Engine Compartment Cleaning?

[Ross]

Fellas, I always like to keep a clean engine compartment, but I have never owned a car with such an advanced and "electronicized" engine. My old method of cleaning the engine was to use a can of Gunk engine degreaser, or maybe some Fantastik or Simple Green cleanser on a warm engine. Then carefully spray off the residue, being careful not to directly spray water into the air intake or the alternator, using light water pressure. However, I'm kind of scared to do that with my MM since it has so much stuff under the hood that I'm not familiar with, and I don't want to make an expensive mistake. What do y'all do to clean your engines? Thanks

[RF Overlord]

I know this may shock some people, and probably give LML a cardial infarction, but I DON'T clean my engines...sure, I wipe up any liquids I spill (adding oil, or windscreen washer fluid, etc) but I've never been an advocate of spraying noxious chemicals and/or high-pressure water on a motor with so many electronic components...on my '68 Buick, yes, I do clean that periodically, but not anything made in the last 15-20 years...

[cyclone03]

OK take everything I say here with a grain of salt,YMMV,IMHO.

Heres what I do,spray everything down with SimpleGreen then hose it off.Then I dry off everything I can get too.

All of the connectors under the hood are weather tight so water shouldn't get inside them.
That said I pulled the coil covers off and found moisture under them so you may want to go for a long drive after cleaning the engine.

Theres another thread around here about Armor All'ing the engine too.

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by cyclone03

That said I pulled the coil covers off and found moisture under them so you may want to go for a long drive after cleaning the engine.


Yes, this was something that was brought to my attention by my favorite Ford tech, as I was mentioning the hesitation/surge when cold. Water does tend to get trapped in there and wreak havoc.

I'm no longer a big fan of watering down an engine. As weather-proof as these connectors are supposed to be, there may be some component that isn't. Look at the "famous" LT1s and their Opti-Spark ignition timing unit... on early models, one engine wash and you were DEAD in the water (so to speak). On later vented models, they could survive an engine wash, but it just meant a shortened overall life expectancy.

Before a car show, I'd take a bunch of really wet rags and wipe down the underhood area as best as I could, followed up by the occasional instant detailer for a little shine here and there. It took a bunch of time, and while at first it seemed futile, after I dedicated an hour here and there things began to look good. And after that, all it took was a little maintenence, devoting 15 minutes here and there after every wash.

[jgc61sr2002]

I simply wipe down the engine with a damp cloth everytime I wash the car. I also used gunk and the hosed it off on older cars. This is a definate NO NO for the MM.

[TripleTransAm]

Some of the products, if left on the finish, will corrode it. Apparently, Castrol Super Clean is really bad at this, very corrosive. It also attacks and etches aluminum. Simple Green has also been claimed to be corrosive, only much much less. Nonetheless, I wouldn't want to get anything remotely corrosive on my exterior finish, either through errant mist or splashing due to hosing off the engine.

[TAF]

Do to the fact that the Marauder has one of the WORST "drip-dry" capabilities that I've ever seen on a car.

O.K. What do I mean by this?

Well, water gathers like CRAZY in the door sills, trunk surround, and engine bay. I spend the extra few minutes after each wash with the hood, 4 doors and trunk open wiping down all the nooks and crannies with the towel that I used on the body/wheels and tips after using the California Waterblade.

Also, have tried the window cleaner on the engine bay which was suggested here in a previous thread and that works nice.

[MMM2003]

Hey Ross,

I remembered about a thread with the same topic. Here is a link.
Not sure if anyone has done this to the MM yet.

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2622&highlight=engine+clean

Hope this helps!

[jrzygrl]

Originally posted by TAF
Do to the fact that the Marauder has one of the WORST "drip-dry" capabilities that I've ever seen on a car.

Well, water gathers like CRAZY in the door sills, trunk surround, and engine bay. I spend the extra few minutes after each wash with the hood, 4 doors and trunk open wiping down all the nooks and crannies with the towel that I used on the body/wheels and tips after using the California Waterblade.

