Engine Bay cleaning tips

Topic: Engine Bay cleaning tips (Read 8042 times) previous topic - next topic

Engine Bay cleaning tips

Reply #15 – January 05, 2006, 12:20:18 AM

Big difference. I cleaned mine by adding paint and go-fast parts.
When I bought the car...

After a good painting and cleaning...

Now...

Engine Bay cleaning tips

Reply #16 – January 05, 2006, 12:27:35 AM

Wow you guys still have AC lines!!! Thats what those are supposted to look like.

Mine didn't have ac lines or the smog pump when I go the car. So I have less to clean when and if I ever do mine.

Engine Bay cleaning tips

Reply #17 – January 05, 2006, 09:10:19 AM

neither of my cars have those thingies

cant wait to get my 5.0 in on this thread

Engine Bay cleaning tips

Reply #18 – January 05, 2006, 12:34:34 PM

Very nice engine pics. Mine is slowly improving. I have been doing alot of sandblasting and painting parts in there. Hoping to have a worthy engine bay to show this year.

Engine Bay cleaning tips

Reply #19 – January 05, 2006, 01:45:44 PM

So anyone care to share the procedure they used?

Engine Bay cleaning tips

Reply #20 – January 05, 2006, 02:15:33 PM

Quote from: jkirchman

So anyone care to share the procedure they used?

Degreaser and a good pressure hose. The big purple bottle of degreaser by Castrol works wonders. Actually the first time I cleaned it really good was for Cat Jam '04. I hosed the thing so good that I was stuck in the car wash in OH for 3 1/2 hours waiting for my car to be able to start.:brick:

To make everything 'white', I basically disassembled everything I could under the hood, covered the motor and body panels with trash bags and sprayed white paint. I think it was plasti-kote rust proof paint. For the various metal AC hoses and pullies, I just painted them with a brush with high temp engine paint.

All has held up great. All I really need to do to freshen it up is use soap and water to get rid of any dirt from driving.

Its still nowhere near thunderjet302's though.

Too bad the first pic doesn't show the strut towers. There were service records written in permanent marker all over them.

Engine Bay cleaning tips

Reply #21 – January 05, 2006, 05:40:00 PM

i havnt done any painting under the hood of my TC yet, but i did a massive degreasing

thats actually before any detailing. Since that pic, things have been neatened up further, so i need to degrease and detail it once again. Since ill be out of work for a while, itll be the perfect time to do so.

Engine Bay cleaning tips

Reply #22 – January 05, 2006, 06:14:29 PM

Well I'll see how helpful I can be. First a list of things you'll need to replicate what I did to my engine bay.
1. 1-2 cans of Duplicolor spray paint that matches the body of your car.
2. A can of each of the following Duplicolor paints: Ford blue engine spray paint (the lighter shade not the darker "corporate blue"), 1,500* manifold paint (silver), and 1,500* clear coat for the upper intake manifold.
3. A can of each of the following Ace Rust Tough enamels: silver metalic and semi gloss black.
4. A old glass bowl to poor paint into.
5. An assortment of good paint brushes in the following sizes: 1/4", 1/2", 3/4" and 1".
6. New battery cables (+ and -), battery tray.
7. New spark plug wires (which ever brand you prefer. I used Ford Racing 9mm wires), new spark plug wire looms (junk yard or 50resto has some), distributer boot, and a ignition coil cover.
8. (optional) New valve covers of your choice.
9. Meguires Gold Class tire gel (to shine rubber items under the hood).
10. A Scotch Brite pad (to scuff up the fenders prior to painting), and gaskets for the upper to lower intake, and exhaust manifolds/headers and valve covers.
11. WD-40 or something stronger to degrease your engine and bay.
12. New decals to replace old ones under your hood (most are avaliable from 50resto).
13. Good masking tape

Now lets get started. First thing to do is to use the degreaser of your choice to degrease the engine and bay. I used WD-40 sprayed on and then wipped off the bay because mine wasn't that dirty. After the bay and engine are clean and free of dirt and grease you can begine the detail process.

