Removing mud

Can anyone out there give best advice on removing thick caked on mud from underside of car. I was thinking of lifting one side onto axle stands then jetwashing and repeating for other side.

I usually put the front up on ramps, then cross axle it both directions to get under the arches and at the chassis, then one side up so i can get at the centre. Only way you can get a good go at it is by getting on your knees still. Worst part is the radius arm mounts i have to go both directions to clear them out.

The mud at tong was thin/watery type so not bad at all to clean.... wait till you get real THICK mud. my jetwash wudnt budge it last time mine was like that, had to pull it off with hands.

maybe take it to local garage jetwash and drive onto ramps without them seeing! they are more powerful than the domestic types i believe

I've not noticed they're any more powerful but the time it takes to do it properly it will cost a fortune!

Now i know all mud is bad for your car but when i first took mine off road to Manby the mud got everywhere and hammers your components, i think 40-50k of road miles then a good dunking off road finished things off. The sites i use now don't seem so hard on parts even the drums aren't full of mud like they used to be.

Ditto what Mcjimny said a pair of ramps, a lot less effort than jack and axle stands. My power washer is just a £30 Homebase jobbie, I always have the opinion that unless your going to spend a grand upwards on a steam cleaner your just as well spending £30 (oops sorry Aberdonian speak again!!)
John.

I gave up using the car wash's / garage's pressure washer as it was costing me a fortune!

They are sometimes higher pressure than a home one, depending how much money you spent on a home one, but that is not necessarily a good thing. The higher pressure ones sometimes remove more than mud - such as your underseal, which stops your car from turning into a big ball of rust very quickly.

I bought a £30 one from B+Q on a last of line offer for a not brilliant brand. I am quite anal about getting every little bit of mud off my Jimny as it retains moisture to cause rust.

To that end I get down on my hands and knees and sometimes lay on my side - in the muddy water on the ground - and clean every nook and cranny. Sometimes with the lower pressure you have to soak it first to loosen it up, then come back to it to blast it out. So I go round once quickly to soak it, then again thoroughly to get it out.

I then find the next day when I'm less tired of looking at the underside of a car with mud flicking in my eyes that I have missed loads and give it a second go quickly to get the bits I missed.

I also try not to put it straight away in the garage and to leave it out to dry in the air, or it will stay wet and surface rust will quickly form.

This summer I intend to complete a good rustproofing session with a liberal application of stone chip to all of the underside. I don't use Waxoyl type products outside the chassis as from bitter experience it never really sets and you get covered in it forever more when working under the car, which I do alot with it being an offroader and the maintenance it needs from that.

I hope that the stonechip will protect the chassis and under the body from rust and prevent the mud from sticking so vigorously to it.

I also plan to blast the chassis out and Wayoyl inside it. This needs doing in 30 degrees heat though to ensure it dries over a week or so first before I stick the Waxoyl inside.

It's a funny old game this Offroading. It's fun doing it, but if you want to keep your truck in good nick like I do, you spend more time cleaning it and maintaining it than you do using it offroad!

Kirkynut

I usually find it takes a couple of goes at it to get it all off too!

I'll echo others on not buying a dear pressure washer, i had a cheap one a while ago and it was fine for the jobs i needed it for until i dropped the lance cleaning out the guttering, obviously a replacement lance is more than the washer itself so that ended up binned as i got a karcher off my sister, which i must say is no better its slightly more powerful but thats it, now the lance is shot on that too, it may just be an o-ring but i've not had chance to take it apart yet. Replacements are £45+

Some people rip it if you have a clean 4x4 but when you work on it yourself theres nothing worse than mud falling in your eyes when you're under your car. I also believe that if its covered in crap you can't see any damage properly.

so what do you do to clean the engine bay etc ?

darthloachie wrote: so what do you do to clean the engine bay etc ?

Personally i leave it running and put it on a fine spray and avoid direct spray on electricals. I leave it running for a while after.