Engine wash at Caltex Dallas

[carlos]

I was at Caltex Dallas yesterday to have my engine washed. I specifically instructed the washboy(actually medyo old na yung mama) in charge to clean the engine block since it accumulated dirt due to oil leaks. I had it fixed already after replacing the oil seals and the valve cover gasket. I want my engine to look clean.

Then after doing the job, yung supervisor na mukhang bading told me that aside from the engine wash, they have to charge me for underwashing. I told them that it is only the engine wash service that im going to pay. But according to the supervisor(?), underwash na daw yun since gumamit sila ng lifter. I argued that the engine block is a major part of the engine, so the service should be engine wash. But he again insisted and reasoned that engine wash only involves the engine top and the engine room. There were no big arguments, though. I know the place and told them that im a townmate of the owner(di naman nya ako kilala) and spoke the dialect.At the end, I only paid the engine wash at 210 pesos. Medyo mahal pa yata, ang alam ko 150 pasos lang.

So I told them to post some specifics as to what engine wash is. To define the works, what is involved. I think I was right since that was my purpose in going to that place.

Anybody from the carwash business would want to clear this issue? Para naman maliwanagan kami. When you want to have your engine washed, kasama ba o hindi ang engine block? Regardless if they need to use the lifter. Do they need to extra charge for its use?

[chieffy]

kasama na dapat engine block unless meron silang written job description sa leaflet or sa store mismo na hindi iyon kasama...kung itinaas yung sasakyan mo, they should only charge you for the use of the lifter, minimal lang naman iyon (ako i charge 30 petot para sa "lifter use" noon)...sobra naman kung sisingilin ka ng underwash just for using the lifter during an engine wash....

AFAIK Chinese ang dealer ng Caltex Dallas(forgot the name)...nagreklamo ka sana directly sa kanya para malaman niya na sobra sumingil supervisor niya...in the long run sila rin mawawalan ng customers sa ganyang pamamaraan...

[1D4LV]

san yang caltex dallas? kala ko sa texas eh.

[ILuvDetailing]

Bigberts charges around 200 bucks for the engine wash, so that sounds pretty reasonable. BTW what car is that? AFAIK engine washing involves only washing engine parts accessible only thru the hood, if they used a lifter and washed the underside of your engine they might have considered that underwashing cuz they are washing the underside of your car regardless whether its the engine or not. Plus when they used the lifter its an additional operating cost hence the extra charge. Well thats my interpretation.

[theveed]

Normally, an engine wash does NOT include washing of the underside of the oil pan.

Let me explain why.

1) Normal engine washing doesn't require the car to be lifted. During the normal engine washing process (top down) the grime and dirt usually flows down and the degreasing agents should be quite concentrated at the bottom which a final water rinse should remove the remaining grime sa oil pan... But...

In your case of which you have a special request for the underpan to be degreased as well, as a shop, you should ask for extra labor since it does involve lifting the car and additional task apart from the normal routing.

What the shop did wrong is not inform you beforehand that there will an extra charge. In addition, the extra charge should NOT be for a whole underwash since you didn't request for one.

[chain]

if they charged you for the underwash too, they should have at least done the actual underwash para walang confusion since nilagay na nila sa lifter.

in doing so, they should inform you about it and what it entails, the specifics regarding the service they provide.

[carlos]

I requested it beforehand and even instructed the guy who washed it to concentrate cleaning only the engine block since i already cleaned the engine top and room myself. Before going to Caltex Dallas, i even removed the aluminum cover of the exhaust manifold to have a clearer view.But somehow after spraying it with some dtergents and kerosene, di parin natanggal since di accessible sa spray, medyo masikip so that's when the guy used the lifter. By the way, my car is a Corolla GL 91, i just had it repainted last summer. Heve to bring it to BIG BERT's after 2-3 months for detailing

[carlos]

Dapat pala sa BigBert's ko na lang pala dinala, even nearer to my place, just 1km lang, samantala Caltex Dallas is about 4kms. Nawala kasi sa isip ko that big bert's does the job, too. Nasanay na kasi ako sa Dallas since way back when their gas station still existed at T. Morato(now it's McDo) Lagi kasi ako dun nag papawashing.

