Hey guys, i was wondering what the best way to clean under the hood after going through mud pits and that kind of stuff? I know that you can get it steam cleaned at the dealership but i dont know how much that costs? Thanks for the advice.

 

HI!... For the past 8 years I use a power washer and some citrus engine degreaser. Just make sure to cover your alternator and CAI with plastic bags and elastics. The best way to dry is with compressed air or the very best is with a gas powered leaf blower. I use the leaf blower after washing the engine or the truck it'self. Prevents water spots.

 

alright thanks for the info. I may try that. have you heard of anybody getting their truck steam cleaned? i was wondering if that would be a good way to go.

 

A VERY common problem with washing your engine, is getting water into cricital components. With the most common being the COP's. They are notorious for getting cracks, and leaking water around the boots. You're really flirting with disaster if you wet your engine. Trust me.

 

Hi.

Yup. Unless you are very careful & know what not to spray, wetting your engine can result in you wetting yourself afterwards.

Do some searching here. Lots of horror stories...

Cheers
Bubba

 

You wanna read a horror store about washing your motor - click under my name and go to my very first posts. I joined this site way back when , after washing my motor and totally F'ed it up - I didn't even have a battery in the damn thing when I washed it. I thoroughly dried it and blew out all connectors/ wiring with compressed air before putting the battery back in. I had three sets of misfire codes , mostly , multiple and random codes. Quite a few people here helped me fix it - mannn was that a pain in a$$..

Luckely I found a new(never used 2000 motor) crown vic crate motor from the the Romeo plant that I striped the injectors COPs and wiring harness from..

 

HI!... I'm just having a hard time believing some of you guys are having nightmare stroies when washing your engines. I've been doing mine about 2-3 times a month for 8 years now and never had a problem with water getting into anything. I guess I just do a better job than others sealing my engine components up.

 

just use a pressure washer and pull the plug boots out after wards and blow out any water that accumulates around the plugs.

 

Most auto mfgrs's engines can get wet without causing problems. But what most people don't realize is that you can screw your engine up without covering certain parts of it up. You also aren't on your original 10 yr old set of cop's.

 

Yeah, but who in the world wants to do all that crap?

 

Yeah , I think my major mistake was not pulling the COPS off and cleaning/drying the insides of the boots - plus back then I didn't have dielectric grease on anything. I blew out the plug chambers which were all full of water, but that's as far as I went. I admitt now that wasn't to smart and learned allot since that time, I didn't have much choice, I had to lol..

BTW - The COP set I had were the originals at that time - all green labels.. I was at 165,000 miles back then , I @ 206,000 now - the motor stay's clean now ..

Old COP's and Old injectors after I washed it -



The new Ford COP's I plucked from a crown vic motor , the COPs were new, but they were bolted onto the crate motor, so the guy couldn't sell them as new , I got them for $65. Look!!, they even came with new bolts lol..



New COP's and the upgraded Type 3 injectors(from the crown vic motor as well) after install , I also had to upgrade the wiring harness plugs to except the injectors. The truck ran better than it did new after that -

 

I agree - do not power wash your engine. Use a can of spray on engine cleaner, and use a regular garden hose will to wash it off. I also screwed up a COP by power washing my engine.

 

I've washed the engines of three F150's (98, 99, & 01) hundreds of times all with the 5.4L and NEVER had a problem.

I used a garden hose with low pressure. Basically let the water pour over the engine. COP's got wet but avoided air intake, battery, and relay box.

Afterwards I'd drive them to dry everything out.