First Engine Detail Ford Taurus

Wills.WindowsAndWheels

Wills.WindowsAndWheels

New member
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
Messages
1,682
Reaction score
0
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 :):Picture:

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

Engine_Before_1_.JPG


Engine_Before_2_.JPG


Engine_Before_3_.JPG


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 Im the MAN...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.

Engine_After_1_.JPG


Engine_After_3_.JPG


Engine_After_2_.JPG



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?
 
Very impressive, if you were selling you can post a FOR SALE on it and get a couple thousand more for it!
Great work...
 
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.
 
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.
 
wewefirex2x said:
Nice Job. I think I may have to pick up some APC...:props:
Click to expand...

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 'wtf 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

07 z-oh-6 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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 :)
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
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 'wtf 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 :)
Click to expand...
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.
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
Looks great Wills.. Your Mom's car is going to look like new before too long.
 
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).
 
Well done!!:dblthumb2: DRAMATIC CHANGE,im sure the customer was happy!!
 
Hey guys thanks for all the comments and copliments...I thought it turned out pretty good...and i was surprised that it only took an hour to do it, especially considering the condition it was in. I might TRY a pressure wash...see how it goes (on a car at home of course). I'll probably cover the alternator/distributor and air intake...and see if it makes it much faster or that much cleaner. I was pretty satisfied with just APC+, hose and toothbrush/cloths :)...sounds like you guys would have been too if it had been your ride:dblthumb2:
 
Looks a thousand times better and now you won't get as grimy if you do any maintenance work...

I've also saved old plastic tarps from painting projects for placing under the engine compartment to hold any grime that comes off and then just throw the entire thing away. Another option for some people would be to move the car into the lawn or a rocky area and then rinse the lawn or rocks down afterwards, not a perfect solution but I've used it before.

:)
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
I'll probably cover the alternator/distributor and air intake...and see if it makes it much faster or that much cleaner.
Click to expand...


What I've done that works pretty well but takes a few extra steps is to cover anything you want to protect with plastic, you can use plastic bags from the store, double them up if they're the thin type, and then compress tinfoil around them to more or less create a more rigid cover around the component. Next runs some painter's tape around the tinfoil and then cover the whole mess with another sheet of plastic or plastic bag and run some tape around this to so it doesn't "blast-off" under a direct strong blast of water.

Kind of overkill but it's never fun to find out someone else's car won't start after pressure washing because some moisture got into someplace it shouldn't be.


:)
 
Looks REALLY good Wills! I wish more people were inclined to pay me to detail their engines. Most folks just don't want to pay the extra money and don't see how detailing an engine compartment can help them in any way.
 
O.C.Detailing said:
Looks REALLY good Wills! I wish more people were inclined to pay me to detail their engines. Most folks just don't want to pay the extra money and don't see how detailing an engine compartment can help them in any way.
Click to expand...

Thanks man. So a lot of people wont pay to have their engines done huh? Thanks crazy. I was thinking about only charging $40-50...is that abotu the going rate or am i over/under bidding it?

Also thanks for the bag/foil/bag/tape/ etc idea mike lol...If i can get to them i'll do it like that.

I did my godfathers van last night, its a conversion GMC safari...and man those engine comparments are TIGHT! I could see the alternator but couldnt reach it...fuse box was right up top so was easy to miss that. I have NO idea where the spark plugs were hiding lol...and luckly iwent to do this cause it turns out the guys who worked on it last week forgot to reconnect the air filter connection to the main intake...OOPS. We had only driven it 3 miles home but i think thats kinda somethin that shoulda been put back together lol...they fixed what was wrong w/the truck thou...was a fuel pump/filter...i think they just forgot they checked teh air filter first and thats why they didnt remember to reattach it...
 
The ride is soft and comfortable, although feels a bit "bouncy" on cracks and small potholes. Steering is light. Overall handling is good. Heavy front end provides good traction on the snow - I drove the Taurus through the snow storm and with good tires it held the road very well.
 
Great job and I usually charge 75.00 for this service
 
rwisejr said:
Great job and I usually charge 75.00 for this service
Click to expand...

Wow $75 really? I got a guy who wants his done and i quoted him $45 and i think he's going to have me do it after he gets back from his road trip. How long does it usually take you to do an engine, do you get a lot of jobs at $75...and are you just doing all that you can from the top like i did, or do you lift it and get the underside as well?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top