Yesterday, our dealership hosted an event which both Rhino and I got to participate in. It was an absolute blast, and I have never pushed my rover that hard before. I am very impressed with it's durability and reliability, and have a new trust in it than I did not have before.

Today I decided to wash it, it was FILTHY! dust was everywhere! i washed the tail gate twice and dust was still coming out of some areas (btw, have fun washing yours rhino!). I opened the engine bay and decided to clean it as well. I had cleaned the engine before with a pressure washer and did not have any problems. However, this time I DID!

After I sprayed the engine down, I started to dry it and noticed a little hissing sound. I looked around and saw either steam or smoke coming from the fuse box. I frantically ran all over the place trying to find some damn pliers to disconnect the battery. Ran into the garage, and then realized I left them in the back of the rover lol. I managed to disconnect the battery after 1 minute of running around like a moron and now all I can do is wait until tomorrow to see if any damage was done. I just pray to god nothing happened.

So next time you want to clean the engine bay, BE CAREFUL!

 

Ouch!!!! that really sucks, hopefully it is nothing serious.

If you do need to replace something in there go check your local wrecking yard. I just back form ours and while I was there I saw a few perfect looking Rovers that I had never seen there before. They are all from the Cas for Clunkers program and so there is a lot of good quality parts out there now that have been elusive for some time.

Let us know what fried when you find it.

 

Well, I just got back from work and reconnected the battery. Everything seems to work fine, I'm going to let it sit awhile more to make sure there isn't any water left. Thankfully its alright, I was expecting much worse.

I haven't seen any cash for clunker rovers, thankfully. For me yeah the money towards a new car would be nice, but I could never let them crush my rangie. I have been looking for a few parts for mine. More to just have around when the existing ones fail. I would ask for the engine, but they destroy those along with the transmission (what a waste). Good point though rob, that is probably why I see an abundance of parts on ebay and the like. I'm sure I could get the parts cheaper if it were a local wrecker. Thanks for the tip.

 

I really do not need any parts for mine, I was there buying for my Disco. I was able to pick a whole set of perfect lug nuts for $20.

Glad to hear there was no permanent damage.

 

Glad to hear it. Looks like you dodged a bullet on that one. I have dried electrical connections by spraying them liberally with an electrical contact cleaner (disconnect the battery of course) It seems to displace and evaporate the water very well.

 

next time you want to wash your engine, run to your local automotive store and grab some stuff called engine brite, if they dont have that just look for an engine degreaser/cleaner that says self cleaning. i use it all the time, you soak the engine bay in it, and everything just drips off and it givse it a good shine with great color and last for weeks/months unlike wd-40. i also use it on the wheel wells and front/rear lower plastic pieces, stuff works great. also, mother back to black is awesome for mirrors and other trim

 

Thanks for the tip krazz, I'll have to try that out next time the electronics get a little wet. Yukon, I usually use engine cleaner, but the stuff I use requires you to wash it off afterward. So I'll have to try self cleaning next time. I just want to make sure you all do not make this mistake. I spray my other vehicle down all the time in the engine bay and have never had a problem. Even though I did not have a problem spraying the engine down in the rover the first time. The second time it bit me in the rear.

 

YeeOwwZaa!! Good thing you didn't have any Probs with that. I had to wash mine about 4 times on sunday. Went to spray it off, went thru automatic, rinse, repeat. Crazy silt man. It was the best experience i've had with my RR and have also come to the realization i could never part with this baby. It did fantastic and was thoroughly impressed.

I am kinda upset about the super long scratchs i have going down the sides of it now. They seem to be superfiscial but some are pretty deep. Course tryed that Simonize scratch remover someone got me for my birthday, works like Sh*t. So if anyone else has a scratch removing solution, it would be greatly appreciated.

As far as spraying the engine down, i use the scunsy steamer on mine, i also found out the hard way that you can't use a serious pressure washer on the engine because of the electronics. But use some Engine Bright , let it sit and then either poor some hot water over the top and just keep running back and forth or get a steamer. Works pretty well on areas that leak oil too, i.e. oil pan, lower front of engine, heads.

Hope nothing more happened to your RR. If i can figure out how to upload an album and photos on this site i will get those pics up. But no one seems to be getting back to me from the technical site questions.

Oh well. Cheers!!!

 

I'm not to happy about the scratches either. I felt like calling in and letting them know about the it, but I have a feeling the people in the newer lr3s and RR sports will be complaining. I have found that the only real way to remove a scratch is to use a paint repair kit provided by the manufacturer. If it only scratched the finish like it did with mine, a machine waxer will smooth the rest of the finish down to the scratche's level making it less noticeable. My friend showed me this product that is basically liquid finish and can be applied to the scratch in the vehicles clear coat. You will need to sand it down a bit with a light sander, and then slowly wax and polish it either by hand or by machine (I prefer a machine, doesn't take as long). Unfortunately some of the scratches are a bit permanent as they did hit the paint under the clear coat .

I also do not understand why we went that extra length of trail. I honestly thought that the area we stopped for lunch was an adequate turn around point, and would be fun heading back the way we came up that large hill. lol done venting about the scratches now.

I want to call the dealership and see if I can get some photos emailed to me. I just got an email from the Idaho land rover enthusiast thing they are creating on facebook, and it looks like they are creating a gallery as well.