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Mud in engine compartment..

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Old 10-28-2005
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Mud in engine compartment..

So is it a bad thing when your friendly neighborhood mechanic complains that you've got too much mud in your under-carrige and under the hood? He asked if I had gotten it stuck.

Ah, what an *** I am.. asking someone to work on a filty truck/engine like that!
 
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Old 10-28-2005
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Tell him to get a tissue and work on it like the dirty mechanic he is!!

Or, just spray some simple green on there, let sit for 10 mins, rinse, and dance like a fairy. Whatever you choose :p
 
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Old 10-28-2005
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Use a pressure washer. I knocked off a lot of mud a few weeks ago with one. And you can hose down the engine compartment.
 
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Old 10-28-2005
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When your mechanic mentions it, you've got just the right amount

I'm pretty sure there are a few parts of my truck being held on soley by the caked on mud...
 
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Old 10-28-2005
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Yeah... "Dude, don't touch anything! It took me all summer to get it just right.."
 
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Old 10-29-2005
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power washers can do ALOT of damage, so use ALOT of care when using it. it can etch concrete so i can hurt ur truck use care.... maybe a small investment into a front skid plate to keep the mud out of ur engine compartment. i have hit plenty of mud puddles, a few, that were a tad on the deep side, yet pop my hood, and my engine looks BRAND new
 
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Old 10-29-2005
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I've used the power washers at the coin-op carwash to some pretty good success. Just be careful what you end up spraying!
 
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Old 10-29-2005
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You should see my engine compartment
 
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Old 10-29-2005
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Mine was real bad for a long time!
 
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Old 10-29-2005
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Originally Posted by Roach2004
You should see my engine compartment
take a pic, i want to see
 
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Old 10-29-2005
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Originally Posted by FMD
power washers can do ALOT of damage, so use ALOT of care when using it. it can etch concrete so i can hurt ur truck use care.... maybe a small investment into a front skid plate to keep the mud out of ur engine compartment. i have hit plenty of mud puddles, a few, that were a tad on the deep side, yet pop my hood, and my engine looks BRAND new
Mud PUDDLES? lol! Real mudholes throw gobs of mud! I have a front skid plate and it's not a solution when you're in the real deep stuff. I'm sure it helps, but it still gets up there.
 
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Old 10-29-2005
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John we all know you invented an electrical bed operated scoop that picks up mud and throws it all over your vehicle.

Resistors, oscilliscopes, etc.

aaron
 
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Old 10-29-2005
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I'm **** about mud and my truck because I need the thing to last...I can't have rust problems. Looking under it you would never know it has been buried in a swamp so bad it took two tow trucks to extract, lol.
 
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Old 10-29-2005
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Originally Posted by FMD
maybe a small investment into a front skid plate to keep the mud out of ur engine compartment. i have hit plenty of mud puddles, a few, that were a tad on the deep side, yet pop my hood, and my engine looks BRAND new
My LII shipped from the factory w/ a carbon steel front skid plate. It doesn't do a helluva lot for keeping mud & water out, even w/ the 'mild' wheeling I do..
 
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Old 10-31-2005
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Bleck, i hated cleaning this. i will NEVER wheel in that stuff again!
 
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Old 10-31-2005
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I've become a proponent of leaving the mud there and here's why:

Paleontologists have gotten some of their best information from numerous fossils that were buried in mud. Why?

Simple: because mud has magical properties of preservation! If you want to keep you engine running like new, it NEEDS a mud pack. Cleaning off the mud is the WORST thing you can do.

I mean, think about it a minute: all those expensive spas, packing aging, rich overweight womens seamed faces with mud to keep them with a "glow" for a bit longer. Why would people pay for such things if it didn't work, I ask you?

Now, of course, a woman can't wear the mud all the time, so in between "treatments" the normal process of aging occurs.

But I'm willing to bet that if they left the mud on all the time -- THEY WOULD NEVER AGE!!!

