How to Properly Clean Undercarriage?

[adkinsadam1]

I was just wondering this because I want to avoid rust and corrosion.

I have always just sprayed it off with the hose, such as the suspension, axles, everything I can see basically, but when it dries it seems like there is still dirt and crap on everything. How should I get it off? Would taking it to a good carwash be better?

If I am at home washing, how can I thoroughly get everything clean? Should I just use more pressure? Somehow soap? What do you do?

Thanks and happy Thursday.

 

[gs300tt]

This is how I do it.

But I have a 10 Ton crain.

 

[CShaver1025]

Basically what the last post said. Except not everyone has a 10 ton crane so you could jack the front end up as much as possible or drive up on ramps and hit it with a pressure washer. That is what I do. My pressure washer mixes soap into it and there is still a small layer of dirt after. I dont think you can avoid that unless you get under there and scrub everything with a brush.

 

[adkinsadam1]

Is there anything I need to avoid hitting with pressure?

 

[gshadow325]

iwould do this while you are washing the outside of the truck.

throw that under the truck, bucket wash the outside and move it as needed.

 

[jgue467]

Yup better than pressure washing!

Gshadow i do the same thing but mostly with my quads-the manuals specifically tell you not to power wash quads.

Mud under my t4r can sit there till most falls off alone but eventually i'll wash it, don't really get much rust in central texas. Pressure washing is cool but ya gotta be really careful on parts where rubber meets metal, can damage that and start leaking stuff in or out, ouch!

 

[white_n_slow]

If you're really worried about rust, a yearly dose of fluid film, or similar rust inhibitor product will do more than keeping the undercarriage clean alone.

I'm lazy, and I just run it through the car wash with the high-power under spray.

 

[Dutch-Runner '99]

I've always done this ^^^^

.....with an additional hosing out afterwards with a garden hose after I'm done washing the exterior. My thinking with washing the undercarriage is that if you use too high of pressure you can push dirt/mud/salt/sand/ect deeper into small crevasses that are next to impossible to reach otherwise. I go with higher GPM and lower pressure. But with everything there is an exception: for thick or dried on mud I use a higher pressure and more direct attack to knock it off :sniper:

 

[OffRoadGuy]

II bust out my squirt gun. I've found that my AK has the power to get into those tight spots.

 

[paddlenbike]

I usually pressure wash the undercarriage after a muddy trip. And every couple of years I get under there and repaint places where I've scraped the paint off on rocks. If I lived in the rust belt, I would do it much more often.

The problem areas are the frame near the lower control arm brackets, above the spare tire and the top of the rear shock towers.

I want my 3rd gen to stick around a long time, so the few hours I spend every couple of years seems like a good investment to me.

 

[jmildoc]

That looks like brand new!!!!!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Nelsonmd]

I usually pressure wash the undercarriage after a muddy trip. And every couple of years I get under there and repaint places where I've scraped the paint off on rocks. If I lived in the rust belt, I would do it much more often.

The problem areas are the frame near the lower control arm brackets, above the spare tire and the top of the rear shock towers.

I want my 3rd gen to stick around a long time, so the few hours I spend every couple of years seems like a good investment to me.

Yeah, well F#%$ you and your flawless undercarriage :flipoff:.

Red is the new black.

 

[tee-bone]

Yeah, well F#%$ you and your flawless undercarriage :flipoff:.

Red is the new black.

Nelsonmd, I am so totally jealous of paddlenbike too, the bastard. The inside of my rig isn't even as clean as that.

 

[dhalsey]

I usually pressure wash the undercarriage after a muddy trip. And every couple of years I get under there and repaint places where I've scraped the paint off on rocks. If I lived in the rust belt, I would do it much more often.

The problem areas are the frame near the lower control arm brackets, above the spare tire and the top of the rear shock towers.

I want my 3rd gen to stick around a long time, so the few hours I spend every couple of years seems like a good investment to me.

What paint did you use. Looks great. I was debating on ordering some Eastwood undercarriage satin black.

 

[TheDurk]

I usually pressure wash the undercarriage after a muddy trip. And every couple of years I get under there and repaint places where I've scraped the paint off on rocks. If I lived in the rust belt, I would do it much more often.



The problem areas are the frame near the lower control arm brackets, above the spare tire and the top of the rear shock towers.

I want my 3rd gen to stick around a long time, so the few hours I spend every couple of years seems like a good investment to me.

So does once every 14 years sound like a good interval? I might have to start.

 

[paddlenbike]

What paint did you use. Looks great. I was debating on ordering some Eastwood undercarriage satin black.

I don't use any particular brand, but I always use semi-gloss black. It's not nearly as much work to keep up on rust spots if you do it on occasion, versus trying to tackle something that is already rusty everywhere. A pressure-washing, followed by an hour of painting once the frame is dry, isn't all that bad to do.

 

[Dutch-Runner '99]

Sorry to slightly thread hijack.... but where did you get those rock sliders?? I've thought of having to put the grating in between the bars to make it look more clean and would definitely prefer getting them with the grating already welded in.

 

[paddlenbike]

Sorry to slightly thread hijack.... but where did you get those rock sliders?? I've thought of having to put the grating in between the bars to make it look more clean and would definitely prefer getting them with the grating already welded in.

The sliders are Stubbs Sliders but the inserts I made from some perforated steel I found at my local hardware store. I know some people are laughing at the undercarriage pics I posted above, but doing long-distance desert travel at 60 MPH+ on gravel roads, you loose the paint on the undercarriage QUICKLY. Without the rock slider inserts, you won't have any paint left on the bottoms of the doors. That's why everything is so black in the pics posted earlier...after a long desert trip I hit those surfaces with paint before the rust hits.

In the pic below, this is what 3 days of desert travels did to the sliders. If the inserts weren't there, you can imagine what the body would look like. There was previously 2 coats of primer and 4 coats of paint on those slider legs and you can see it was GONE after 3 days.

You can see the rear shocks lost 100% of its paint too.

 

[kolelt]

I usually pressure wash the undercarriage after a muddy trip. And every couple of years I get under there and repaint places where I've scraped the paint off on rocks. If I lived in the rust belt, I would do it much more often.

The problem areas are the frame near the lower control arm brackets, above the spare tire and the top of the rear shock towers.

I want my 3rd gen to stick around a long time, so the few hours I spend every couple of years seems like a good investment to me.

Any tips on removing the rust on the rear top shock mounts ? It's like a cup so dirt SITS THERE.

 

[shootmymime]

Any tips on removing the rust on the rear top shock mounts ? It's like a cup so dirt SITS THERE.

I drilled a larger hole for the drain hole there so it does not get clogged up with little pebbles that are usually the ones that get up there. then when i wash my truck i be sure to blast some water up there to wash the mud out. Also Body lifts help getting in that part of the frame.