[vince]

Sa Mobil sa May Congresional 230 lng COMPLETE WASH(includes:Body, Underchasis and engine) na! Mahal For a 210 ang engine wash!

[nelany]

Sa Mug and Wash sa Imelda Ave (near Sta. Lucia East) ay Php 80 lang ang engine wash. Stay ka sa loob ng coffee shop nila and take a snack habang hinihintay mo yung sasakyan mo. Ang sarap pa ng nag foods nila. Madaming mag shota ang kumakain sa lob hanbang nag papa car wash.

[endlessgwing]

Sa Mug and Wash sa Imelda Ave (near Sta. Lucia East) ay Php 80 lang ang engine wash. Stay ka sa loob ng coffee shop nila and take a snack habang hinihintay mo yung sasakyan mo. Ang sarap pa ng nag foods nila. Madaming mag shota ang kumakain sa lob hanbang nag papa car wash.

tsong, ok ba sa Mug and Wash ang service? napapadaan ako dun lagi, pero hindi ko pa na-try e.

[nelany]

tsong, ok ba sa Mug and Wash ang service? napapadaan ako dun lagi, pero hindi ko pa na-try e.

Yup, yung service nila ay really ok. Maganda silang mag wash ng sasakyan. Yung lugar was really designed for that kind of washing. Habang naghihintay ka pwede kang nagbasa ng diyaryo sa loob ng coffee shop or mag snack.

[cj]

Yup, yung service nila ay really ok. Maganda silang mag wash ng sasakyan. Yung lugar was really designed for that kind of washing. Habang naghihintay ka pwede kang nagbasa ng diyaryo sa loob ng coffee shop or mag snack.

Nelany, nadadaanan ko din yang Mugs and Wash.. di ba WiFi hotspot pa yung shop? Libre ba?

[ronald_m]

Simple green is the solusyon.It's not adviseable to engine wash modern car,especially if the person doin it has no knowlegde of the location of MAF sensor.Just use tootbrush to clean engine,no need to use high pressure spray.detail it with instant tire block.

Just my 2cents.

[carlos]

Dun ba sa ibang carwash, are they they careful enough na di mabasa ang distributor and the alternator? i noticed that these two items are covered with plastic before they wash it. i did try to wash my engine once since i have a pressure washer, ayun....nasira distributor ko. Sabay takbo sa banawe.... cost me 1000 pesos. kaya ngayon observe muna ako how they do it.

[endlessgwing]

Dun ba sa ibang carwash, are they they careful enough na di mabasa ang distributor and the alternator? i noticed that these two items are covered with plastic before they wash it. i did try to wash my engine once since i have a pressure washer, ayun....nasira distributor ko. Sabay takbo sa banawe.... cost me 1000 pesos. kaya ngayon observe muna ako how they do it.

yep, dapat binabalot ng plastic yung mga sensitive parts like alternator and distributor. and kung naka-cone type na air filter ka,pati yun binabalot po

[ILuvDetailing]

Also tignan mo din yung panlinis nila, pag kerosine or kerosine based cleaner ang gamit, its a big no-no... lulutong yung mga hoses niyo in the long run. Also wag niyo ipa hi-pressure rinse baka pumasok yung tubig sa di dapat pasukan.

[carlos]

what kind of engine degreaser would you recommend for cleaning the engine room? Are there any available in the market? of course, im not referring to the ones available in spray can. Is simple green a good alternative? san nga pala available ang simple green and how much does it cost ?

[ILuvDetailing]

Yup is a good alternative, its also versatile, you can use it at home, in your cars interior, etc. Another alternative is the Meguiars APC.

Simple Green APC, Meguiars APC are available in True Value.

Dilute in 1 parts APC and 10 parts water.

[falken]

I only have my engine washed after every change oil, may tumutulo kasing motor oil sa mga bushings kaya kailangan palinisin.