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cleaning the underbody

J

jbassxj

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Texas
I like to have a clean underbody whenver I'm working under there... I hate it when that one dried up mud clump from 4 months prior decides to give up in it's fight w/ gravity in slight stages upon my eyes.

Any of you peeps clean the underbody (suspension, etc.) from time to time? If so, what do you use? (Other then the creek in the middle of the trail)
 
I use some cheep clearcoat paint on all of my under body parts. It realy makes clean up a snap and the mud falls off.
 
I know what you mean. I pressure wash it now and then. Its like a dirt bike or any other machine though. You dont want to blast certain areas. I grease/lube when Im done. Here in Mi. its a battle with rust so I have gone over the whole unibody and spray greased everything, Like inside the boxed areas, suspension bolts, etc. Oily metal wont rust and its nice to take stuff apart without fighting and breaking it. When I work on stuff like the fuel tank, tank skid, hitch, bumpers, I grease or anti seize all the bolts. After bleeding your brakes put a wad of grease on and around the bleeder screw. No you dont want the crap falling on the driveway but you get the idea. Keep the door hinges lubed and the doors wont sag. OK Ill shut up now.
 
On my Toyota 4x I used to spray the undercarriage with wd40. The mud and dirt seemed to come off easier after that but that clear coat / or a fresh coat of gloss black sounds like a more permanent idea.
Cherokid
 
A good day of wheeling in deep wet snow will do wonders for cleaning off you undercarriage :)
 
I use a couple of pump sprayers full of simple green, spray down the whole bottom and then drive to the quarter wash. I take a set of ramps with me.
I wash mine often, I use the ramps on the front for one visit to the wash and on the rear the next.
Boiled Linseed oil works as well as clear coat and is bio degradable. Cheap and works as well if not better than undercoating. You can spray it on with a pump sprayer.
I've also used Turtle wash and wax in a high pressure cleaner with a soap dispensor attachment, with good results. The mud comes off pretty easy.
 
If I actually go mudding(which I seldom do) and it SUPER muddy I was it at work. I forlift it up one end at a time and clean it good. It seems no matter how clean one is there is always mud in the eye though lol.
 
put a lawn sprinkler under it when your done muddin.Stick it under the back for 5 or 10 min then move it to the front for awhile.then take it to the $.25 wash,works great.
 
a1collier said:
put a lawn sprinkler under it when your done muddin.Stick it under the back for 5 or 10 min then move it to the front for awhile.then take it to the $.25 wash,works great.
Click to expand...

I do the same and it can be quite entertaining watching the goop drop off while enjooying a beer relaxing in a lawn chair.
 
I did something similar to the above, I built a rack out of old copper pipe and pvc, hook it up to the pressure washer, pull the jeep over it and let it do all the work.

I used to just drive it thru the creek until the 'exit trail' started getting really muddy...
 
a1collier said:
put a lawn sprinkler under it when your done muddin.Stick it under the back for 5 or 10 min then move it to the front for awhile.then take it to the $.25 wash,works great.
Click to expand...

Genius!

I like the idea about taking ramps to the car wash. Funny stuff.
 
wow, tons of good ideas here. It rained here pretty hard the other day and drove through as many puddles as possible... still didn't get all the stuff that got gunked up in the front.

Thanks for all the good ideas fellas!
 
I do the sprinkler thing, the owner at the local car wash gets a mite peeved when you pull out a set of ramps and put on a rain suit and face shield cause he knows whats coming next..
I have two sprinklers, one round one with 5 sprayers that shoot up and at angles and one that rotates, Y connector and I let em run for about 20 min or so.. then shoot it with a garden hose and one of those brass turn type nozzles.. only time I have to do it is when it's been particularly muddy out though. I normally avoid mud...
 
Whatever methode you use, get the mud out of the mud traps. Back of the bumper, in the frame rails, inside the flares etc where ever it sticks and is hard to get to. I change my plan and attack the underbody from a new angle on occasion, like both ramps on one side. And envariably find a spot I missed last time. Spring is when I usually clean it up really good, at least once (though it can take a couple of trips).
Stuff that sits in there for years and gets missed every wash, is the stuff that starts rot. Surface rust actually doesn't mean alot, it can go on for many years.
In salt country, rot happens quick, salt gets in the mud stuck in unlikely places and works on your metal year round. Any wash is better than no wash.
 
i work at an industrial truck/car wash and have worked detailing logging dump and bush trucks for resale at dealerships and there is no clean way to do it you have to be thorough and invasive but we had a cleaning tool built for this it is a large rectangle on casters with a long handle and about 25 or so hole drilled in it tat hooks to a fire hose its like the sprinkler x 50 but youve still got to get on your knees and dig,scrape and claw with your hands and sometimes lay in the wash bay (bring cardboard) to get it all
p.s. this is a good time to grease and look over the underside for unwanted improvements you may have earned
 
Bit of a direction change here ... I just bought my '90 and have various and sundry oil leaks that I want to clean (t-case linkage and wires first). In the 'good ole days' ('60's), we would just spray with Gunk and hose it down in some already dead spot in the back yard. Since the EPA came along, I feel a bit guilty about that sort of thing. Plus, I'd kinda like to do some of this spot cleaning in my garage. I've thought about surrounding the area with plastic with a pan below, Gunk'ing, and clearing with compressed air. How stupid is that? Any thoughts?
 
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