Drove my weekend baby in the salt and snow HELP!

[Stone]

Due to a combination of factors I was forced to drive my 2005 WRX STi during a snow storm through freshly laid salt to get my wife to work. I realize this isn`t an exotic but I treat it no differently. It is (was) strictly driven when precipitation was nowhere to be seen.



My question: How should I go about cleaning the exterior to get ride of all the salt? The car is outside right now since bringing it into the heated garage would only speed the corrosion. I think I"ll zip down to the cheapo gas station wash (no twirling brushes) and get the full deal with undercarriage wash just so I can bring it inside.



I then plan to take it to the local car wash with some wheel ramps then crawl underneath and really spray the undercarriage and possibly scrub it if it needs it. After I get it home and its fairly clean I`ll pull the wheels off and clean the brakes, wheels, suspension then do a whole motor detail.



-Should I be worried about high pressure pushing salt into crevices?

-Is there any dressing I can put on the back of my wheels (inbetween the wheel and hub) to protect from corrossion?





If you all could have seen my face when I finally realized there was no way around it and I opened the garage to pull my baby into that weather... It was that of a man walking to the gallows.. :sadpace: Ok i`m being dramatic but it has ruined my day!!

[BobD]

The Sti is MADE for snow and dirt! Throw some Hankook winter tires on it and have some fun! :)

I don`t think you have to worry as much as you are but if I where you I would just bring it in, jack it up, and start cleaning. Taking it to the car wash would be good if it was next door but I am sure the underside will be filthy by the time you get home. I wouldn`t worry about the salt getting into crevices. You could rub some grease on the back of the wheels or antiseize or something.

[Stone]

haha I have snow tires/wheels but It is my fast car I drive an Envoy on the nasty days. I`m sure it will be fine but It kills me when its so dirty. Thanks

[trl2112]

That cars must be a blast in the muck! Don`t worry just clean it. PB Wheel Sealent is some good stuff. I coat both sides of all my wheels with it.

[velobard]

Yeah, next time call a cab for your wife, LOL.



One guy here puts a lawn sprinkler on the driveway and slowly drives over it to wash his undercarriage. One outfit used to make a water wand shaped sort of like a push broom with wheels on the crossbar and water nozzles pointed up to wash the bottom of the car. I hear they`ve quit making it, but I believe Accumulator still has his.

[Grimm]

I wouldn`t worry about the rust unless you figure on having it for like 30 years.

[BigJimZ28]

wow.... this is funny you don`t drive your AWD STi in the snow

and I just put snow tires on my 30TH ann. z28 camaro convertable

[Accumulator]

I wouldn`t worry about the rust unless you figure on having it for like 30 years.



Even then it`s nothing to worry about unless you somehow got a bad one where they missed something during assembly.



Stone- I drove my WRX in the winter every year I had it. I just cleaned the undercarriage thoroughly at every wash as I do on all our vehicles and when I sold it the undercarriage did not have any rust on it. I made its condition a selling point :D



All of my vehicles (except the old RX-7 I picked up a while back) have been driven in winter salt at one time or another, even the Jag. If *that* car survived it (and 21 years later it`s still fine) then any car will. Just clean off the salt very well and rinse rinse rinse and it`ll be OK. Really ;) Subaru *is* cheap with the paint in out of the way areas (no clear) but they don`t leave any bare metal and they do put enough paint on to withstand a little winter use.



Oh, that reminds me (off-topic, kinda, but anyhow..)- if you polish the uncleared areas (lightly, don`t cut through), the resulting smoother surface will be easier to wax and will shed dirt/salt/etc. a lot better than the original rough texture will. Looks better too. A little time spent doing a polish/LSP detail on the suspension/etc. might be something you`d enjoy anyhow, I enjoy doing it on the good cars.




-Should I be worried about high pressure pushing salt into crevices?

-Is there any dressing I can put on the back of my wheels (inbetween the wheel and hub) to protect from corrossion?



No on the "should I be worried"; yeah, you can use anti-seize paste on the hat of the rotor. I have to do this on vehicles with steel wheels and/or drum brakes. Just watch you don`t slop it onto some surface where you don`t want it and don`t use too much lest it migrate to those areas on its own. FWIW I don`t have to do this on the Audis and they get driven in the winter. The little bit of corrosion they get in these areas doesn`t amount to much, doesn`t bother me any more than the dirty anti-seize would :nixweiss But suit yourself, the anti-seize *is* the answer to that one. If there are caps where the hub retaining nuts/cotter pins are, and/or bare metal areas, you can coat these with grease to keep them from rusting too. Grease or anti-seize, but for those spots I`ve done fine with regular grease (whatever`s in the grease gun).




