I will be washing the engine bay with soap and water anything sensitive to watch out for? other then the belts

 

All the electrics, especially connectors (& modules).

All moving joints - which may well have lubricant that won't like soap at all.

I would not do it!!

 

If the engine bay is caked in oily grime from fluid leaks, I use an engine degreaser with a variety of brushes to agitate the grease and rinse with low volume and low pressure water.

If the engine bay is just the normal dusty and dirty from daily driving, I use a non-greasy vinyl cleaner/protectant to get amazing results by misting the entire engine bay and letting the protectant soak in to the plastic and rubber overnight and then misting again and wiping to clean. The engine bay looks absolutely new with no danger to anything. Don't use Armor All. That stuff should have been banned 30 years ago. My favorite vinyl cleaner is Vinylex from Lexol, but they seem to have discontinued it. It is true unicorn **** for detailing plastic and rubber. I still have a supply of Vinylex, but from what I have heard, 303 Aerospace Protectant is similar and readily available.

 

What I like to use are those pump-up bug sprayers with a wand that I can dial either a stream or fan. The wand can get into tight places and I can aim a small but forceful spray exactly on target, avoiding anything that shouldn't get wet. I'll use two, one filled with Simple Green, the other with plain rinse water. I have a plethora of brushes. Bottle brushes are great because they can be bent into different shapes to reach into places where thicker buildup needs to agitated. I've got all kinds of cleaning brushes. I've just searched Amazon and ordered some that look like they might be useful. One of my favorites has been some kind of coffee machine cleaning brush. I can't imagine how it would be used on a coffee machine, but its got a long handle and a small round head with extremely stiff nylon bristles that makes quick work of grease on rough cast parts. Mostly I use old toothbrushes. You really should get a new one about once a month anyway.

I've never needed to go to such extreme on the XF tho. I've cleaned the plastic covers on top and I've vacuumed the engine bay quite a bit. I have an assortment of attachments for my shop-vac that can get into tight spaces. If you use water, you'll need to remove the undertray. I bought at Home Depot a shallow plastic tray that's meant to go under a washing (laundry) machine. Its about the right size to catch the runoff from an engine cleaning. It even fits under my engine stand to catch any oil or coolant that escapes during disassembly. HTH.

 

Thanks I will try their leather care product as well
303 30218 Leather 3-in-1 Complete Care - 16 oz.