Hey yall! My 06 is a beautiful truck. She is dirty where it counts though. HOT stuff right?
So I need to wash my engine bay. I have oil on the turbo boots, and dust everywhere (could be worse, could be white rez! lol). So Any sugestions on how to clean it?
im probably going to do the same tomrrow so i can see where the damn oil leak is coming from. Im going to use purple power in a bug sprayer, let it sit a couple minutes, and pressure wash.
i take mine to the car wash, leave the engine running and soak it with degreaser, let it sit for a few minutes and wash it off, i keep the wand moving, i dont hold it in one spot very long.
Do not leave the engine running. Anybody knows not to spray water on a hot engine. Here is the best way to do it, and the results prove themselves:
1) Let engine cool to below 130° ECT.
2) Lightly spray engine off with water.
3) SOAK it with Purple Power (not Simple Green) and scrub everything down.
4) Soak again with Purple Power
5) Let sit for a few minutes and then rinse off.
6) Dry off engine with a towel.
7) SOAK it with Meguiar's Tire Foam (not Shine).
8) Let soak for a few minutes, then wipe off excess.
Remember, once it its clean its real easy to keep it that way. Not so easy to clean up again after its been neglected. Keeping the engine and under carriage clean is just as (if not more) important than keeping the body and interior sparkling. Also, its never a good idea to get too carried away with high pressure water and ANY ELECTRICAL COMPONENT!
Check your Diesel Supplement to the Owners Manual. Here is what is posted for 2004:
Engines are more efficient when they are clean because grease and dirt
Buildup keeps the engine warmer than normal.
When washing:
Take care when using a power washer to clean the engine - 1000 psi maximum! The high-pressure fluid could penetrate the sealed parts and cause damage.
Never apply anything to any exposed belts in the engine compartment, including the belt dressing.
Do not spray a hot engine with cold water to avoid cracking the engine block or other engine components.
Spray Motorcraft Engine Shampoo and Degreaser (ZC-20) on all parts that require cleaning and pressure rinse clean.
Never wash or rinse the engine while it is running; water in the running engine may cause internal damage.
Cover the highlighted areas to prevent water damage when cleaning the engine.
Cover the batteries, air filter assembly and fusebox, according to the pictures.
You really want to protect your PCM (to the right of your drivers side battery - it should already have a plastic cover protecting it, but I would cover it up some more w/ plastic). Also, cover both batteries, the Fuel Injection Control Module "FICM" (silver box at the back of the engine under the degas bottle), the glow plug control module "GPCM" (under alternator), and the relay box (drivers side - back corner of engine area). I also cover my alternator as good as possible and also the starter.
SickStroke6.0 - That looks great! I'm just curious about how often you clean it like that, and do you cover any/all of the items bismic pointed out? They are all things I would have probably thought of covering except maybe the batteries and starter.
I have been thinking this week that I need to clean under my hood. Now I don't have to ask this same question. Thanks guys!
I haven't ever covered anything while cleaning, but I am very aware of the areas I'm spraying. I hardly spray any water near the major electrical components. I also do not use a pressure washer, as that just seems a little dangerous IMO. :thumb:
I have won a few car shows with my engine looking like that! :hehe:
I have a 2500 psi honda gas pressure washer with a long gun...and I also bought a gun handle with quick connect tips right on the gun nose. Kinda like a snub nose revolver. I can get into tight places with it. Just watch where its pointing.
The pressure washer rating of 1000 psi in the manual is if you're putting the tip right on an electrical connection or something. If you hold my pressure washer a foot away from the engine parts...there's virtually no pressure on the spray...because its in the atmosphere. Which is why you can spray your hand from a foot away and its not going to inject you like it would right at the tip. So just watch where the tip is...and dont get too darn close with it.
I used purple power once and didn't like it. It stained the hoses on a vehicle I had and made them look chalky and bleached white. I've always used 100% strength simple green with good luck. I also inject it thru the pressure washer with a foaming tip and makes a great soak penetrant degreaser. I just foam everything up and leave it for a while.
I've had the exact opposite effect. I sprayed my intake elbow one time with simple green and it left a white residue. :dunno: Purple Power also seems to be about twice as strong.
Sure buddy, just bring it on down. :hehe: I have guys being me there trucks all the time. My yard had about six trucks in it the day before prom. :hehe:
I like Greased Lightning also, seems to work better than Purple Power. It also works great for getting stains out of clothes!
To make the engine shine I use Stoner brand Trim Shine, which is a little hard to find but it is by far the best product I have used to shine up black plastic. It also dries grease free so it won't come off on you and it stays looking good for a really long time. Also water resistant.
I use Black Magic engine degreaser and shine.I use it on all my cars and the engine compartments come out spotless and it leaves behind an armor-all shine.Than I go over it with tire foam.Great stuff....I use it on th 6.0 every spring after the winter and it cleans out all the dirt,grease and salt deposits from the roads....Brought it in for a repair and the tech said it was the cleanest 6.0 engine he had ever seen,lol......
I covered the fusebox, powerstearing, and top of the alt with bags (nothing super water tight, just covered so mass amouns of water didnt get in there. Hit everything with Purple power, let it soak for about 5 min. Went in realized my wife was still in the shower so did purple power again and let it soak for about 20 minutes. Rinsed it off and then hit it with tire foam. Could use some more tire foam. but looks 90000X better!
Time for the CCV mod and new turbo boots though. This oil sucks! :thumb:
I will have to take a picture of mine tomorrow after using purple power and then armour all after earlier today. We should start a contest for cleanest engine bay or make it a rig of the month kind of thing!
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