Under Hood Detail

[DC Larson]

Hello,

I would like to detail under the hood(engine, hoses, wires, fenderwells, etc) to get it the way it came from a dealership. Everything nice, shiney and glossy.

Any ideas on products and methods? My Merc isn't too bad it's my F150 that really needs it.

Thanks,

 

[xploda01]

gunk engine cleaner and some armoral, and a lot of elbow grease.

 

[Redrig]

i agree with xploda01 its takes lots a time. i havent done my x yet but with my mustang i used simple green it worked pretty good. and as far as armoral it turned my hoses a little greenish color so just try a little spot first.

 

[FortKnoxX]

quarter car wash

go to your local quarter car wash and soak the ingine compartment with the tire/engine cleaner, its usually green, then switch to the high pressure rinse and after it dries go over the black stuff with black magic

 

[Stephen]

Yikes guys!

Make sure you bag off all of the electrical connections and intake areas before you go spraying around in there...

I always get the engines detailed in my cars once a year, nothing makes a car stand out more than a like new engine bay. Just make sure you take the neccisary precautions first.

 

[99exEB1]

Look on the SportTrac site, there is an awesome article explaining how to do it properly. If you cannot find it I will try looking later in the day, and post back.

 

[kkreit01]

Originally posted by Stephen
Yikes guys!

Make sure you bag off all of the electrical connections and intake areas before you go spraying around in there...

Yeah! what he said. I would not hose it off. I made this mistake once. The next thing you know, my wipers are turning on by themselves (spooky), and the windows wouldn't roll down....

 

[DC Larson]

Hey!

Thanks a lot guys, I will do all of the above. I forgot about Simple Green.

Yup, nothin like a nice looking exterior and interior detail, then when you open the hood it's icing on the cake!

Thanks again. Supposed to be dry and sunny finally this weekend. Altho spring skiing might be on my mind.

Up at Big Sky when Spring hits (FRIDAY!) there are usually girls skiing in bikini's! Gotta love it!

 

[Stephen]

You can hose the engine off, even pressure wash it, but be careful to bag off all the sensitive areas.

 

[DC Larson]

Hopefully not sounding stupid.....what are the sensitive areas? I used to be carefull of the distributor and points..... but what these days? Where is the Sportrac site?

Thanks

 

[Stephen]

You'll probably want to remove the airbox and mask and plastic off the end of the tube, you'll want to plastic off the power distribution box and the battery, all visible senors, the fluid resevoirs and dipsticks.

Make sure that you dont concetrate your spray in one area, use a degreaser and let it do the work rather than the hose or the pressure washer. If something doesn't come off, hit it with the degreaser again, try agitating with a brush, letting it sit etc then rinse again.

I don't mess with it myself, the hand carwash/detail shop that I use charges about $70, they do a goos job and I dont mess with it. I enjoy the exterior and interior detailing, but the engine is messy and complicated...

 

[98BlackXSport]

I just use Gunk Engine degreaser if my engine is really bad. I spray it on and let it sit for about 30 mins. Wash it off and then use Armerol All Purpose cleaner to finish it off. It leaves it clean with a subtle shine. I have never covered any components while washing any of my engines. I just use a power washer and when near things like the fuse box and such I just keep the nozzle further away so that it get more of a mist than a blast. I find a power washer is better than an ordinary hose for this reason. I hose tends to flood. Also, when I am done rinsing, I blow off the engine with an air hose. I then start the engine and go for a drive to the store in order to dry the engine as much as possible. Water in most components isn't too bad unless it stays wet for a period of time. I also clean the engine at least every second time I wash the exterior...everytime in the summer.

 

[FortKnoxX]

cant go wrong with the quarter car wash

Ive got 170,000 on my explorer, Ive been washing the engine compartment with the pressure washer for a long time and Ive never had any problems. The fusible links/relays/fuses are sealed in the factory cases anyways, just dont be stupid and squirt inside the intake. My whole engine has actually been submersed in a river and I had no problems, except for that swampy smell in the cab!

 

[DarkFox1]

I've been chewing on this for a long time, I think I've posted about it before.. I dont see how its possible to even do this.. as many sensors as a car has these days it is impossible to mask them all off.. ahlf of them I can't even get to.. and I'm not risking a hefty repair bill if some stupid sensor gets alittle water on it.

just my .02 I think its a better idea to have it done.. or better yuet.. not do it at all

 

[VairKing]

Most of your sensors are somewhat waterproof, a little spalsh of water here and there isnt going to hurt anything...Everybody is just saying that you dont want to flood your electronics, such as the distributer block and stuff like that. Also, you will want to hose off your engine when it is cold, because if its hot, the cooler water could crack the block or a manifold or something like this.

Whenever I hose out an engine compartment, I always leave the engine running. I have seen way too many people at the carwash hose out their engine and get something wet they are not supposed to, hop back in, and the thing wont start. By leaving it running, if you do happen to get something a little wet, the engine might just hesitate a little bit, but should then catch itself, and keep running...No worries

 

[sunbum]

I'll 2nd that... keep the vehicle running if doing it at a car wash.

Sounds like it's just money well spent to have it done once a year by a shop, unless you're really junking it up in there more often... then it could get expensive, in which case doing it yourself with simple green/gunk would be better...

Additionally, the car washes (at least in this area) have signs saying "NO OPEN HOODS/DEGREASERS/"etc.)

I guess an extremist would get some gunk, a supersoaker and park on the neighbor's lawn (who lets his pets $#|+ on your lawn) and clean it there for paybacks.

Here's to cleaner engines, no matter what your process.

 

[Stephen]

Originally posted by DarkFox1
I've been chewing on this for a long time, I think I've posted about it before.. I dont see how its possible to even do this.. as many sensors as a car has these days it is impossible to mask them all off.. ahlf of them I can't even get to.. and I'm not risking a hefty repair bill if some stupid sensor gets alittle water on it.

just my .02 I think its a better idea to have it done.. or better yuet.. not do it at all

Right, thats why I reccomended to mask off visible sensors, and not worry about the rest.

 

[Bill Kemp]

In the days of distributers and air cleaners that would leak into the carb. masking & bagging were necessary.
As now an open element air cleaner should be bagged.
Drive to the car wash. Turn OFF the engin. Spray on the cleaner let it set for the recomended time and spray it off. Dont spray into the alt. or fuse box or coil pack. Spraying on them wont hurt. Start the engine and let it set for 5 min. or so to dry and drive home and wipe it down. You arnt going to hurt anything by getting it wet under the hood. You are going to make a mess by leaving the engine run and have the fan blow the spray cleaner around.
Dont worry.....be happy.

 

[FortKnoxX]

yeah

 

[99exEB1]

Sport Trac site is here . I can't link it for some reason so I'll walk you through the navigation:
1. Go to Memebers on the left navi-bar
2. Go to projects
3. Then click maintenance
4. If you did this correctly it should be in there.

Lemme know if you got it.