Proper maintenance after prolonger mud bath

[Bacdef]

Hello everyone

I got pwned by an idiot trap this week-end and beached my '98 on the plates after going over some terrain with two wheels on the hard and two wheels in the soft.

obligatory stupid grin pic :



The two left side wheels sat completely submerged for more or less three hours while me and the gang gathered some tools and took turns digging out the front. Note the classy footwear on helper Denis.



Once the front end was freed and some ramps inserted we were able to dislodge it with the help of a pulling *cough*RAV4*cough*.



All in all we had a lot of fun getting out of the clay pit.

I then spent four hours getting muck out of the underside with the garden hose, pulled off both left side wheels and hosed everything there as best I could, did a test drive to confirm there was no more gravel in the linkages/brakes and drove home (150 km) with no problems.

I intend to take the wheels off again and remove the calipers/drums to make sure there is no more clay in there. I then plan to hose down the body some more, removing the running boards, mud flaps and other trim on the left side. Getting that clay out of the armor is going to take a long time.

A visual inspection reveals that the rear diff and transfer case did not get submerged, so I guess greasing the drive shafts should be enough along the centerline. All boots look good on the left side but...

I am worried abouth the wheel bearings, CV joints and other power transmitting/steering organs on the left side. What inspections/checks/lubes should I perform after having both left wheels submerged in clay for 3 hours ?

 

[Reina]

I think you should be find. The seals should have kept the mud outside, given that it is in good condition. The brakes will also be fine. The cleaning with the garden hose is enough.
Since I have my fair share or deep mud crossing and all I do after that is clean the mud off with the garden hose.

 

[broncosi]

haha rav 4 really!? anyways, i would remove both of your skidplates and clean there.

 

[MunkeyTX]

After learning first hand that mud in your eye DOES suck, I no longer spend an afternoon on my hands and knees spraying off mud from a wheeling day. I stick a fan-type lawn sprinkler under the truck for an hour or two (skids dropped), then hit the hard to reach spots with a spray gun on the garden hose. I find that the sprinkler takes care of 80-90% of the mud from the undercarriage.

Judging from the amount of mud splatter, it looks like you drove in and stopped cold; no high rev spinning of the tires, which is usually when things go bad in mud.

Rinse her off, and enjoy the mud dam at the bottom of your driveway.

 

[Bacdef]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input.
+1 on the sprinkler idea, definitely going to give it a whirl.

I'm still taking the drums off because I could hear some grinding in there.

Yes a RAV4, really. You can see the badge in the pics.
The RAV4 didnt have the grunt to pull the 4Runner out as-was, hence the digging. This was not a planned outing, so no buddy offroader vehicle was present and the mud was a genuine surprise. The pit was in a 100 foot stretch of land in between two gravel roads that were under construction, and are planned to join up. I didnt even have 4WD engaged when it sank. The RAV was all we had and it did what it could, which was enough.

When I was digging out the front my shovel stopped on a mud flap. I was later quite pleased to realise that it was not one of mine... Thats when the pit got named "the idiot trap".

To my knowledge the plates have never been removed. I'm betting that a dozen Canadian winters will have corroded the bolts. Are fasteners for the plates available as kits ?

 

[rjaudi]

To my knowledge the plates have never been removed. I'm betting that a dozen Canadian winters will have corroded the bolts. Are fasteners for the plates available as kits ?

I went to the hardware store and got 8x1.25 pitch metric bolts. I forget exactly how long they are. Put a fender washer on each of them. I was able to find stainless steel bolts for around 1 dollar a piece. From my experience I would run a thread tap through each hole before you put them in.

 

[Bacdef]

I went to the hardware store and got 8x1.25 pitch metric bolts. I forget exactly how long they are. Put a fender washer on each of them. I was able to find stainless steel bolts for around 1 dollar a piece. From my experience I would run a thread tap through each hole before you put them in.

Thanks for the bolt spec rjaudi.

I went the easy-but-expensive route and ordered factory bolts from the stealership. The parts guy admitted to the bolts being nothing special, but I had a seconday motive. While there I asked a tech's opinion on the 3 hour long sitting in the mud thing and he confirmed that as long as all the boots are good and the diffs/transfer didnt get submerged past the breathers a good hose-down is all she needs.

You say you went with stainless bolts ? To my knowledge stainless fasteners sieze when torqued. Did you use anti-sieze fluid or something ?

 

[Mr. Leary]

"Proper maintainance after a prolonged mud bath?"

Wash it... or not... it doesn't really care... its a Toyota, after all.