First it's better to detail the engine and work your way out. Remove the upper intake and mask the opening on the lower. At this time you can also take the valve covers off as well as the exhaust manifolds/headers. Separate the throttle body and egr spacer from the upper intake and mask off the openings for the egr spacer and upper to lower intake. Also remove as much of the vacspoogee plumbing from the upper as possible. Lightly scuff the upper with the scotch bright pad. After you have done that you can paint it with the Ford blue engine paint. Try to do it in 3-4 light coats instead of one thick coat. Also at this time if you are reusing you stock valve covers scuff and paint them too. The exhaust manifold/headers can be painted with the silver 1,500* paint at this time as well. When all of these items are dry you can give them 2 coats of 1,500* clear coat to protect them.

Now on tho the rest of the engine still in the car. First begin by removing the spark plug wires from the engine you'll be replacing these anyway. DON'T FORGET WHAT YOUR FIRERING ORDER IS! Now open up that can of Ace silver enamle and paint the lower intake manifold. It's not necessary to paint every square inch of it only the areas that are visible when to hood is opened. At this time you can also use the silver paint to paint the alterantor, smog pump, a/c compressor, and power steering pump bracket. These items can be painted while they are in the car if you want to do that. That's why I used a brush on paint for the lower and accesories. After they have dried you can paint the various brackets, the alternator "fan", and the a/c compressor clutch with the Ace semi gloss black. To paint the heads (the only part of the engine that you can really see) bring out the Ford blue engine paint again. Mask off the exhaust ports before begining as well. Now get that galss bowl you have and spray the engine paint into it untill you have a nice size puddle. Now you are going to paint the heads using one of the small brushes by dipping it into the paint you sprayed into the bowl and brushing it on the heads. It should require 3-4 coats to get a good color depth and uniformity.

Now on to the rest of the bay. Remove as many of the things in the bay as you can. Then paint the a/c lines and any other metal lines you find with the semi gloss black. The radiator brackets should also be painted semi gloss black as well. Mask off anything still in the bay. Also cover the engine with a few trash bags and you're now ready to paint the bay. Before you begin MASK OFF THE WINDSHILED AND FENDERS TO AVOID PAINT OVER SPRAY!!! Now scuff the paint on the inner fenders with the scotch bright pad and remove the decals from the radiator support. After this is done you can paint the bay with 4-5 light coats of the Duplicolor paint that matches your body. If you choose to you can clear coat the paint after it dries but I didn't.

Once the engine bay has dried you can reassemble everything and vola a good looking engine bay. You won't be afraid to open your hood anymore. For an added touch you can spread the Meguires Goldclass Tire gel on to the black rubber and plastic components under the hood.

I hope this was a help jkirchman:D

Engine Bay cleaning tips

Reply #23 – January 05, 2006, 06:59:26 PM

Wow that should be a sticky I think. Thanks for taking the time to write all of that out guys.

Engine Bay cleaning tips

Reply #24 – January 06, 2006, 03:27:42 AM

Quote from: thunderjet302

Well I'm almost done with my engine bay.
...

You did well.

There are ~some~ Mark VIIs that look that way also :D :D :D

You're going to Carlisle, in June right?

Engine Bay cleaning tips

Reply #25 – January 06, 2006, 03:41:53 AM

Quote from: jkirchman

So anyone care to share the procedure they used?

1) I protect my fenders. Cleaners can be as damaging as paint.

2) I disconnect the battery.

3) I cover all charging system components and connectors with plastic bags and rubber bands.

4) I remove as much loose, dry stuff as I can with paint brushes and compressed air.

5) Using a spray bottle, hand spray a very light mixture of your favorite cleaner on everything under the hood. This takes 15 minutes ... just enough time for the cleaner to work.

6) Using a garden hose or pump sprayer, rinse everything using low pressure and LOTS of water.

7) Repeat for every 12 hours of driving.

Engine Bay cleaning tips

Reply #26 – January 06, 2006, 10:35:07 AM

Im getting re-inspired to finish my 5.0

Engine Bay cleaning tips

Reply #27 – January 06, 2006, 11:14:25 AM

Here is what I have done so far. I plan to remove the AC and smog pump after it goes through the E-test. I have a spare timming case cover that has been sandblaster and painted, to go on when I install the gear drive.

Engine Bay cleaning tips

Reply #28 – January 06, 2006, 12:16:38 PM

Even your before pictures are cleaner than my engine bay! lol

Engine Bay cleaning tips

Reply #29 – January 06, 2006, 04:40:04 PM

Holy , I never knew how much of that stuff you actually repainted. Looking good man. And do you have any pics of where you installed the scoop for that Ram Air kit, I'm thinking about picking one up?