sdear Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 What do you all use to clean your engine for shows? Thanks, Sue aka "One of the Guys " :D :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
07SHELBY GT Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 We will only tell you if we can move in for the winter! I have not cleaned my Shelby motor yet,But I can tell you this,Be cautious,Ford has left many unprotected surfaces that will start to rust immediately if you don't dry them with compressed air.That being said don't use anything that is remotely unhappy on aluminum,Simple Green etc,It will make all of that Aluminum look funky,I cleaned my 07 Mustang GT motor off with some stuff that did this! Best bet is to wipe it down the best you can with clean rags.Sounds nutty but that is how I keep my Shelby engine clean,After my rust and discoloration episode on my GT,This is the best I can come up with.Soap and water on the painted surfaces,Firewall,Inner fender structure and pour on some clean water to rinse it off.It takes some work to use my method so hopefully someone will chime in with a less tedious method! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark17357 Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 You might try steam (true steam at a commercial service) on a warm engine. The temperature of the steam, hitting a warm engine, is such that it is pretty much self drying. Following the steam with compressed air, per 07SHELBY GT, is the best way to assure things are as dry as they can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crucible Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 Believe it or not, I go to the quarter car wash (not a quarter anymore) and spray the entire engine down with the soap wash then rinse. Here's the trick - I then open the trunk and take out my leaf blower and blow off the engine. Works great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuLu Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 I use plain old Dawn dish soap and warm water with an old wash mit. Simple Green on the tough stuff, like the ever leaking Master brake cylinder resorvoir. Trick is to begin with a warm engine (not hot), just let a cold engine idle for a few minutes first, warm to the touch. Simple Green is harmless, but be cautious with the Castrol engine de-greaser in the purple bottle. That's pretty aggressive stuff, and it will mar aluminum and painted surfaces, eats clearcoat. After a generous rinse with clear water, the leaf blower trick works wonders in smal concealed areas and is time saving as well. After that, finishing touches by hand. If you use Armorall on any surfaces, spray it on the rag, not the target. I found that having a few pairs of clean cotton work/yard gloves handy really keeps things looking neat. The more often you attend to this, the less time it takes to get done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormeaston Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 Here's what we do....we use bleach white, available at any auto store, spray the engine down good, let it soak for 5 min, start the engine and power spray it off! Let the engine run for awhile until most of the water is dried off, use a rag to get those spots that the heat from the engine doesn't get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdear Posted November 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2007 Thanks guys for the input. It's not real dirty, but it does have some dust here and there. I will take a look this Saturday and see what will be best. The car show is Sunday, so Saturday he is getting all cleaned up. I haven't washed him since I did the Blackfire last weekend and he still looks great. I always love how the car looks after the first wash from a polish job...so that is why I am waiting until Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torquewrench1807 Posted November 13, 2007 Report Share Posted November 13, 2007 When under the hood, I use the low pressure, spot free rinse. I keep water off the hood liner then use a wash mitt and soapy water on the metal and the air filter guard. Rinse with low pressure, spot free, then dry with the absorber. Thanks for the car cleaning comments, I will start the engine to completely dry under the hood. Saturday I took SGT 4305 to the Veterans Weekend Car Show in Bastrop, TX (her fourth car show). Met the guy that purchased the first SGT I had ever seen (~ SGT 1785). He mentioned purchasing the roll cage then going to the Big Bend Open Road Race Watch for buzzards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdear Posted November 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2007 ouch !!!! haha...too funny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywickedshelby Posted November 13, 2007 Report Share Posted November 13, 2007 didnt Carroll, er...em...Mr.Shelby...... talk about hitting a buzzard in the Arizona desert in his Super Snake Cobra that sold for 5.5mil at last years BJ......moments after Mr. Ron Pratte bought the first SGT (BLACK, OF COURSE, Matt :P ) I recall he said something about doing 190 in the SS and so on. Seeing that photo made that moment pop into my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2007_Shelby_GT Posted November 14, 2007 Report Share Posted November 14, 2007 I am very reluctant to utilize anything under the hood other than a cloth dampened with water (and or cleanser, like 409, Fantastik, etc.). There's just to many sensitive electronics and connections that could be affected by moderate to large doses of moisture sprayed under pressure. This type of thing seeps into nooks and crannies and can cause problems down the road. It takes more time and elbow grease, (and I may be completely wrong!), but it helps my peace of mind! Just my two cents! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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