designed to be in direct contact with water, let alone this super water.
#10
It's perfectly fine to spray under the hood and under the car. I have cleaned a bunch of engines by just using a hose. I have never used steam however. If you are spraying under the hood only thing that you need to do is cover the intake if you have an exposed filter.