Okay, i tried searchin and couldnt find much, I see a post below that some people had some problems.

I have an 02 , w/ the 5.4L. I've only had the truck for about a month and a half and havent cleaned the engine bay yet, but it really needs it from the first weekend i had the truck and went upnorth and got it all muddy. Its not caked under there, but it needs to be sprayed off. What is the best way to clean this stuff withough shorting anything out or messing anything up.

My old S-10, I would just pressure wash it while it was running, avoiding spraying certain areas with the high pressure(rotor,cap,tbi, etc) and I never had any problems.

 

I remember reading a post that RP had about what he uses and how he does it. I need to find that post myself because he was using a megs "hyper' solvent that I need to purchase. I will look for it and post it, if I find it, or if RP answers you first.

 

This may help.

 

This may help... but, I'm *NOT* advocating utilizing any 'stream' of water (or any water period), in your engine compartment.

Again, I'm going to err on the conservative side because doing any detailing under the hood is risky... period.

 

My truck is a 97 and I just got it in Late October and yesterday I had a day off and decided I wanted to do a little cleaning in spots that aren't cleaned by a simple car wash and I got under the hood. Once my engine was cooled down, I used straight Simple Green concentrate. It worked real good and even smells good, not that I will ever notice how my engine smells again unless there is a leak.

 

As RockPick has (correctly) stated, beware using any "stream of water" method(s) to clean and detail under your hood. Yes, in the good old days you could simply empty a can of Gunk Engine Cleaner all over the place and wash it off with a hose. Some folks have even managed to use pressure washers. My personal experience has led me to never again use a hose under the hood - even just a genlte spray. There's way too much electronic stuff under there just waiting to get shorted out and otherwise messed up with water. I tried cleaning my '02 just before I traded it in and had nothing but trouble. So, if you're thinking of using water, ask yourself; "Do I feel lucky today?"

 

Thanks for the link to that post...I just wish I wouldnt have ever gotten it so dirty!! Im not sure what I will do yet...I wish I could just spray it off with water and not worry.......

 

The safest way to clean is with some general degreaser (mean green works great) and a rag. This is the only way you can be sure that you will not damage some electrical equipment. Unfortunately, it does not work as well as a hose or a pressure washer.

 

I cleaned my engine bay yesterday, it was dusty but nothing major. I used a spray bottle with a car wash soap & water mixture. I sprayed very little only enough to get the dusty spots wet (approx 10 oz). I then watered down some tire spray and lightly sprayed the engine bay (approx 8 oz). I let it sit for a few mins then wiped down as much as I could reach and finally ran the motor to dry out any wet spots I couldn't reach. It looks good and no problems so far.

 

I purchased a spray wand hose attachment with the spray head that turns to select the pattern of water stream you want. One of the settings is a "mist" setting and I use this under the hood. I believe they call it a plant mist setting for damping foliage.

Works well for me.

 

I've used a degreaser and a pressure washer (there was a car wash right next to my old office, so engine heat wasn't an issue) on the '94 Exploder for the life of the vehicle and never had one spot of trouble. But I don't think I would take that chance with my '05. As RP pointed out, there's just too darned much that's electronic in the newer ones. And the nuclear physicists who are paid to fix such things don't come cheap.

Now if I had a week or more, say right before a business trip or vacation, I'd probably be willing to do this with degreaser and a standard garden hose. Only problem after that would be how to push such a heavy truck uphill back into the garage!!

 

Wash with TSP trisodium phosphate-FREE detergent-let soak for 15-20 minutes before removing.

 

That's also the chemical that one would want to use while cleaning around lead-based painted surfaces as the TSP will bind the lead in place making it a non-toxic issue...

So, cleaning those door troughs or window troughs? Window sills? Have a house that was built prior to 1978? Snag yourself some TSP-based cleaner!

RP

 

So my friend has been using straight up silicone spray for a while now. Once he gets it clean, he simply coats everything with it. It looks great, lasts a long time, and he said you just wipe it every now and again and its good to go. Keeps stuff from sticking to the parts and it keeps plastic and rubber like new. I think I am going to try it he gave me an entire can of the stuff; said he bought it at walmart for like $1.29.