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I've read a couple places where the ECU in these engines were destroyed because of water, and several other threads where people were looking for the ECU for the MZR engine to buy.

I know the ECU is inside the engine bay itself (right next to the air filter if I'm not mistaken), and I'm concerned about washing the engine because of these horror stories of the ECU getting wet when washing the engine.

I also know there are a few other sensors in the Mazda 3 engine bay that are quite sensitive, making me even more apprehensive with attempting an engine wash myself.

Any of you Mazda 3 guys with the 1.6 engine do this yourself and willing to give any tips/advice on what should and should not be done?

I used to wash the engine in my previous car (a BJ 323 with the ZM-DE engine) with no issues by covering the ignition coils, alternator, and MAF sensor with plastic bags. However, I don't think the ECU was in the engine bay with the 323. The ECU stories on the MZR engine has me petrified to try it on my own

I share these concerns. It would be interesting to see if anyone answers with any advice.

i use a toothbrush and sum degreaser...wipe down with moist cloth afterwards...then spray a can of wd40 to shine it...careful with sensors...please next time, post questions in the mazda 3 thread...

rainman wrote:

ghostbusters wrote:please next time, post questions in the mazda 3 thread...

Sorry . It's just that the Mazda 3 thread is becoming so large, that specific Mazda 3 info gets lost in a dozen or more pages. I just figured a separate thread with the key words I used for the thread title would make a search for other users easier. Either way, I'll post to that thread in future as suggested.

If the mods wish, please move this thread there. Until then...

ghostbusters wrote:i use a toothbrush and sum degreaser...wipe down with moist cloth afterwards...then spray a can of wd40 to shine it...careful with sensors...please next time, post questions in the mazda 3 thread...

Don't you need a fair bit of water to remove the degreaser? I didn't think just using a damp cloth on the entire engine bay was ideal. Although it seems to be the safest method, it also seems to be the most tedious and time consuming. But if that's the only way it can be safely done on this engine, then I'll have to go that route as well.

I'm hoping others who also clean the engines in their MZ3 on their own can chime in with their methods and advice.

so far...light sprinkle of water....drgreaser on the cloth and wipe. Cant say i've ever had much cleaning to do because my engine bay is basically clean.