Well after a long hunting season with a lot of off road driving, it was time to do my "post season" oil and filter changes. I had obviously been powerwashing the mud off of the body of the truck, wheels and wheel wells but when I got ready to change my oil I was shocked!!! I opened the hood and was greeted by a mud covered engine. Do you have any suggestions on how to get it looking good again? Am I stuck using a wet rag and hand washing the entire engine compartment? Prior to this happening I was having very good results with a degreaser, pump sprayer and STP protectant. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

the best way ive found to detail the engine is steamcleaning, or with reallly hot water. Buy some "Simple Green (5 bucks at walmarts) concentrated cleaner and mix about a 30/70 mix (30 SG, 70 water) in a spray bottle. Cover your alternator with a trashbag and spray the entire engine bay with the mix--everything, really well-use it liberally. Let it sit for a few mins and soak then rinse with high pressure hot water. Let drip for a while then repeat again spraying everyhting in the engine bay. If heavy mud is present then some hand scrubbing may be necessary but simple green is some good stuff. Be cafeful not to mix too much cleaner in the mix cause too much simple green can cause your raidiator hoses to turn white

 

yup, thats what i do.

cover the alternator and AF1 filter with plastic bags

rinse down the cool engine

get some simple green and dilute it 25% SG to 75% water, and also another mix of about 1/2 and 1/2 or stronger for the stubborn spots. spray down the engine compartment liberally with this, don't get it on the paint...wont hurt but will strip the wax.

then let it sit for about 5 minutes, then rinse it all off. i just use my hose and let it run over it so i don't force any water where it shouldn't get, but if its tough you may have to pressure wash it.

redo the SG if you need to and rerinse.

after your done, then get a leaf blower and dry your engine bay off and it'll blast all the water out of the nooks and crannies.

after that, get some vinylex or another waterbased protectant (not oil based like tireshine) and spray your engine bay down (don't get it on the belt though)
this will give a nice low gloss sheen to everything.

if you use oil based, if anythigns still wet, it won't stick, the vinylex is water based, so it'll mix in with any puddles left and still stick to the plastic parts and stuff.
plus the oil based stuff will attract dirt, the vinylex wont and next time you wash the engine bay, it'll be easier because the dirt won't stick as much to the vinylex as the bare unprotected hoses.

goodluck

 

Won't getting water on the coils make them go bad?

 

Here is how I clean all engines I come across.

Cover any open airfilter and make sure engine is cold.

I then spray a degreaser on the engine (or incase of a muddy one some soap) and then use a cut-off paintbrush to hit the really dirty areas. I'll let it sit awhile.

I'll then come and rinse the whole thing down with a hose. As soon as that is done I'll use a towel to get as much water out of there as possible. I'll then start the vehicle and let the engine run and the fan should dry the engine. If it has electric fans, then turn on the AC to get them going.

Sometimes I'll wash the vehicle while the engine runs. It normally dries pretty fast and I've not had a problem.

 

as long as you dry it off and dont soak the coil packs, they should be fine.
the leafblower works really well blasing the water out of any nooks and crannies on teh engine block

 

Will NOT covering the alternator really hurt it as long as you are certain its dry before starting the vehicle?

I have never covered the alternator on any other vehicle I have had and never noticed a problem. I have yet to p.wash the engine on my truck, but plan to this weekend.

 

Here's a word of advice from experience:

DON'T SPRAY THE ENGINE

that is unless you like keeping it in the shop. A few weeks ago I HAD to clean my engine. WOW, huge mistake. Do whatever you have to do to clean it, except spraying water onto the engine.

Hey, it happened to me and i just don't want it to happen to anyone else.

 

coon64,

why? water is reccomended by FOrd for cleaning teh engine. They detail teh procedure in the owner's manual.

What happened to your vehicle?

 

yeah, what happened? gotta have a reason for people not to use water and not just "because"

did you spray the engine with cold water when the block was hot and crack it or something?

 

Originally posted by Harley#356
... did you spray the engine with cold water when the block was hot and crack it or something?

LOL Harley, that's.. almost funny.

 

Man! You should see my muddy engine compartment! Think of it as mother nature's own rust preventative!



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