I have seen this discussion a number of times on this page, but I have never had any trouble washing a vette engine. I have detailed cars for a long time and cleaned my fair share of vettes. I have more trouble with Ford trucks, the vettes never even blinked. I spray my engine down about once a week and no problems.
Scooter: The dealerships wash engines with a concentrated degreaser and a hot-water pressure washer. The engine is allowed to idle while the car is washed and dried so the heat burns off all the water from the engine. The engine is dressed with silicone tire dressing, and then is supposed to be wiped off with a rag. The wiping off gives that nice flat deep black look on plastic and keeps the metal parts from looking too shiny. If it isn't wiped down it looks like Jerry-curl (is that how you spell it?). I never dress my engine for two reasons: 1) I prefer everything to look new and not polished - nothing in the engine bay comes glossy from the factory. 2) The dressing attracts dirt and as the dirt-and -dressing mix gets hot it can turn the plastic yellow as it bakes in. It can be cleaned off but it takes more effort than I think is worthwhile. I don't dress my tires for the same reasons.