. I hate that! I spend 30 minutes washing and an hour and a half drying! I even dry inside my fuel door, and those
freaking drips on the rear bumper no matter what I do:mad2:

[Billatpro]

Well this all very tidy but I use a tooth brush and paper towels, the tooth brush is for brushing my teeth, the paper towels are for drying my eyes from the frustration of the water spots.

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by TAF
Do to the fact that the Marauder has one of the WORST "drip-dry" capabilities that I've ever seen on a car.


F-body seems worse. On my '87, I even have to remove the T-top panels and angle them such that the water will run out of whatever nook and cranny it ended up in. I even have to 'shake' them occasionally to get all the water out... not much, but enough to make you wonder what happens if it stays in there.

I did a half-a$$ed wash job on the MM yesterday due to lack of time, and this morning I only had a few spots on the rear bumper. My '87 will actually hold water in the 'seams' between the skirts and the body panels... if I try to apply any sort of product within the first few hours of washing the car, it makes an unholy mess.

[SergntMac]

My MM engine bay sucks dirt like it's free money and my MM body panels retain water like Hoover Dam. What can I do, wring her out? Only thing I can do, is drive her faster that water dries...

[TAF]

Originally posted by SergntMac
Only thing I can do, is drive her faster that water dries...

Remember the "Mighty Leaf-Blower"...:up:

My wife says she "confirms my insanity" when I blow the Marauder dry....

Huh, Huh, Huh....he said "blow"^^^

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by Billatpro
Well this all very tidy but I use a tooth brush and paper towels, the tooth brush is for brushing my teeth, the paper towels are for drying my eyes from the frustration of the water spots.


LOL! Good one... that toothbrush comment brought chills. I suddenly saw flashbacks to 1997 when I'd do the car show thing with my GTA. One particularly big show, I spent all of Saturday on hands and knees cleaning the wheels with (you guessed it) a couple of toothbrushes. And these are not exactly simple wheels to clean...

http://www.tripletransam.com/s2/DSCF0587a.jpg

TAF, this 'mighty leaf blower' is fast becoming an icon on this board, much like the almighty Sable! :D

[TAF]

Originally posted by TripleTransAm
TAF, this 'mighty leaf blower' is fast becoming an icon on this board, much like the almighty Sable! :D

Hey..it works! Just a word of caution...be sure you use the blower when the car is sitting in the area that you just washed it in...otherwise you just cover it again with dust. (NO...not from personal experience just thought of it last time it was talked about and meant to say it then)

BTW...there should be no "Do it in the wet-spot" jokes added below this post :nono:

[jrzygrl]

OOHH, I"ll try to restrain myself............

[Mad1]

Originally posted by TAF
BTW...there should be no "Do it in the wet-spot" jokes added below this post :nono:

TAF,

You are too cruel. I nearly fell out of my chair laughing ... and now I have to bite my tounge. Bastidge!

Mad1

Who doesn't mind a good blow to get the spots off?

[SergntMac]

Thanks Todd...Once again you ruin a perfectly insane train of thought with an invasion of common sense, and inviting reason. Look at what you did now.

Good Lord, can't I post in peace?

[gja]

What's that old saying?..."suck-start a leaf-blower" or something..

credit:Austin Powers"I'm sorry, I'm just not getting it. You said you name was a lot of uh.........well, never mind"

[WolfeBros]

Heads.......high road
tails........ join in with Brother Todd

Damn........its high road again.

