Cleaning Engine and Engine Bay?

[AHETom]

Have a 2025 f150 with a 2.7 EB
Would like to keep the engine and engine bay clean

What is a recommended cleaning process/method for the Ecoboost engine.

Never had a turbo engine only ever had the standard 3.7 and 3.3 engines in my last F150s

Just don't want to damage the E with spraying water on it

TIA
Tom

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[Mt.F150..]

I use soft water only and avoid using a pressure washer if possible

 

[Riddick]

I soak entire engine bay in simple green diluted about 50%. I use a hose to rinse entire engine bay and then immediately start the engine and let it idle for a few minutes. Been doing this for prolly 20 years and never had an issue on a coil on plug set up. Back in the day with distributors you had to be careful with spray water on engine but modern engines you can hose off.

 

[BeauFlexFP700]

They sell engine bay cleaner/degreaser at most local auto parts stores. Or you can get a general degreaser like simple green as Riddick mentioned. Start with a cold engine. Pop the hood and and use a hose with an adjustable spray nozzle to give the engine bay a light initial spray down. I usually get an old towel or something to stuff in the mouth of the air intake so I dont accidentally spray any significant amount of water into it. Avoid high pressure direct spraying of any electrical connections. I like the engine bay cleaners because it foams up real nice and its in a can that's pressurized so I dont have to use a spray bottle. Once the engine and engine bay have had a light soaking of water you can go to town with the cleaner. Same rules apply, try not to concentrate too much on electrical connections directly and avoid the air intake. Generally your just trying to get a good even coverage of cleaner on everything. I like to kind of start by standing by one fender and work my way around the front of the truck over to the opposite fender to make sure im getting a good angle on nooks and crannies. At this point you can let the cleaner set for a few minutes or use a brush or rag to spot clean any problem areas that may have be particularly dirty/greasy but be sure not to spend too long as you dont want the cleaner/degreaser to have a chance to dry on any of the surfaces of the engine bay and components. Once that's done you can rinse the engine bay with a good soaking from the hose spray nozzle. You can use a setting on the nozzle with a little higher pressure than the initial soaking but I would avoid the Jet or Full setting. Use something that's got a good spread pattern. Again try to be cognizant of just directly spraying components with high pressure for an extended time. You want to be pretty thorough though so you rinse the cleaner/degreaser completely from the engine bay and components. Lots of nooks and crannies so take your time and work your way from side to side. Once you've done that you can leave the hood open to let everything dry or I like to take a few large dry old cloth towels to kind of dry and wipe down components. After that you can wrap everything up or apply a detailing/protectant product to the plastics and other parts if you are in to that sort of thing... Don't forget to remove the towel from the mouth of the intake and any other towels or material you used to cover any other components during the process. I think it goes without saying but be sure you dont stuff anything into the mouth of the air intake that is small enough that it could fall into the intake housing accidentally. I like to use a nice big towel like the ones you use to dry off after a shower. Just clean everything up and be sure to take a good gander to admire your hand work before closing the hood and maybe crank up the truck to be sure it starts and everything is functioning OK. I dont think you have to be too worried about soaking the engine bay apart from the air intake and being cognizant of electeical stuff. It's one of those things that's mostly just common sense and making sure you aren't using high pressure or directly soaking certain components with a deluge of water. Good luck!

 

[AHETom]

Thanks a bunch
Truck is new and just a little dust in/on the engine compartment
So just have to knock the dust off.
Used to clean my 2018 but it was the 3.3l non turbo six
New truck is a 2025 with a 2.7l EB and just did not want to damage the turbos.
K,I'll just use some light engine foaming cleaner and light spray

Thanks again

 

[jhelrey]

I do pressure wash my engine bay. I don't use the most aggressive tip, I throttle the PW back, and I don't aim directly at connections.

 

[JExpedition07]

Note to 3.5 EB & 5.0 V8 owners I would not follow the advice of this thread as we have a more conventional engine/engine bay than the 2.7 boys with deep plug wells. Water WILL cause misfires on the 3.5 and 5.0.

 

[956AvalanchePlat1]

Washed my 2018 2.7 for years every 3 months or so with a pressure washer never had any issues....heres how i look at it..... if it doesnt suck in air it wont suck in water doubt theres anything else besides the intake that sucks in anything. Stick to a wider degree nozzel and use some kind of degreaser. These are modern trucks with open bottom engine bays and everything running off a computer.....everything is accounted for as far as waterproofing

 

[PB2021]

I have been just using car soap and a wash mitt rising with garden hose. You will want to ensure you are washing when engine is cold.

 

[Sigma1914]

I’m seeing more and more videos of people using these handheld steam cleaners to clean their engine bays. I just ordered mines from SHOP. I will spray down my engine bay with Chemical Guys Nonsense Invisible Super Cleaner then come behind it with this handheld steam cleaner. Any thoughts?

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