First Engine Detail Ford Taurus

**Wills.WindowsAndWheels** · 06-20-2010, 02:33 AM

Well...the attempted restoration continues

. This time I moved under the hood to attempt my first engine detail. I had my work cut out for me...because under the hood hadnt been touched since my mom bought it (over 10 years).

During that time, the transmission had been replaced due to leaks, the radiator had blown, the power steering pump leaked and was replaced...etc etc etc...basically, there was plenty of GUNK in there to make anyone cringe. Of course, i did pictures

This is the before of what i was working with...

Yes, as i said...over 10 years lol. Pretty bad huh?

So my process was pretty simple, here is what I used.

1 Bucket of soapy water
3 Terry Cloths
1 Toothbrush
Megs APC+ 4:1 (maybe closer to 3:1...i added a little extra for this job

)
Megs Hyper Dressing 2:1

First let me note, you're suppose to cover up your alternator,air intake, and spark plugs.

I didn't do this since i knew where everything was and I was quite careful to not get much water near these areas.

Also I should add that you should place something under the car to catch the bulk of the grease/grim thats gonna come rolling off. For me, I had a couple of 3x3 ft Linoleum flooring pieces we had saved 'just in case' we needed it for something...well it worked perfect for this

.

The first thing I did was soak it in APC+...i mean soak it big time. I let it set for a few minutes...then started hosing it down, avoiding as much as possible the areas I mentioned before.

It came out pretty clean, all things considered....but i re-soaked the bad areas again...and then used the toothbrush to scrub the bad areas, using the soapy water to rinse it off often. I also used the terry cloth to wipe the really dirty areas (more dirt than grease) around the edges etc.

After about 5 soak/rinse with APC+, i figured it came out pretty good. I used the 'jet' setting on really bad areas lower in the engine area to knock some of the thick grease off...worked real good as long as I was careful and didn't hit anything electric

.

So then I got the Hyperdressing and started spraying basically everything. I let it set for a few minutes, then crossed my fingers and started it up. It started up no problem first try

...which was good haha.

I let it run about 3 or 4 minutes...just to help the water/hyperdressing dry...then killed the motor. Then took an old MF and wiped off the excess dressing from the places that needed it....and made everything all smooth and slick looking

.

Here are the results..it was dark...but the pics turned out pretty good.

So, there it is...the after pictures...what do you guys think?
The white part on the left side isn't leftover water...its just that the paint had totally faded...nothin i could do...the rest thou...I think is pretty sweet.

Feedback/constructive criticism is welcome!
Thanks guys...hope to add this to my list of things I offer customers...I was thinkin $40-50...what do you think?

**wewefirex2x** · 06-20-2010, 08:22 AM

Nice Job. I think I may have to pick up some APC...

**kingel09** · 06-20-2010, 08:34 AM

Very impressive, if you were selling you can post a FOR SALE on it and get a couple thousand more for it!
Great work...

**vet** · 06-20-2010, 11:42 AM

Looks like you did a great job. Don't know what the labor rate is in your state, but what you think about charging sounds reasonable. Most people don't care about under the hood, they don't see it, so they don't want to pay for making it clean.

**WRAPT C5Z06** · 06-20-2010, 12:03 PM

Looks good.

A pressure washer is your best friend when detailing engines. Spray with a quality APC or degreaser, let dwell for a bit, then rinse with pressure washer. Very little scrubbing necessary, even on heavily soiled engines.

**Wills.WindowsAndWheels** · 06-20-2010, 01:00 PM

Originally Posted by wewefirex2x

Nice Job. I think I may have to pick up some APC...

Just to note, i used APC+ (the orange stuff) not regular APC (the green stuff). Didn't want you to try using the green stuff and be like '### its not cutting!'

. I also might go on and get a gallon of Megs degreaser so i dont use up my APC+ on jobs like this lol. I used almost a whole bottle...but even at 4:1...its not a LOT of product being usd

Originally Posted by 07 z-oh-6

Looks good.

A pressure washer is your best friend when detailing engines. Spray with a quality APC or degreaser, let dwell for a bit, then rinse with pressure washer. Very little scrubbing necessary, even on heavily soiled engines.

See i was afraid to use a powerwasher because I didnt want to accidently push water into a place where it wasnt suppose to be. I did use the 'jet' setting on the nozzel but was careful where I aimed.

Have you done a lot of engines where you used a powerwasher, ever have any problems?

Thanks for the compliments guys....and oh, no not selling it...but we do have a van we're trying to sell...I might do its engine today

**WRAPT C5Z06** · 06-20-2010, 05:34 PM

Originally Posted by Wills.WindowsAndWheels

Just to note, i used APC+ (the orange stuff) not regular APC (the green stuff). Didn't want you to try using the green stuff and be like '### its not cutting!'

. I also might go on and get a gallon of Megs degreaser so i dont use up my APC+ on jobs like this lol. I used almost a whole bottle...but even at 4:1...its not a LOT of product being usd

See i was afraid to use a powerwasher because I didnt want to accidently push water into a place where it wasnt suppose to be. I did use the 'jet' setting on the nozzel but was careful where I aimed.

Have you done a lot of engines where you used a powerwasher, ever have any problems?

Thanks for the compliments guys....and oh, no not selling it...but we do have a van we're trying to sell...I might do its engine today

I haven't done too many, but the ones I've done, never had a problem. The only thing I covered was the alternator and/or open air filter.

**Grizzly** · 06-20-2010, 05:48 PM

Originally Posted by 07 z-oh-6

Looks good.

A pressure washer is your best friend when detailing engines. Spray with a quality APC or degreaser, let dwell for a bit, then rinse with pressure washer. Very little scrubbing necessary, even on heavily soiled engines.

It may be your best option but its not the safest.

Covering things up is not a 100% gurantee either.

I have detailed hundreds of work truck engines and agitation is usually required to get it clean,

Try pressure washing the 97-03 F-150s, it will cost you a bit of money replacing things.

**Jenn1270** · 06-20-2010, 10:38 PM

Looks great Wills.. Your Mom's car is going to look like new before too long.

**longdx** · 06-20-2010, 11:07 PM

This is an excellent engine detail, especially considering you used a nice and simple process. (not a criticism at all). Also, the engine is a forgotten area for many so called quick volume detailers. It helps dramatically during resale and also during service (as many technicians pay attention to a customer who is attentive to their engine).