What to cover for Engine Detailing?

So I am going to attempt my first engine detail. I will admit I am a bit nervious as I am not sure what to cover and what not.

I need to replace a pulley and install a new belt on this 1995 Ford Ranger, and I figured before I get in there and do it I would clean it. (I was going to clean it anyway, but having the pulley seize and destroying the belt requires I do it now).

Anyway I took this pic and highlighted in red what I think I need to cover and avoid getting wet. I have a few items highlighted in greed, do I need to worry about these and cover these spots? Also are there any spots I am missing.

I have Megs APC+, S100 TCW which I was going to use to wash it. I was going to finish with CD2 (or I might go pickup some Megs Hyper dressing).



Thanks for the input.

chris

 

I personally don't cover anything. If I were to do an engine detail on the vehicle posted above, I wouldn't cover anything either. The only think you have to worry about with water is causing a short which virtually never happens with the way they make connectors these days.

 

I wouldn't cover anything either. I would try to dry things off with a leaf blower or compressed air. Just a thought...:thumb:

 

I defenetely would cover, and I always do. Better be safe then sorry. All those circled parts, that is...

 

I was advised that the one thing I really need to cover was the alternator. I understand that on older cars the distributor cap should also be covered.

(I know that the first car I owned back in the early 70s had a distributor cap, but heck if I remember when my cars stopped having them. I'm not even sure if I noticed when the distributor cap disappeared.)

You might want to use the APC+ at 4:1 dilution. I recently cleaned (or more accurately, attempted to clean) the engine bay of my wife's car using APC+ at 8:1 dilution. It wasn't strong enough.

CD-2 Engine Detailer is very easy to use as a dressing, and it makes the hoses and plastic shine! You can pick up CD-2 at AutoZone.

Check out Karl's guidelines for engine bay detailing.

 

You need to cover various parts prior to using any cleaning products, sprays or water.

This is not an exhaustive list, nor is it marquee specific, so use common sense
•Alternator
•Alarm Housing
•Intercooler
•Battery terminals (if not covered already)
•Induction kit cone (if you have one)
•Coil packs
•Intake opening (Ziplock bag)
This is not an exhaustive list, nor is it marquee specific, so use common sense
Tin foil is a better alternative to using cling-film for the alternator, alarm housing etc as it is easier to mold and has greater protection properties. I suggest you use a plastic bag for the induction kit and just wrap it tight over the end to stop any water ingress.
For the intercooler the best way to cover is to get a flat sheet of cardboard and just cut it to size so it fits and covers the fins. Cardboard will normally protect the fins for the duration of the washing. It will get soaked so discard after the wash.

An extract from one of a series of in-depth © detailing articles by TOGWT ™ ​

 

I would have to agree, on older vehicles you should be covering up more items then in new vehicles. I've used tinfoil in some ocasions and it works great because it's easy to manipulate.

Meg's APC should do the trick as for dressing I've never used CD2 but I have used 303 quite a bit, either way the engine bay is going to look great, good luck and just be carefull around engine bays as there are lots of electrical components in it.

 

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I took a little of everyone advice and gave it a try, unfortunately it started raining on me in the process so I didn't finish with anything, just cleaned.

So here was my process:
1) Covered the Alternator with alumninum foil
2) Used shower setting on hose and washed off (I tried not to wet anything with an electronic contector very long)
3) Sprayed a lot of Megs APC+ 4:1 and let dwell for a few minutes
4) Agitated the APC+ with various brushes (Megs wheel spoke brush, Old Wheel brush, and a 1" natural hair art brush)
5) rinsed with hose set to shower
6) Dried with leaf blower
7) Touched up a few areas with either the brush or a costco microfiber

At this point it was raining really hard so I had to call it good. The car isn't running at the moment since I have to install a new pulley and belt, I hope to do that in one of the next two weekends, atleast its clean now for me to work in.

Here is a pick. Excuse the water on the sides as it was raining pretty hard and splashing in on the edges. I am happy for a first pass. There are a few areas I want to try again and see if I can get in there better with the brush.



Again thanks for all the feedback.

chris

 

Looks like it came out pretty good to me.

 

Nice job.

 

That looks great...Well done...:thumb:

 

That looks excellent!

As for covering stuff, for me, it depends. For most of the late model vehicles I do, I don't bother to cover anything up. I find that I really use very little water, so it just hasn't been a concern for me. Now just recently, I've been working on an F250 diesel. That engine has mysterious looking sensors and fittings everywhere. So those, I covered up.

Another thing to mention, though it might be obvious - if you're ever working on a modified car that's got an open element air intake on it, definitely cover up the air filter. Also, look for any little crankcase breather filters that might be on it - cover those up as well.

 

Thanks for the comments Krshulz. The air intake on this truck pulled from inside the passenger fender, so I didn't have to cover the opening as it was in the main engine cab.

Give me a computer and I will take it apart or build you one, but ask me to point out things in a motor and I will stare at you like an idiot. I know nothing about engines. I am probably lucky to be able to change my own oil and air filter.

Thus the though of cleaning the motor is scary, as hell I don't know what any of these things I am looking at are, its just a much of hoses, and wires, and big metal things.

thus again thanks everyone for the input. I am actually going to try fix something myself for the first time on this truck. I hope it goes well.

Here is what went wrong (notice the idler pulley is missing, or the outer part is):


and here are the lovely destroyed parts:


chris

 

Doh, I totally forgot to mention open element intakes!