There's some evidence that Ponce De Leon's "fountain of youth" he was hunting for was in fact a misnomer. It wasn't the FOUNTAIN'S WATER -- it was the MUD AROUND IT. No wonder he never found it.

Using this sterling and umimpeachable line of reasoning, I have concluded that cleaning my engine is not only a waste of my time, but actually detrimental to the life of the engine. To me, Thomas' engine picture above is an example of the youthful glow of engine health!!!

By the way, for those of you not in healthy mud areas (and not all mud is healthy, you know), I have distilled the essence of a youth preserving mud into a product I created just for you, to help you keep your engine running like new.

All I need is your credit card number...
 
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Old 10-31-2005
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Originally Posted by NHBubba
My LII shipped from the factory w/ a carbon steel front skid plate. It doesn't do a helluva lot for keeping mud & water out, even w/ the 'mild' wheeling I do..
Ford shortened the rubber splash shield on the driver side inner fender around 2001~2002 to help with a desert engine compartment cooling acceptance test. Only problem is that a lot of dirt/mud comes through the opening, especially when driving off road. Since I don't live in a desert climate, I decided that I could do without the extra cooling flow.

The long shield that was installed on the driver side of earlier Rangers is no longer available (order the old part number and you will get the new 1/4 length shield - ask me how I know). The good news it that the passenger side shield is the exact same part except the push pins are reversed. It takes about a minute to turn the pins around and you have the old long driver side shield - about $15.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Side note: It is far too easy to rip the shield(s) off when offroading, especially with large tires (or even with stockers). I reversed mine so the shields fit inside the plastic inner fenders with the push pin heads on the inside. You may have to move one or two of the pin holes in the rubber shield to get it to line up with the inner fender holes but it's easy to do.

This simple mod gives a lot more tire clearance and moves the vulnerable top edge inside where it's better protected. This greatly improves the chances that you'll keep your shields.

Here is a pic of the shield remounted to the inside of the inner fender with the points of the push pins facing outward. You can see a noticeable "witness mark" where the shield used to be on the outside.

 
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Old 10-31-2005
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That's a very good idea. I have my shields off right now (both are full size) but they're going back on now on the inside. Thanks.
 
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Old 10-31-2005
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Originally Posted by n3elz
I've become a proponent of leaving the mud there and here's why:

Paleontologists have gotten some of their best information from numerous fossils that were buried in mud. Why?

Simple: because mud has magical properties of preservation! If you want to keep you engine running like new, it NEEDS a mud pack. Cleaning off the mud is the WORST thing you can do.

I mean, think about it a minute: all those expensive spas, packing aging, rich overweight womens seamed faces with mud to keep them with a "glow" for a bit longer. Why would people pay for such things if it didn't work, I ask you?

Now, of course, a woman can't wear the mud all the time, so in between "treatments" the normal process of aging occurs.

But I'm willing to bet that if they left the mud on all the time -- THEY WOULD NEVER AGE!!!

There's some evidence that Ponce De Leon's "fountain of youth" he was hunting for was in fact a misnomer. It wasn't the FOUNTAIN'S WATER -- it was the MUD AROUND IT. No wonder he never found it.

Using this sterling and umimpeachable line of reasoning, I have concluded that cleaning my engine is not only a waste of my time, but actually detrimental to the life of the engine. To me, Thomas' engine picture above is an example of the youthful glow of engine health!!!

By the way, for those of you not in healthy mud areas (and not all mud is healthy, you know), I have distilled the essence of a youth preserving mud into a product I created just for you, to help you keep your engine running like new.

All I need is your credit card number...


um... no thanks ill wash mine off, mine didnt and never has ran good with mud on it, plus doesnt it keep the engine warmer with all that mud?



to clean my engine i pop the hood at the local coin wash and spray it down works for me and ive had no issues.
 
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Old 10-31-2005
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Wow. I think you got me, Zach. For a millisecond I thought you had taken me seriously...
 
