Cleaning the Engine compartment?
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Joined: Dec 2002
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From: Los Angeles
Cleaning the Engine compartment?
I was wondering what the best way to clean under the hood was. I heard that steam cleaning and chemicals are hard on the gaskets and I'm better off using a mild detergent and water. And since I'm running water under the hood what should I look out for?...What should I cover? I have a 99 F-150 that I just did a run down into Baja with
and its filthy...dust everywhere...
KMD
www.lasdracing.org
and its filthy...dust everywhere...KMD
www.lasdracing.org
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 7,861
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From: Week-Philly, Weekend-Dirty Souf Jerz
i wash my engine bay every month during show season. the more you keep up with it, the easier it is to clean, but the 1st time i did it was after 20K miles, and it looked better than new.
what i do is put a bag on the alternator, and my AF1 filter. Then i get the hose with a spray nozzle, and rinse everything down pretty good. I get some simple green, and dilute it 75% water, and 25% simple green. If you go full strength, when it dries, your hoses will turn white, but if you dilute it to this, it works perfect. Not too strong, and not too weak. I spray everything down (advoid the paint, or if you do get it on the paint, just rinse if off immediately) and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then i get the hose and rinse everything off really well. After that, i get the leaf blower to dry everything, and it works great to blow the water out of all the nooks and crannies. After i'm done that, i take the bags off and let the engine run for a few minutes. After that, i get some Vinylex and spray all the plastic stuff down, and give it a quick wipe down. On area's like wires and stuff, you don't really have to worry about wiping all the excess vinylex off, cuz its waterbased and the extra will evaporate and leave a nice low gloss shine. also since its waterbased, and not oil based, it wont' attract dirt as much, and will be easier to clean next time, and if your engine compartment isn't completely dry, the vinylex will mix with the water some, and not float on the top like tireshines or other oil based stuff
works great for me
what i do is put a bag on the alternator, and my AF1 filter. Then i get the hose with a spray nozzle, and rinse everything down pretty good. I get some simple green, and dilute it 75% water, and 25% simple green. If you go full strength, when it dries, your hoses will turn white, but if you dilute it to this, it works perfect. Not too strong, and not too weak. I spray everything down (advoid the paint, or if you do get it on the paint, just rinse if off immediately) and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then i get the hose and rinse everything off really well. After that, i get the leaf blower to dry everything, and it works great to blow the water out of all the nooks and crannies. After i'm done that, i take the bags off and let the engine run for a few minutes. After that, i get some Vinylex and spray all the plastic stuff down, and give it a quick wipe down. On area's like wires and stuff, you don't really have to worry about wiping all the excess vinylex off, cuz its waterbased and the extra will evaporate and leave a nice low gloss shine. also since its waterbased, and not oil based, it wont' attract dirt as much, and will be easier to clean next time, and if your engine compartment isn't completely dry, the vinylex will mix with the water some, and not float on the top like tireshines or other oil based stuff
works great for me
so what did daveman say about me? i think i missed that one 
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