Sorry TAF but your flying solo on this one again. :lol:

wet spot and suck start leaf blowers.......mumble mumble

You guessed it.........I have to go lie down again:lol: :lol:

[LincMercLover]

OK... let's see if I can't get this back here, if the children are done playing... :shake:

The Armor-all trick worked well for me. Not only does it make things new looking inside, it makes it a lot easier to just wipe off any accumulated dirt with an even dry towel. As far as the rinsing of the motor, it can be done, but see your owners manual for areas to avoid. But what I say is this, what are you doing to get the motor THAT dirty anyway? :confused:

[jgc61sr2002]

Originally posted by jrzygrl
I hate that! I spend 30 minutes washing and an hour and a half drying! I even dry inside my fuel door, and those
freaking drips on the rear bumper no matter what I do:mad2: Lynn - I thought everyone did that.

[gja]

But seriously folks,
I clean the compartment with an solution of warm water and a SMALL amount of Cascade dishwasher powder.
Here is the reason, it leaves NO residue to attract future dirt AND has a wetting agent to help it dry without spots (you won't need to go nuts drying it all off).
If you get oil/grease or something along that line in the bay you will need to use a pertoleum based cleaner first, no way around that. Be careful of splashing with those cleaners. I prefer good brands with a history of working (Gunk, CRC, etc...)

If you try it you will be pleased with the results.

[Paul T. Casey]

Just did mine the other day. Liberally applied Simple Green to COLD engine (too nervous to wet even warm aluminum, and yeah I know rain does hit it , etc.) then flooded it with hose after about 15 minutes of soaking. I dried it by starting and running for about 10 min. then hand dried anything still wet, even spots. Next, I waxed all painted metal, and Armor-Alled all rubber, plastic, vinyl, etc. Came out real nice, took less than 3 hours total with a bad back. I went to the Beach cruise last evening, and the guys there loved it. I have posted a photo on the Gallery here so all could enjoy.

[TAF]

Well done, Paul. That looks GREAT...and I thought MY engine bay was clean. :nono:

For those of you wondering how the engine bay can get so dirty (it was mentioned previously in this thread) during the spring here in ATL, all that pollen gets sucked up in there and Lord knows if in the rain (yes, mine travels in the rain) a good amount of water gets in there...and it aint clean water.

[MM03MOK]

Looks awesome, Paul!!

[jrzygrl]

Beautiful Paul! Worth the effort for sure.

[jgc61sr2002]

Paul - Nice job looks great.:up:

[Sculldog33]

Sort of been lurking on this site for a while, certainly lust after an MM but not in the cards at least short term. Missed the SS during it's run, and I'm hoping they keep the MM around long enough for me to get my hands on one. Drove a CV for yrs, and grew up on big cars with big old engines.

Can't add much re: MM's in general, however, in terms of auto maintenance, I can contribute. You guys should check out Griot's Garage. The man is obssesed with car care products, and has entire sections devoted to engine bay, undercarriage, etc.

Waxes and cleaners are first notch, and they have a great leather cleaning/maintenance product.

A bit on the pricey side for some things, but I've been happy with everything I've ever ordered from them. For those with concerns about swirl marks in the paint, he offers a random orbital buffer and a system of polishes and waxes....

Check it out at: http://www.griotsgarage.com/index.jsp

If nothing else, sign up for the catalog...this guy is truly a car nut!

[jgc61sr2002]

Sculldog33 - Welcome to the Mercury Marauder site. Thanks for the info.:up:

[MAD-3R]

Welcome Sculldog!! Thanks for the Info.

[MM03MOK]

Welcome, Sculldog33 - glad to see another resident from the Bay State on the Board.

:D

[TripleTransAm]

Paul, I just saw the pic of your underhood job. Damn, that's a great piece of work! Absolutely beautiful. I'll have to try the same thing... did you see any noticeable etching from the Simple Green? All I can say is: WOW!

[studio460]

By the way . . .

About the leaf blowers . . . The car wash I go to uses small leaf blowers (another car wash I used to go to had compressed air hoses at each station). The blowers are very effective and they get pretty much everything dry. After the wash (there's a large empty highway nearby), I simply make two passes up and down (about 4 miles) doing about 80 MPH, and the whole car is bone dry.