I used to have a 1997 XLT and was not able to clean the engine cause the water would pool on the #7 and 8 spark plugs and were a mission to not only remove the water but also remove the plugs cause the engine would misfire due to the water. Now I have an 08 FX4 and would like to clean the motor cause it's filthy and don't wantthe same thing to happen again. Anyone have any tips?

 

I have been cleaning my F150, Mustangs, Range Rovers, and other engines with Adam's degreaser, water hose, soft boar's hair brush, and dried with a blower or air gun.

If you want to add a little shine, In&Out spray is great.

Just warm your engine about half way and rinse, then go generous with your degreaser. Let it sit for about 10min and lightly with the hose spray everything off and then dry.

I think most of the people that mess their engines up are either using pressure washers or spraying directly into different areas. I do a very light mist and take my time.

 

Thanks that was really helpful gonna try the blower and air gun. Never thought about it. Thanks again

 

High pressure water is the kiss of death with recent Ford motors - as much as I hate to admit it. If you do a little searching here, you'll find pleanty of us who found out the hard way. Personally, I've geven up on keeping mine squeeky clean. One trick I do recommend though is using a simple hand punp garden sprayer to rinse. Then a good leaf blower or compressed air gun to get rid of excess water.

Of course I should add that several folks will tell you that they've blasted away and never had any problems - yet.

 

The problems are from getting water into the cops and all the electrical connectors.

 

Compressed air, squirt bottle. Never needed a degreaser since these engines generally don't leak anything.



They do tend to get dirty tho, when neglected -

 

Heres my exact method outlined in a video I made since I was asked this question a lot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdHX_wPUKZI

 

Man, what kind of cleaner are you using? You turned a red truck white. Tell me nobody else noticed that one.

 

on my 08 limited, i spray some simple green 1st. let it sit for a few, then give a little scrub here and their. then rinse it with like a mist type hose nozzle. when its time to dry, i either use a leaf blower but now i been using the blower end of my shop vac. dont forget to cover your air filter before anything if its aftermarket.

 

No I didn't. The first truck is a white 98 4x4 w 5.4L. The second truck is a red 98 2wd w/4.2L. Being that your on a Ford forum, seems like you should at least know the difference

 

My approach is similar.

I spray it down with Meg's APC+ and let soak (but don't let it dry)
Hose it down with low pressure water
Leaf blower it to dry and knock all the pockets of water out
Spray it down with Meg's Hyperdressing
Dab the excess HD with Microfiber as needed
Start the motor and let it's heat and air finish it off
(note: I've never found a need for a brush yet personaly)

Personaly I've found nothing that compared to Hyperdressing in keeping the engine clean. Every single other product I have tried has attracted much more dust. I'm sure there is something out there that's as good. But I sure haven't seen it.

Here's on example of a friend's farm truck






.

 

@jbrew.....As a technical writer to the forum, I would suspect you would grant a little more respect to the F150OL elders here. I believe that TS has several years of tenure on you here. While your post count is certainly high, please be aware that TS is a very highly respected and knowledgable detailer who offers not only his time but knowledge to the many vistors here. Not taking sides, just saying....lets ease up on the retoric kidding or not.

As a side bar, if you're gonna post a before shot in the C&D section, show an an after shot on the same truck. It makes more sense to those that are tracking.

RollingRock

 

Respect, I'm not following. As a member of this forum, I suggest you go over the post. I never insinuated that the photo's that I stuck in this thread were of the same vehicle. That was assumed by another and was incorrect. He wasn't kidding, there was know "jk" or "lol" after his comment.

I don't appreciate your comment and suggest that you mind your own business, specially when you don't know what your talking about.

 

Correct, he was joking but you took a stab at him none the less, so you're kind of talking out of both sides of your keyboard now.

Now I can see why you are so popular here.

 

I disagree, I never once got the impression that he was joking. Your clearly not seeing at all.