[WindsorTaco]

hey guys,
i just got my 2004 xcab trd yesterday. well, i took it out in the mud today and after rinsing the car off i popped open the hood to check it out. it was a mess! what's the best way to clean this crap off? i might do a full engine detail. what should i mask off before taking a hose to the entire compartment (distributor,?). thanks guys!

 

[YoTRacer158]

well make sure the engine is cold so you dont crack your block...other than that just be careful around the fuse box. if you're just using a hose you should be fine. get a good degreaser like super purple or engine brite

 

[tbplus10]

I use a long handled, long bristle wheel brush under the hood with soap and water. Be careful not to spray high pressure water directly into the electronics.

Tim

 

[GoodyearMTR]

You dont have to worry about getting block wet, it wont crack.....buy the exhaust manifold might.

 

[Baja Belk]

I just took a pressure washer to mine to get mud off - be careful if you use something high-powered like that. Let's just say I have no stickers left...

 

[tercel89]

i second that on making sure its cold , if its hot it will either crack the head and block or warp the heads.

 

[taco23]

Wrap your electricals good like your fuse box, battery, alternator, etc. Spray down with Simple Green let it soak and go to town with a brush and rinse off.

 

[StemsCornfedTaco]

After you get it clean, Put Armor All on your everything that you dont want dirt on, that way next time you go to clean your engine bay you can just wipe it off.

 

[Fishbone]

Not trying to start anything, but I've never washed my engine while it was cool, I've never covered anything, I always use a pressure washer, and I spray EVERYHTING down with superclean or whatever, and blast away at everything. Battery, fuse box, relays, alternator, wires, coils...the whole shebang. I've never had a problem, I wash it while running always, too. This is just what I do, not saying it's RIGHT!!! LOL!!

Then when it dries, I soak the entire engine compartment in WD-40, looks like it just rolled off the assy line. Get muddy, repeat.

--Scott

 

[tanKoma]

i usually just goto the carwash and use the engine cleaner there, u dont have to clean up a mess, its only 5$ works pretty well

 

[Jamier2]

Not trying to start anything, but I've never washed my engine while it was cool, I've never covered anything... This is just what I do, not saying it's RIGHT!!! LOL!!

I do the same thing, but don't have a pressure washer. I figure the block would have cracked when I was crossing water in 8 degree weather if it was going to crack, so spraying the water hose on it surely won't hurt much. I also cleaned mine while running and so far everything still works.

 

[anestech*]

Be careful with the deep spark plug wells on the 3.4, I shorted a set of wires on my old mazda MX6 that had the deep wells lilke that. Be carefull with a pressure sprayer as well, I got water into my PCM in my Jeep (more the fault of the Jet module having shitty sealing than the stock wiring harness though). Luckily, it was okay after a couple hours of drying, but it ran like crap when I first started it.

I just soak it good in engine brite, or the like and spray it down with a regular spray nozzle on my hose now, using a brush and any nasty crap. I'm skured of using a pressure sprayer now...

 

[CYi5]

I cover all the sensitive stuff with grocery bags, they fit perfectly over everything that I didn't want to get wet, and u don't have to worry after that.

 

[Fishbone]

Be careful with the deep spark plug wells on the 3.4, I shorted a set of wires on my old mazda MX6 that had the deep wells lilke that. Be carefull with a pressure sprayer as well, I got water into my PCM in my Jeep (more the fault of the Jet module having shitty sealing than the stock wiring harness though). Luckily, it was okay after a couple hours of drying, but it ran like crap when I first started it.

I just soak it good in engine brite, or the like and spray it down with a regular spray nozzle on my hose now, using a brush and any nasty crap. I'm skured of using a pressure sprayer now...

Speaking of the deep wells on the 3.4, my Supra had those deep wells, and I guess from spraying cleaner in there all the time, and then after washing, the water had nowhere to go, just laid in there and cooked out, my plug wires WOULD NOT come out of the head. I had to cut them out, and they weren't cheap either!! So that may be something to watch for, but I don't think the water lays in there like it di on my Supra engine.

--Scott