Does anyone know the perfect way to clean the engine bay and around it? For my Mustang I had I sprayed it down with greasedlightning, let it sit, gently spray off, and blow dry with leaf blower... Surely someone know how to do better than I...?

 

Do a search in this forum. This one's been beat to a pulp. Basically, you can use the method you mentioned - and maybe even get lucky. Some folks even claim to have pressure washed their's and gotten away with it. I, like many others, learned the hard way that you really can't do that anymore. So, how lucky do you feel? My advice? Be careful. My engine bay looks like crap and I hate it. Then again, I don't have the misfires, bucking, trouble codes and repair bill I got the last time I cleaned it either.

 

Either use the highest pressure gas power washer you can find & just get it over with... 3,000+ psi & 3+ gpm is good. Best to practice on a buddie's fiirst, though - I'd call it a 'dry' run but, well .... It will for SURE be clean.

OR - roll up your sleeves and prepare to spend some quality time with your engine, plenty of rags & stuff and a Simple Green solution.

Yah - pretty much a dead hose (er, I mean horse) ... You name it - folks have tried it, sometimes with spectacular (& costly) results...

Good readin'.

Cheers
bubba

 

1 out of 10 people that have tried using the water hose on their engine's have been successful, the other 9 come here and post countless threads on how to fix what they broke. I'd stick to the elbow grease

 

You should check this thread:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=275922


It can be done if done right.

 

Per 04 RED Lariat:

As far as the engine goes... I always see people saying not to spray water on the engine, but I have used the steam jeanie to spray off my engines ever since I have had a vehicle to spray off. I use the APC to spray the engine down with, then spray it clean with the steam jeanie. Let it dry and wipe any water spots that you can see off, then spray the Hyper Dressing on and shut the hood. As long as you don't sit and blast any certain part under the hood for a long time with water it will be fine.

Just take your time and enjoy seeing the change from dirty to clean as you do the job, and expect to get wet and dirty and be ready to change clothes about 3 times during the frame cleanup.

 

read the manual...it tells you what to cover..and says to spray the engine

 

Some people use pressure washers on the engine, some don't. I do and have never ever had any issues, and will continue to use the pressure washer.


I figure if I can splash through water holes that splash overtop of the truck, whats the difference...

 

Take it from 04 Red Lariat! I hope to one day be as good as him when it comes to detailing! He does an awesome job!

 

I've never used a pressure washer. I'm not that lucky. I had cleaned lots engines with just a hose though. Lots of straight Simple Green and a gentle flow of water works great for me.

I don't use any type of dressing though.

 

I washed my engine bays for years with no troubles until finally my LS1 powered Trans Am wouldnt start. $700 dollars later, found out it was a copper PCM wire that got wet (inside conduit, inside wire sheathing, inside electrical tape), turned green and snapped. No more water flow in the engine bay for this guy on any vehicle. Especially not pressurized. I do believe you can get away with garden hose only pressure if you're careful. You decide.

 

I've cleaned mine numerous times. In the Ford F-150 care and maintenance section of the owners manual it says you should and shows a picture of the engine compartment and what to cover. Because grease and crud in the engine compartment heats it up more supposedly. If you have a newer model F-150 you shouldn't have a problem because they're sealed off pretty good as well as other newer model trucks anyway. But it is a do at your own risk thing for that 1/100 someone screws something up that they should've covered or used the wrong products.

 

The difference is pressure.

Spray and splash are one thing into the compartment. Direct pressurized water aimed at a component that has a seal on it which is designed for spray or splash is a bad thing... especially electronically.

Steam is water. I'd be ultra-careful guys... it just takes one droplet of water in the wrong spot to cause thousands in damage.

 

True, but I don't sit there drilling into it, tring to remove a layer of paint LOL. I use it on my atv also, and the atv has alot of electronics and digital stuff on it.

 

Here's two more data points for you guys who still believe you can use a pressure washer under the hood.

Point #1: My dealer - whom I've really grown to trust over the past ten years - no longer allows his doll up guys to pressure / steam wash under the hood. Too many (expensive) problems were being caused.

Point #2: Two very competent Ford dealer technician friends of mine have another watch out. According to them, even if you actually get away with a pressure wash and the truck still runs, you're not out of the woods. They claim to be seeing way too many instances of electrical problems - mostly corroded connections - down the road a bit after folks have hosed their engines. As you might guess, these problems can be time consuming (translation: expensive) to trace and fix.

So, how lucky do you guys feel now? I now use to theories. First, I keep the darn hood shut except for maintenance. Second, when I do get the urge to clean under there, I use the RockPick method.