Detailed My Engine Bay Today

My engine bay has always been relatively clean, but it didn't sparkle. Although I wanted to clean it further, I was always worried about getting the engine bay wet, so I was hesitant to do anything more than just wipe it down.

Recently, however, on two separate occasions, I was caught in massive rainstorms. One was so bad that I had to drive through about 4" of standing water just to make it home. The 348 ran like a champ through both storms, with no ill effects. Having survived all that water, I figured a little engine washing couldn't hurt.

I used the info from this thread http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=239096 as a guide. Before starting, I covered all the electrical connections that I could reach with aluminum foil. I used my standard garden hose as the water source, and I used P21S Total Auto Wash as the cleaning agent. After I was done, I did a final rinse with distilled water to avoid water spots. When I was done rinsing, I used an electric leaf blower to dry it out, and especially to blow out any standing water caught in the nooks and crannies.

One of the advantages of having a parking lift is that you can get to the underside. So I cleaned that, too, although if I'm honest, I could have spent more time under there.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the results. It really didn't take long at all, but to my eye, it looks a lot better.

- Eric
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Looks beautiful Eric! Nice job!

 

Ready for Pebble Beach! Lookin good!


_J

 

BEAUTIFUL JOB!!! Hey - I'm free this afternoon in case you might want to do another

Jedi

 

WOW!! Superb job! For example, your hard plastic air intake hoses actually look better than new. Can I convince you to come to mine?

 

Awesome mate! Very tidy!!

 

Very nice. An inspiration to us all. I have been putting this off far too long. Leaf blower is a good tip. Distilled water final rinse interesting one too. Maybe use an ionizing filter sprayer.

 

Excellent job! looks VERY nice

 

WOW....and I thought my engine compartment looked good! I have a small elec blower sold for motorcycles that works excellent as well. Thanks for setting the new "standard"....

 

Nice job, It looks great.....

 

Looks great!

 

Looks great, you've inspired me to do mine next week. Will be following this http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/maserati/168393-proper-engine-cleaning-maserati-quattroporte.html

 

Show off...


_J

 

Very nice---No shiny silicone spray that so many guys use, just very clean looking--I love it!!!

 

Looks great!! Excellent work, I always enjoy this type of cleaning.

Huh? take a closer look at the photo's Robbie, there is a well use amount of silicone spray in there. Tastefully done.

 

I like your work...

I use a Griot's product called undercarriage spray to "shine up" the hoses and other areas without using a gloss finish of a silicone product. That spray gives just enough to freshen up the compartment without over doing it. I spray on the undercarriage spray and blow the excess off to offer a nice satin look. Works really well and easy to apply.

Here is the link to the product.

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/car+care/wheels+%26+tires/wheel+tire+cleaners/undercarriage+spray%2C+35+ounces.do

 

Thanks for all the favorable comments. I took the car out this morning to our local informal car gathering, and got a lot of compliments.

I had read about the Griot's Undercarriage Spray somewhere on Fchat, and I did use that after the cleaning. I agree -- it provides a nice clean satin look, no shine. Today, I also wiped down the hoses with 303 Aerospace Protectant to blacken them up a bit.

- Eric

 

engine looks amazing!! brand new! awesome job. I would have loved to see a before and after shot!

how many miles on engine?