How do you guys go about hosing down your engine bay. I would figure there would be some stuff to watch out for with all the electronics and what not. You guys have a good way of doing it? Mine looks horrible from being on the farm

 

What I worry about is the computer and the cold air filter on my own vehicle.
I cover them with plastic grocery bags myself.
Some people worry about more.
Everyone has thier own way of doing things of course.

My procedure is:

Heavily spray down engine bay with Meg's APC+ dilluted 4:1
Let soak for a min or so
Hose down with high volume water (not high pressure)
Blow mostly dry with leaf blower
Run motor till nearly completely dry
Spray liberaly with Meg's HyperDressing dilluted 4:1
Mop up excess as best I can with Microfiber towel

Here is an example of a hard worked farm truck I detailed last fall
Engine hadn't been washed in over a year

Before


After


The rest of the vehicle can be found Here.


Hope this helps


.

 

The only thing I would watch out for is a cold air intake(if you have one), altenator, and if you can avoid any electrical connections(I know everything is wired in someway or another). You may have to get in there with a brush or a scrub pad of some sort to remove any heavy grime.

 

thanks man, mine about looks like the first pic
as soon as i place my next order with ads my apc+ will be here as well, i have a huge cart right now that i just need to get the money together for

 

This is great but Many have starting/drivebility issues after washing their engines.

Bob

 

becarful of the PLUGS AND COPS my cop hold down screws rusted out and broke after me washing the engine, just fyi and i think a miss started after a washin also. 2002 f150 5.4

 

ill be sure to take a leaf blower or air compressor to everything to get the water out before i start it and what not
i may even try to cover those up

 

Is that Hyper Dressing on the underside of the hood?

 

Be really careful under the hood. For every person that tells you they run down to the local "magic wand" car wash and blast away with no problems, you'll find one (like me) who refuses to play under the hood anymore. I used to, until I inadvertently caused all sorts of problems (even being careful and covering stuff) on my 2002. In fact, I politely refuse to do detailing work under the hood for customers for the very same reason. The best trick? Don't use a hose or anything that delivers either high pressure or high volume water.

 

If you are going to wash the engine, you should do it with the engine running. Then close the hood and leave it running to dry out thoroughly.

 

No. Underhood was just APC+, soft brush, water, towel dry.

 

I read, a long time ago, on one of these Ford forums about using a regular old can of scrubbing bubbles on the motor...

I first cover those critical electrical parts(battery, computer wires and such), as mentioned in previous posts, and then spray a whole can of the scrubbing bubbles onto the motor. After I let it sit for a bit, I get the garden hose and just let the stream of water(no pressure) rinse off the dirt and grime. As for the covered areas, I go over them carefully with just soap and water....very carefully. I also tend to dress the plastic areas with a little armor all...although I don't like that it eventually collects dust. :o

When I'm done, it's not necessarily showroom clean, but it's good enough for me.

Just my .02

 

I was always taught to leave the motor running when I was washing it... making sure the engine was warmed up. Then spray some engine degreaser on her, let it work in, then spray it down and throw some dressing of your choice on parts.