Hello I have a 2002 nissan xterra, v6 and it is not the sport one, that is leaking some kinda fluid. Looks like black crap around the power steering tank and hoses and around the valve cover gasket area. Mostly on the passenger side and goes down by the tire area. There is some leakage on the driver side valve cover as well but not as bad as the passenger side (I apologize, im not really a car person and have just recently started doing some minor repairs so my wording maybe off to what you are used to.) Anyways since I can't figure out where the leak is coming from someone suggest that I power wash the engine bay get all the black crap off as best as I can and see if I can tell where the leak started. So my first questions is, is power washing a safe thing to do? Any suggestion on how to clean the engine if power washing it isnt good? Do you have a video on power washing an engine bay already I can watch? If not could you make one please?
Do not power wash your engine bay. The water will get into sensitive electronics and your cars electrical system will freak out.
If you just want to locate a leak, Scotty has a video where you locate leaks using a dye, special glasses and a UV light. There are several youtube videos showing how to "safely" clean an engine bay. I've never power washed the engine bay but I have cleaned both of my vehicles engine bays and rinsed with low pressure water. I disconnected the battery prior to doing so. I did thoroughly dry the engine bays afterwards with forced air. Reattached battery and had no problems afterwards. It is risky washing the engine bay because of the electronics so you'll have to decide if you want to risk it. I've heard that steam cleaning is safer but takes a lot longer to do.
power washing is risky. I would take a brush and bucket, and gingerly scrub by hand. followed by rinse with low pressure garden hose, being careful to avoid electrical stuff.
steam cleaning