I've been washing my engines for decades... I usually use Gunk foaming engine cleaner.

On the F-150 (4.6) what do I need to cover up?

 

I don’t cover nothing up. I just use low pressure/volume on a warm engine. And be careful on what engine cleaner/degreaser ya use, most will tell ya not to use on aluminum! I use dish washing liquid & water in a spray bottle with a long brush. And dry the engine and finish up with son of a gun tire foam on all the plastic works great!

 

I second that!!! I have been detailing cars for years and have only had a few problems. Nothing a few minutes in the sun did not fix. Just dont go crazy with high pressure... I like to use Whestly's Tire White on my engines. Works great. Never had any problems, even with my pressure washer..

 

you clean the engine while its warm??? why is that

 

The same reason ya wash ya dishes in hot water, all the grease and dirt loosens up and the steam just cleans things up a little quicker

 

I wash mine at the local car wash using the hand-held wand and the engine cleaner setting they have on their dial.

I leave the engine running and spray the warm engine down with their cleaner, then I give it a good rinse on the high pressure rinse setting, being careful not to spray too much in obvious trouble areas like the alternator or electical components.

Then I take it out for a good drive (30 minutes or so) at highway speeds to bring the engine up to full temperature and blow/cook off any water that remains in the compartment.

I've done this for years on a wide range of different vehicles and never had a problem.

 

I did this to my '99 and I had no issues. Infact the engine looked as if it got wet ever single time it rained out.

Anyhow, I did it to my '03 Escape. Let's put it this way... the engine ran like CRAP! Never corrected it self for about 2 weeks.

Will be doing it to my '07 in a few weeks and I have no worries.

 

the awnser is in your manual

 

 

I've always washed my engine bays when they're COLD, with a broom to gently scrub the dirt and grime, added some dishwashing liquid and a touch of WD-40 into a bucket diluted with luke WARM water. I leave it sitting as is for about 3mins or so, so everything will soak and get loose and finally will hose it off with a garden hose with a "stream" or "center" attachment.

I will generally let it air/sun dry with the hood left opened for most of the day, though I will wipe down some "level" parts where water is sitting with a chamios. I give it a final wipedown with a terry towel cloth after it's all but dry and.... ta daaaaah!

Has worked like a gem for over 10-years.

Good luck!

 

Okay, here’s my story about washing a 5.4 Triton engine. I had a 1999 F-250 SD with the 5.4 engine. I had ordered my 2007 F-150 FX4, and I was getting ready to sell the 1999 SD.

I kept the truck in good shape, but I wanted to wash the engine compartment before the sale. I washed the engine compartment with mild dish soap and rinsed it with running hose water, no high or even medium pressure water flow. I had done this same procedure many times without any problems.

I went to start the engine and it ran like CRAP! Felt like half of the spark plugs were disconnected. It had a very rough idle and lots of hesitations when accelerating. I dried all that I could with a towel, and let it dry in the sun for hours. I then drove it for about 30 miles on the highway, but no improvement.

Being that the truck was going in the Autotrader and Craigslist the next day, I took it to a local shop that I have used in the past and one that I trust. They went through all of the plugs that they could easily access and dried out the water that had accumulated around the COP units and spark plugs. The shop personnel found water in every spark plug well and assumed this was shorting out the plugs.

The engine still ran bad, and was giving intermittent and moving spark plug error messages on the computer. The shop spent some more time and I drove it some more, with not much improvement.

I took it home and tried to dry it out some more, again with no improvement. After a few days, it finally began to miss less and less. After perhaps one week, the truck engine dried out and ran okay. I sold it to the first person who saw it, and I was just lucky that the buyer called after the engine trouble was cleared up. The total cost to dry the engine was around $250.

I will never spray or run water over the top of the Triton engine again. If it’s dusty, I blow it out with my leaf blower and wipe it down with a damp rag. I had rinsed it many times over 9 years, without any problems. The one time I had problems was enough for me never to do it again.