its been a long, snowy, muddy, salty winter. my engine bay is dirty...to say the least. i know some people are crazy about cleaning the engine bay, and think nothing but bad comes from it while others have no problems. a big concern is electrical things under the hood? well i have a 94, so id bet i have a lot less electrical things, right? whatd be the best way to clean?

 

It depends on how **** you are about cleaning your engine bay. I have a commercial grade steam cleaner and use that for the most part, but if you don't have access to one

Run the truck to warm up the engine a little bit to promote drying.

I'd start by cleaning underside the hood and inner fenders/wheel wells. First, put some plastic over the engine bay and hose off the underside to loosen up the dirt. Then using a brush will scrub that area using either Dawn solution and/or spray cleaner. I finish it by waxing the underside of the hood.

For the bay itself, I wrap electrical connections with aluminum foil (with some paper towel under the foil), spray the area with a cleaner (how heavy a cleaner depends on how dirty the bay is) and initially use a hose (low pressure) to rinse off the area. Then if you have some stubborn areas, use a heavier cleaner and a parts brush to clean that followed by a low pressure rinse.

After it dries, wax the painted surfaces and use some 303 Protectant/Armor All to go over the plastic and rubber stuff. Finish with some CRC Corrosion Protectant or similar product over bare metal areas.

 

The stuff I use on very dirty greasy engines is a product called Grime Reaper. Online detailing stores sell it. I have not found ANY product that can cut through grease and grime like this stuff.

 

Here's a few more threads covering this subject.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/se...archid=3520161