4X4 cleaning tips after muddy water crossing

[Rocker]

Hi guys,

Just after some tips on cleaning a 4X4 after you have done muddy water crossing deep enough to get the whole bottom of the chassis and everything with it submersed, engine bay etc.

Outside of washing the obvious, what are the things I might not have thought of or wouldn't know? Nooks and crannies, and such.

Cheers

[AusTac]

Get yourself some safety glasses, a pressure washer and a right angle nozzle for said washer and be prepared to get wet, lay by the side steps and spray spray spray, took me 4 hours last time to get to a point i was happy with, otherwise wait for a rainy day and go down the freeway :p

[mobo]

I always wondered what happens with your exhaust pipe?

If you're going slow enough or if you're forced to stop for some reason then take off again, has a whole heap of water and crap filled up your tailpipe?

Exhaust pressure can't be keeping it all out just by idling if you come to a stop.

[p3seven]

Don't be so precious.. lt gets dry and falls off. Or washes off next time you go out on a wet road. They are 4wd's

Re exhaust pipe. Thats where the now non existent hand throttle was good. You could set the idle to fast. And NEVER stop the engine when you are in water

[VICHunter]

Wash as normal, give it a good blast all around the under carriage with high pressure just be careful where you point it, and don't get too close.

Look out for rubber grommets around the suspension, wiring looms/sensors along the exhaust and around the engine bay. You get the idea.

No high pressure in the engine bay. For this I spray basically everything with a degreaser and leave it for a few minutes, then wash off with low pressure water. You'd be amazed how much falls off here with relatively little effort. Only way to really do it as far as I know.

[brett1868]

My new ranger got washed on pre-delivery and every time its rained since May, Dirt adds a layer of protection

[Mongrel]

My new ranger got washed on pre-delivery and every time its rained since May, Dirt adds a layer of protection

Not this method works really well....i can concur

[AusTac]

Mud on the body is fine, but in my personal opinion get as much out from under the drivetrain components as you can, the mud works its way into all your seals ( transfer, pinion, gear box output shaft etc etc ) and being fairly abrasive messes them up later down the track

[brett1868]

My new ranger got washed on pre-delivery and every time its rained since May, Dirt adds a layer of protection

Not this method works really well....i can concur

How much of my place went home with you after the last adventure? Probably enough to top soil the lawn at least

[happyhunter]

I used to crack the diff drain bolts to check for water and drain it off/top up with oil if required and re grease the chassis after deep water crossings. It doesn't hurt to service the chassis and do a diff oil change if the vehicles has been through a lot of deep water.

[OODAH]

Mud wrecks everything always best to clean it as well as possible and keep everything greased all the time

[Die Judicii]

A lot of people forget the chassis itself,, ie the box section.
These can fill up with sand, mud, and chips of gravel.
The gravel and mud tend to block the small drain holes in the bottom of the box section.
If not chased and flushed out with a high pressure hose, the whole thing can eventually fill up with mud 2 or 3 inches deep.
This in turn holds moisture for longer before eventually drying out.
On newish vehicles the chassis material is now only half the thickness of what it used to be, so will eat out with rust quicker.

Dependent on the type soil this can get pretty bad pretty quick.
Some soils are actually acidic, and a lot of the red desert type stuff actually contains a lot of salt, so that too is bad news.

So it pays to keep the chassis clean an clear, cos when they are full of mud its hard work getting it out. Sometimes near impossible.

If your fourbie is not a city machine, and its not parked on a nice clean concrete floor or driveway,,,,, an old friend of mine recommended not to bother
cleaning the mud out of the chassis at all.
Instead he used to pour sump oil in and saturate the mud with it.
It just turned into a black concrete like compound that eventually went hard, and he never had to worry about rust.

[Wobble]

You beat me to it, Die.

I was just going to say stick a house in the chassis rails to flush out all the crap.

[albat]

Do a bit of beach work on the islands in qld , my procedure after the beach is high pressure gerni where you can then the finisher is to put the garden sprinkler underneath for a couple of hours whilst parked on the paddock

[Die Judicii]

Do a bit of beach work on the islands in qld , my procedure after the beach is high pressure gerni where you can then the finisher is to put the garden sprinkler underneath for a couple of hours whilst parked on the paddock

Yes this is effective.
I used to do the same with my 1st Cruiser (60Series Wagon)

Only problem was I ended up with frozen brake slave cylinders on the front.
The mechanic blamed my liberal dosing of fresh water as being the predominant cause.

If your going to try it, make sure you take it for a drive straight afterward, and use the brakes enough to dry everything out.

[brett1868]

I've still got that .204 Ruger case rattling in the demister ducting driving me nuts. I'm going to pull the trim off between the windscreen and bonnet tomorrow and see if I can jam the boy in there. He's got much smaller hands then me and better eyes, if that fails then ill give serious thought to the suggestion of dribbling a little glue down there. Lease doesn't run out for another 4.5 years so I have to fix it one way or another.

[AusTac]

I've still got that .204 Ruger case rattling in the demister ducting driving me nuts. I'm going to pull the trim off between the windscreen and bonnet tomorrow and see if I can jam the boy in there. He's got much smaller hands then me and better eyes, if that fails then ill give serious thought to the suggestion of dribbling a little glue down there. Lease doesn't run out for another 4.5 years so I have to fix it one way or another.

I know the feeling my friend, i have a .22 case rolling around my cowling driving me crazy

[Chronos]

I'd be more worried about the height of the diff breathers than any mud, I'd rather have a chassis rust out 10 years after i've sold the vehicle than drive around with two diffs full of water

Chronos

[Die Judicii]

I've still got that .204 Ruger case rattling in the demister ducting driving me nuts. I'm going to pull the trim off between the windscreen and bonnet tomorrow and see if I can jam the boy in there. He's got much smaller hands then me and better eyes, if that fails then ill give serious thought to the suggestion of dribbling a little glue down there. Lease doesn't run out for another 4.5 years so I have to fix it one way or another.

Wouldn't it be great,,,,, if brass was magnetic ???