washing the engine bay

I know there are varying opinions on this, but it seems reasonable to do.... after all, what happens if you drive the car in the rain; bound to get some water up there.
I bet it looks great now!


What I'd like to know is what others do on the black air boxes and side engine shrouds. I usually wet-wipe them down but then they always look either streaked or dull. The air boxes looked painted.... am I suppose to wax these too??? Those side engine shrouds are plastic.... can't imagine just zapping them with Armor-All!
At this time I'd like to stick with the stock ones and not change them out for CF boxes.

 

That seems a reasonable way of doing things. Before I fitted the rear challange grill the engine bay never attracted much dirt, but now it fills with dust and looks a right mess in no time.

 

Agreed... driving in the rain gets _some_ water in the engine compartment and washing your car's exterior also gets _some_ water in the engine compartment... but I'd never aim a hose at my car's engine and pull the trigger.

I'm not sure if that's how q8fly rinses the engine off, but it would seem you're flirting with disaster to aim a high-powered stream of water at the engine and electronics.

I, too, love to have my F-Car's engine clean. It is under glass after all. I typically use a damp rag with diluted Simple Green.

Frank

 

I have found if I can see it, I can access it. As a result, and admittadly it takes more time, I use a "damp cloth" which is all it takes to clean the motor (when done frequently) and never soak anything. My motor, with a (F-430) challenge grill remains very clean and I don't have to guess about what may or may not be happening to the texture or longevity of any part. Best

 

High pressured? Are you using a pressure washer? I do not think a garden hose set on shower or flat (using the multiple setting head style) would be anything to worry about and would do the job.

 

No, I wasn't suggesting anyone use a pressure washer on their engine and certainly not that I would. I won't use a garden hose on any setting on my engine. I'll do everything by hand with damp rags...

Frank

 

+++++1 !!!!! I have driven my car in the rain plenty of times and it has never required more than a wipe down with a damp micro-fiber to clean.
Garden hose??!! Never. Learned that lesson as a youngster with my Honda and the distributor cap.

Robert

 

On all the F-Cars that I deal with, typically a MF towel soaked in some type of cleaning solution is really all that is necessary. I use Optimum No Rise solution as my weapon of choice, it frees up the dirt and light grease while leaving a streak free finish. Just wipe everything down with the wet towel, then go back over with the dry to get rid of any streaks.

Also the easiest thing to use to get rid of any streaking on the plastic side shrouds is glass cleaner. Once you get them clean just hit it with a little glass cleaner to get rid of any streaks or light dust.

 

When cleaning engines, I always err on the safe side. After washing a 360/430, there's usually some water splattered around the engine bay that came in from the air vents on the the engine cover. I just take a MF towel and wipe it all down. It's all dust in there, so you don't really need any cleaners. Plus, if you use a cleaners/degreasers on the red crinkle paint, depending on how strong it is, you could dull the finish.

However, I do have one client with a CS that likes me to wash the engine bay. I've told him of the possible problems that could arise and he insists that it's fine. I use my pressure washer and hold it about 4-6 feet away from the engine bay. At that point, the pressure is very light. I lightly agitate everything with a soft brush, and then rinse. And with DI water, there's no problems with water spots. I've done this 7 times so far, and never had a problem. Plus the engine bay looks phenomenal! Much better than being wiped down by hand.

Frank C - I love your avatar!