does cleaning your engine have any other effects than it looking good? if it does, how do you go about doing it? ive heard some people talking about it, but since nobody really ever looks under my hood, ive never really thought about it.

 

just to make it look good... Just use low pressure and wash it off, stay away from the cops... then take tire foam and spray the whole thing down... makes it nice and shiny

 

I can of WD-40 does wonders for all the black plastic under the hood. I first noticed this when I was spraying an electrical connecter with it. No scrubbing, and the thing looked brand new. I got a little happy and did all the black plastic under the hood. Stays black and shiny for weeks, and you don't have to worry about getting electrical componets wet.

 

any issues with this attracting dust and dirt ? I would think it would cause issues with attracting dust and dirt, and make future cleaning harder ..

 

Do a search. Been discussed many times. (sorry for the cop-out answer)

 

Make sure you leave the engine running when you spray it.

 

I would say it keeps heat lower, as well as making hoses and other parts flexable and working properly. Everyone can have an opinion as to why it's good, I assume dirt etc makes pieces brittle over time. Cleaning makes it nicer to work on too. Just be careful with all these crapped out C.O.P's due to over spray, I say wipe with damp clothes and dry. Use a mist of all purpose cleaner.

 

Don't EVER use water. I did, and my truck wouldn't start. Then when it finally did, It jolted forward constantly.

Turns out I had a drenched starter coil. Truck's flawless now, but what a pain in the ***. I'd prefer a dirty engine.

 

He's got a 4.6, so no COPS. Basically, be smart about it. Don't drench the whole engine compartment. Use low pressure, and don't use a lot of water. Don't get anything electrical wet. Keep water away from the spark plugs.

 

Out of much experience, here is what I do: When my new vehicle is under warranty, I wash the heck out of it, high pressure and all. About 1,000 miles before end of warranty, no more water, ever! Just clean with a damp old towel. Chasing electrical problems on your own dime is not fun!

 

Hm.....just a few days ago I got a bucket filled with tap water and tooka dirty rag and a toothbrush to all the hoses/air filter/diag. connector covers/batt. terminal covers. Basically all the black under the hood. Also took out the long black bar and lowered the spare tire, cleaned it, and readjusted it from 19 psi (side says max of 35) back up to 32 like all the others.

 

Here's a friendly public service announcement: "Don't buy any used 2005 F-150 in Wichita."

I'd be leerly of doing that even under warranty. You may not be having any problems now, but you may be setting yourself up for problems down the road...out of the warranty. But if you trade in every 3 years, then I refer people to my previous statement.

 

I always wash my motor at the car wash and have never had a problem. If you do then chances are you would have it sooner or later. I have seen motors that if you had a oil leak you couldn't tell because of all the caked up oil grease and dirt. Besides would you rather work on a dirty or clean engine. And I do not leave the engine running. I wash it with the motor cool. Like first thing on a saturday morning I wake up and drive it to the local car wash and wash it. Trying not to get too much heat in it. I even wash my race motor. Look in my gallery to see some pictures. jdrags10

 

This subject is addressed in the owners manual. Bottom line, it says clean engine good, dirty engine bad. There's several paragraphs of instructions on just how to do it.

Of course I figure I've now opened up myself to a tirade of abuse from those who say Ford is too stupid to know and they just want to sell you more trucks and a whole list of other extremely intelligent statements.

If I owned a 5.4, I'd be real careful about filling up the spark plug wells with water, and with my 4.6 I'm careful about that. I use a can of air like you use around computer stuff to blow the wells dry and have not had ANY problems with my 04. It has a clean engine!

Flagship

 

The previous owner off my truck had it in show type of car show, because there was a sticker on the motor when i opened the hood, my truck jolts forward when driving at a constant speed could this be what's wrong with my truck also?