View Full Version : undercarage care? norther people with salt.
fordraceing_man
09-12-2006, 04:08 PM
just wondering what you guys do, i just go though drive thoughs with the undercarage a few times a month to get some salt off but i bet a lot of you don`t cause it will mess up the paint also cause swirls so what do you do about the bottem of the vechicals?
imported_GregCavi
09-12-2006, 04:29 PM
I usually try to hit it with my pressure washer whenever possible. When i am unable to use the PW in winter I will hit it with some degreaser, let dwell for about a minute then rinse with a pump sprayer of warm water (to melt snow). I also use ruberized undercoating in my wells prior to winter.
Greg
fordraceing_man
09-12-2006, 04:35 PM
you don`t hoist it up or run it through a touchless even?
gb387
09-12-2006, 04:38 PM
I usually try to hit it with my pressure washer whenever possible. When i am unable to use the PW in winter I will hit it with some degreaser, let dwell for about a minute then rinse with a pump sprayer of warm water (to melt snow). I also use ruberized undercoating in my wells prior to winter.
Greg
When warm enough I too use my power washer to get the salt/sand off the undercarriage. If its still quite cold I will go to the wand wash (with heated stalls) and give a good wash.
LeadingEdgeDetail
09-12-2006, 05:16 PM
How can you get at the undercarriage without either A) Lying on your back, or B) Using a Hoist?
That is why I`m looking to get a shop with a hoist :spot
Accumulator
09-12-2006, 05:28 PM
How can you get at the undercarriage without either A) Lying on your back, or B) Using a Hoist?
That is why I`m looking to get a shop with a hoist :spot
When I had a shop with a lift I hardly ever used it for this; it took longer to get the vehicles up/down than I wanted to bother with, and then I made a royal mess in the wrong part of the shop cleaning them there. They sure can be handy though...
Fortunately for me, I have one of the old undercarriage wands that American Waterbroom used to sell, but I can do the same job, albeit with a bit more hassle, working on a creeper with a hose. I only use the wand to do the preliminary/final rinses- most of the washing I do with the brushes and it takes a small hose nozzle to get into the tight spots to flush them out. I don`t even bother getting the wand out except in the winter, and sometimes I don`t bother with it even then. With just some brushes/etc. you can do a good job of keeping undercarriages clean and salt-free.
Year-round, I jack the lower vehicles up *so* often to do the undercarriages that I keep two floorjacks and some jackstands in the washbay at all times. The minivan/etc. I can do without jacking.
Rinse off the worst of it, spray with an APC, let dwell, agitate with a brush, rinse off. Just that easy.
And yeah, spraying some undercoating on can help immensely. I like the Black Heavy Duty Anti-Rust from Eastwood, just did frame/etc. of the new beater-Blazer with it. But I didn`t bother on the MPV and after five winters it`s still fine with just regular washes. Do the undercarriage every time you wash and it`s no big deal (or at least you get used to it).
imported_memnuts
09-12-2006, 06:33 PM
When I had this problem when I lived in New England, I would go to a coin operated car wash and use their wand to spray the undercarriage and fenderwells.
Presently here in southern Va. I just pull out the pressure washer on one of those 60* days in the winter months (Jan - Feb). The Escalade of course. The C5 never see wintery roads. :D