Went trail riding Saturday and after opening the hood I discovered quite a bit of mud, dirt and sand. The hood itself was sprayed from our adventure.
I used plastic bags to cover the ECM, battery, fuse box and air intake. On the air intake I first stuffed a towel then covered it.
I then set the spray head to a spray pattern instead of a stream. Then I rinsed the underside of the hood and the rest of the engine compartment. I was careful not to directly spray the alternator. Then I took a brush and loosened as much dirt as I could while continuing to rinse it away. I didn’t use a cleaner, but you could use Simple Green, a mixture of water and dish soap in a spray bottle or whatever else you may like.
I then let it air dry for a while, then repeated the above process on the larger areas and let air dry again. I then spot treated the nooks and crannies with a rag.
I didn’t get it perfect, but the bulk of the mess is removed.
I understand there are many ways to accomplish this task, but this was my chosen method. I think the most important part is covering up the vitals under the hood as much as possible.
On a side note and as a previous Jeep TJ owner, I did and recommend flushing out the frame as much as possible. At least the JK frames have plenty of drainage points!
I used plastic bags to cover the ECM, battery, fuse box and air intake. On the air intake I first stuffed a towel then covered it.
I then set the spray head to a spray pattern instead of a stream. Then I rinsed the underside of the hood and the rest of the engine compartment. I was careful not to directly spray the alternator. Then I took a brush and loosened as much dirt as I could while continuing to rinse it away. I didn’t use a cleaner, but you could use Simple Green, a mixture of water and dish soap in a spray bottle or whatever else you may like.
I then let it air dry for a while, then repeated the above process on the larger areas and let air dry again. I then spot treated the nooks and crannies with a rag.
I didn’t get it perfect, but the bulk of the mess is removed.
I understand there are many ways to accomplish this task, but this was my chosen method. I think the most important part is covering up the vitals under the hood as much as possible.
On a side note and as a previous Jeep TJ owner, I did and recommend flushing out the frame as much as possible. At least the JK frames have plenty of drainage points!
