battery leak eating engine bay... (and weird CD player problem)

[brownyy]

hey all;

today, to my fear and horror (thought easter was meant to be a good day) i discovered a very large amount of corrosion easting away in my engine bay. From what i can see, the battery has leaked, for what reason i dont know. I filled up the fuilds about a month ago, but was careful not to overfill and used distilled water only.

My problem is, for those familuar with the Gen4 V6 (auto) engine bay is: i have corrosion (the fluffy white powder) all over the battery mount, the metal body under the battery, the A/C pipes, some on the cruise unit, all under the fuse/relay box, under the air box, all over the sub/k frame, and generally all in that area and directly below. Its also eaten though plastic that its managed to touch. Its frikking everywhere.

What i want to know is how do i get rid of it? I read the other posts that mentioned anit-acid solutions etc, i washed it with hot water and scrubbed (and lost alot of paint), removed battery (and feel like blasting it to orbit), and now i'm wondering what to do next.

I cant seem to get into every nook and cranny to scrub it, (without removing the engine) i was wondering is there a solution i can pour over the engine bay to nuetraize it? I'm guessing i will need to paint the metal again after it also... Is there a paint that protects against battery acid?

cheers...

--brownyy

[95WhiteCamry]

one thing you can do is have a pressure wash. for a pretty penny you can go to a nice car wash and have them pressure wash the engine. that should be able to take off a lot of the gunk off.

[brownyy]

out of interest, anyone ever heard of a CD player needing to warm up??

its the stock single CD unit (aussie camry) seperate frm the head unit type...

on cold mornings, it cant play (meaning skipps like all hell) songs that are on the inside of the disc, can sometimes plays songs on the outside it calm slow no body roll no bumps driving...

[brownyy]

the pressure wash isnt going to hurt senors and other engine bits? i thought about it and was wondering if i might blast seals or O2 sensors or the alike? thanks for the reply...

[95WhiteCamry]

the pressure wash should be done carefully. generally, most of the components that could be hurt should be covered off. since there is high pressure involved, it is imperative that proper preparation is needed. it will involve a lot of covering of random engine bits.

[karazy]

I'm not a big fan of pressure washing the engine bay. There are numerous posts here about people who did it and can't get their car started. Try a baking soda and water solution, to neutralize and rinse with lots of water afterwards.

There is an acid protective paint, but I have only seen it in black. It's usually just used on the tray itself.

Is there a crack in the battery, or did it get over charged and boil over? You should make sure the regulator is not gone, before you put it back together.

The CD problem sounds like moisture on the lens, from trapped condensation. It evapourates when warm, but remains trapped in the unit and returns when it cools.

[brownyy]

hey karazy thanks man!

never ever thought about the moisture on the lens, nice nice thanks very much and thanks about the baking soda.

The cause i'm not sure, the battery was fine for 18 months, no cracks that i can see (wanting to leave warrenty sticker on), i did fill it about a month ago but i made sure not to over tighten and to make sure the plugs where tight. Have never charged the battery outside the car, its never gone flat, so it lives in the car. Will check the regulator and see what the go is. Hopefully tomorro i'll get in contact with the battery company and see what they say about the warrenty...

thanks again karazy and 95white... much much appricated...

--brownyy

[JMSinMD]

Get a big bottle of Coca-Cola (not diet but regular) and pour it wherever the car is affected. Trust me. Jon.

[Go4shoped]

make sure after you do the baking soda/water solution to rinse it off well with clean water. otherwise youll get white powder all over the place and wonder where it came from. it really freaked me out the first time i did it to my terminals.

[DarkMastyr]

Originally Posted by JMSinMD

Get a big bottle of Coca-Cola (not diet but regular) and pour it wherever the car is affected. Trust me. Jon.

I don't think that would work too well as an acid neutralizer. Dissolved carbon dioxide (bicarbonate or carbonic acid) works well in your body as a pH buffer because it's in solution, but the second you pour that coke, all the carbon dioxide fizzles out as vapor. You'll want to use sodium bicarbonate as a neutralizer, which is what baking soda is.

[JMSinMaryland]

I have done it myself and it eats it up QUICK. If you were to leave a real tooth in a cup of Coca-Cola overnight, by the morning the tooth would be GONE. I have a friend who is becoming a dentist and they tried this. Jon.

[Mike Gerber]

The baking soda and water solution is the way to go, as someone above mentioned. The solution will get in to the nooks and crannies you can't reach. Just rinse everything very thoroughly after you are done. Then dry it all off thoroughly and prime and then repaint any areas where the paint is gone.

When all done, have the battery checked for leaks and also check your charging system for "overcharging". This is usually caused by a faulty regulator, but since the regulator is internal to the alternator, you will have to replace or rebuild the alternator to correct this situation, if it is indeed overcharging.

Good luck mate.

Mike

[Eye8Pussies]

^ what he said...


and there's absolutely nothing wrong with using engine cleaners, and engine degreasers- for the people who can't start their car afterwards, they probalby didn't cover their distributors (for those who have them)

[newbie212]

Just take it to a diy carwash and make sure you cover the alternator.. I clean my engine twice a year and never had any problems...How do you think the dealers get their engine bays so clean?

[brownyy]

i'll give it ago tomorro. Going to see my smash repairer mate who will hopefully be able to get the paint cheep. If i'm lucky i might be able to use his spray gun...

To check for over charging from the regulator, am i looking for over voltage at different revs or something else? Should the return voltage from the alternator be constant at all revs at something like 13 - 15volts? Or is it something more complex...

currently the battery is wrapped in about 90 shopping bags and 200m of duck tape covering it up sitting in my engine bay...

thakns all agian... will let you know how it goes...

--brownyy