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Old 10-31-2005
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lol ill admit, u got me.

the way u said it, it sounded very serious. lol
 
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Old 10-31-2005
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Originally Posted by n3elz
I've become a proponent of leaving the mud there and here's why:

Paleontologists have gotten some of their best information from numerous fossils that were buried in mud. Why?

Simple: because mud has magical properties of preservation! If you want to keep you engine running like new, it NEEDS a mud pack. Cleaning off the mud is the WORST thing you can do.

I mean, think about it a minute: all those expensive spas, packing aging, rich overweight womens seamed faces with mud to keep them with a "glow" for a bit longer. Why would people pay for such things if it didn't work, I ask you?

Now, of course, a woman can't wear the mud all the time, so in between "treatments" the normal process of aging occurs.

But I'm willing to bet that if they left the mud on all the time -- THEY WOULD NEVER AGE!!!

There's some evidence that Ponce De Leon's "fountain of youth" he was hunting for was in fact a misnomer. It wasn't the FOUNTAIN'S WATER -- it was the MUD AROUND IT. No wonder he never found it.

Using this sterling and umimpeachable line of reasoning, I have concluded that cleaning my engine is not only a waste of my time, but actually detrimental to the life of the engine. To me, Thomas' engine picture above is an example of the youthful glow of engine health!!!

By the way, for those of you not in healthy mud areas (and not all mud is healthy, you know), I have distilled the essence of a youth preserving mud into a product I created just for you, to help you keep your engine running like new.

All I need is your credit card number...

bwahahahahahahahahahahahah
 
  #23  
Old 10-31-2005
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Thanks then! I guess I did it "right", lol.

For the record: MUD IS BAD FOR YOUR ENGINE, FOLKS! JOHN (ME) WAS JUST HAVING FUN WITH THE IDEA OF MUD AS A PRESERVATIVE! DO NOT SEND ME YOUR ENGINE REPAIR BILLS DUE TO MUD!!!
 
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Old 10-31-2005
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Bob, I rembember you mentioning the sheild issue and your solution before. Truth be told: I've just been too lazy to bother w/ such a fix. Based on how bad things were, I really should though. Even if it just cuts down on half of the crap getting sprayed up there.. it's probably well worth it. You solution is, as always, very well implemented!

Thomas, my engine looked very much like that.. except I had our local mud instead. Your southern mud is far reder in color. I remember a photo a while back of Swoop's LII somewhere in PA. My engine looked almost as bad as his did.

Welp, yesterday between driving all over the place and shooting lots of photos I hosed down the engine. Just took a garden hose to it over at the office. Living in an apartment building really sucks. Fortunately my office is only a few blocks from home and the boss lets us run a hose out from the shop. As I said, I just hosed it down.. scrubbed a little, applied some cleaner here and there, scrubbed a little more, and then hosed down again. I got most of the mud off.. although all the plastic parts are still a shade of dirty. I'm not going to loose much sleep over it in the end. This is New England. Within a few months the engine will be coated w/ road salt anyhow. There's no sense in spit polishing it..

But I did knock the bulk of it off. Hopefully that's enough..

What's the word on hosing the engine down anyway? I was super nervious about hosing the battery and electrical components. They're pretty well protected, but not perfectly.. I tried to be careful around the battery contacts, alternator, and the junction box. Although everything got wet (including me!). Afterwards I let it sit for 20-30 min w/ the hood open to dry before firing it up.
 
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Old 10-31-2005
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Originally Posted by NHBubba
What's the word on hosing the engine down anyway? I was super nervious about hosing the battery and electrical components. They're pretty well protected, but not perfectly.. I tried to be careful around the battery contacts, alternator, and the junction box. Although everything got wet (including me!). Afterwards I let it sit for 20-30 min w/ the hood open to dry before firing it up.
FWIW, the owner's manual shows areas that should be protected when washing the engine. Personally, I never bother with any of that, I just avoid shooting the water directly at those areas. I figure that if the underhood area can survive water, slush and salt spray kicked up from the road, clean water won't hurt it much.
 


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