Salt under the hood

[MinnietheMazda]

Hello all. This is my first post after years of lurking. I used to have a 03 protege and just bought a 2 in January.

My issue is this, today i went to add washer fluid after my drive to work and discovered my engine bay covered in salt presumably from the salty spray from driving in Rochester NY.

My question is do you think there is anything i can do to block the road spray from getting into the engine bay or is hosing down the motor going to be part of my weekly car wash procedure? I've included pics.

 

[BigBlueDart]

Corksport skid tray?

http://www.corksport.com/corksport-mazda-2-skid-tray.html

 

[MinnietheMazda]

You know I really did consider it before when I got the car and was thinking about it today due to this but it looks like the salt is coming from road spray through the grill.

 

[BigBlueDart]

Maybe put a mesh in the grill?

 

[MinnietheMazda]

I really hate those personally. I'm thinking of maybe trying to get a sheet of plastic to put behind the grill. That would probably be a PITA and maybe cause some heat issues. I'm curious if anyone else has had this happen.

 

[BigBlueDart]

Salt buildup is pretty common in places where they salt the roads. I had never really thought about places near the ocean, but I guess that makes sense. I think your best bet is going to be to just clean it up every now and then. Water alone may not be enough, so you might want to try an engine degreaser, or something. And I wouldn't block the grill, personally.

 

[Gravity]

Driving around Southern ON, I thought this was a joke post... I've got so much salt under all parts of my car right now its caked on.

Have the engine bay detailed once a year after the winter and take a pressure washer to the wheel wells and you're good.

 

[MinnietheMazda]

Driving around Southern ON, I thought this was a joke post... I've got so much salt under all parts of my car right now its caked on.

Have the engine bay detailed once a year after the winter and take a pressure washer to the wheel wells and you're good.

Fair enough. I've just never seen salt build up under the hood. Been driving for close to 15 years and this is a first for me.

 

[Gravity]

There's a pretty large gap to the ground in the 2. Our engine bay is pretty sparse... Still Ontario is really awful for salt and I've never had an issue on any car yeat.. even after 10+ eyars. It look sscary, but our parts are designed to take the abuse.. just ash regularly and have the engine bay cleaned every now and then.