Stupid Question, But I Have to Ask

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01-22-2006, 12:02 AM

#11

fso119

2nd Gear Member

Join Date: Sep 2005

Location:

Posts: 167

RE: Stupid Question, But I Have to Ask

Quote:

ORIGINAL: PullMeOverRed05

I was washing my car yesterday and opened the hood and I couldn't believe how dirty the underside of the front lip of the hood was! Anyone else notice a lot of dirt in this area?

Yup, just include wiping the engine compartment down in my cleaning routine. Water and dirt gets everywhere. Look everywhere. There are so many nooks and crannys to get clean. It takes me a good 30-40 minutes to clean. I just wipe down all plastic and painted parts. The air filter cover sucks to clean with all those little nooks around it. Gotta q-tip it.

On another subject but kinda related. Has anyone notice a hole appearing in the middle of the insulation on the underside of the hood? It looks like the top of the engine is rubbing against it. I'll try to post pics soon.

01-22-2006, 02:00 PM

#12

PullMeOverRed05

3rd Gear Member

Thread Starter

Join Date: Mar 2005

Location: PT Pleasant NJ

Posts: 770

RE: Stupid Question, But I Have to Ask

Quote:

ORIGINAL: ford4v429

Hey Chris-
next time ya open the hood, take a flashlight...push the rubber airbox inlet down and look back under at the corner where fenderwell/fender/bumper come together- sadly, I'm pretty sure you will see some 'real buildup'... I pulled my fenders off to undercoat, and could not believe how much crap was in there- 300 miles on the clock, drove in rain ONE time. theres some pics here:

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index....dpost&p=613967

If you find a bunch of crap in there- there is a fairly easy way to do some spring cleaning: pop the tire off(what- 5 minutes tops?) take out (3) phillips screws into bumper, take out (3) plastic 1/4 turn camlocs, pull the front half of the wheelwell out(maybe 1 minute). Rear half only has (2) more camlocs, and (2) pin type retainers for rocker and its out too(not even a minute). Rear on mine looked so-so, but rocker cover was already packed with quite a bit of dirt...when I'd driven roads were dry, but there was still dirt/salt/coldpatch thats typical for Ohio...I think any dirt that gets on fenderwells gets blasted around wheel lip and runs down behind headlight and rocker cover...I used the front pegs for the rocker to add some cheep mudflaps without drilling anything- holds nice and tight and should keep the car a bunch cleaner too. I hope to get the struts bolted back up and the rt fender back on tonight as its supposed to be dry/sunny tomorrow and I need my 'mustang fix' bad...havent had it out in a week and this sucks!!!

cant wait till summer

trying to attach a pic, dunno if i got it right...

[IMG]local://upfiles/19895/52DFBF8FE7AA472EBDB1A950F80E1737.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks Tim... YOu have me wanting to head outside and pull the tires and check her out

01-22-2006, 02:50 PM

#13

ford4v429

3rd Gear Member

Join Date: Jul 2005

Location:

Posts: 737

RE: Stupid Question, But I Have to Ask

Looking back in from under the hood, I think you can see both sides- if it werent for the electronics on the passenger side, and splashing the air filter on the drivers side, I think these could be flushed clean from underhood, at least partially(maybe drape some plastic over the airbox inlet/ECM)...

also found rear end of rockers are open under the plastic covers...when washing suggest rinsing up into the numerous drains you can see at back of rocker cover... wouldnt use pressure though, as it might get into places you dont want it...a garden hose flush up in the drains should help rinse out the dirt that gets inside. the only places I could see any traces of dirt was up in the first one behind front tires, and in the hidden gaps at the back end...I'm gonna take a dremel and open up the rear of my rocker cover ahead of the rear peg, as both sides had an awful lot of dirt trapped back there...It looks like the slots the bottom pegs go in are too long, and rear bottom of wheelwell catches some too. I cant see more getting IN from bottom of rear, but it should be easier to clean with another 1/4 inch clearance- I dont want to pull those covers again as the top hidden pegs are very tight- was really afraid of breaking something...well might pull them one more time- I want to get a set of take-offs done in 70%gloss black, and rear wing to match.

01-24-2006, 03:45 PM

#14

ponypower05GT

1st Gear Member

Join Date: Dec 2005

Location: Columbia, SC

Posts: 63

RE: Stupid Question, But I Have to Ask

One of the spots I find that builds up a lot of dirt and debris is the area around the truck. You can't really see any of the dirt with the trunk down, but open it up and I tend to find a lot of dirt will cake up on the lip or edge that runs around the truck opening.