One outfit used to make a water wand shaped sort of like a push broom with wheels on the crossbar and water nozzles pointed up to wash the bottom of the car. I hear they`ve quit making it, but I believe Accumulator still has his.



Good memory. The company is American Water Broom, shame they won`t make more of `em. I really only use it for the initial and final rinses on the daily drivers but for that it`s a nice time-saver. It`s still best to get under there and actually wash things off with BHBs/etc. though, and on the good cars I prefer to get under there with a hose and rinse stuff off more carefully (but then I`m a bit fanatical about my undercarriages).

[Accumulator]

wow.... this is funny you don`t drive your AWD STi in the snow

and I just put snow tires on my 30TH ann. z28 camaro convertable



Well, *I* sure can`t pick on Stone for that one :o I got snows on dedicated winter wheels for the S8..you know, quattro and all....but I can`t bring myself to drive it in the winter except on trips. The winters when I *did* drive it, the salt clouded the aluminum suspension pieces/etc. and it just bugs me something awful. I can be *so* goofy about this stuff :o :chuckle:



Come to think of it, I can`t remember if the WRX had any such issues...if it did they weren`t severe enough to stick in my memory and the buyer sure didn`t say anything.



The Sti oughta be fun in the snow, what with the adjustable front/rear bias. I generally didn`t like my Subies compared to my Audis, but that could well make all the difference.

[Grimm]

Even then it`s nothing to worry about unless you somehow got a bad one where they missed something during assembly.







I just meant if he were keeping it 30 years and wanted it looking pristine underneath since it would probably accumulate some surface rust unless those cars are painted or plated everywhere. Heck, my friend has a `69 Pontiac from Oregon that is all original and still looks pretty good. I`m sure that thing has seen some snow in it`s time.

[velobard]

Well, I might have good news and bad news. Good news is that with the reminder Accumulator gave me on the name of the company, I looked them up and they do have an undercar waterbroom listed. The bad news is the price they have listed for it is $400. I`m sorry, but that seems outrageous for what you`re getting. Perhaps Accumulator can correct me and there`s really more to this than I`m seeing. Once you click to view their product page, it`s most of the way to the bottom.

American Waterbroom (http://www.waterbrooms.com/)



I might have to make a trip to Lowe`s and see what I could fabricate. It seems like some nozzles could be mounted in some PVC to piece together something to do this job.

[2StepsAhead]

Find a friend with a lift and spray it down/power wash it...just be very careful around the o2 sensors...personally I think its a little over the top for a rally car to never see snow, I mean its brand new and its not like its going to rot away the car going in it once...I had a WRX for 3 years before my Evo and I drove it through the blizzard no problems, I`m waiting for the first snow fall to throw my hankooks on it and the gf`s STi...just my .02..

[STG]

What`s the point of owning a WRX and not driving it in snow? You should have bought the 1/18th scale Auto Art version.

[Accumulator]

I just meant if he were keeping it 30 years and wanted it looking pristine underneath since it would probably accumulate some surface rust unless those cars are painted or plated everywhere..



Ah, we`re on the same page, I was even thinking about the surface rust issue. I have a *little* of that on the MPV`s suspension pieces, they`re just fogged with paint and after a few winters the surface rust is visible. Oddly enough, I tried going over a few of those spots with BF polish (the old paint cleaner one, not the Menzerna stuff) and then putting the BF on it. Worked incredibly well...only a nut like me would ever notice the (pretty well arrested) surface rust now.



But I didn`t have this happen with my WRX, seemed like they used better paint/painting methods on it than Mazda did on my MPV. That`s why I thought he could be OK.



velobard- Hey, what do you know...that *is* the undercar wand I have! Sorta funny...they said they wouldn`t make any more of `em even after I offered to buy a bunch...then they bring it back with such an outrageous price that they`ll never sell any (and some twit at the company will say "see, I told you there`s no market for them" :rolleyes: ). It *is* a pretty nice thing, and if I didn`t have mine, well, I`m probably crazy enough to buy one..but man-oh-man is that a high price for what it is.

[Accumulator]

What`s the point of owning a WRX and not driving it in snow? You should have bought the 1/18th scale Auto Art version.



I did some hot laps with a Sti driver who knew what he was doing, and that system is great on dry pavement, it`s not just a foul-weather-friend. And to be honest, my (non-Sti) WRX wasn`t nearly as good in the snow as my Audi quattros, even with the *exact* same tires on both- that`s not a slam at the car, just an explanation as to why I actualy liked driving it better when it wasn`t too snowy out.



Heh heh, sorry, don`t mean to sound all :argue or :nono I always feel compelled to stick up for anybody who pampers their AWD car since I`m like that with the S8 (heh heh#2, seems like I only take that car out to, uhm.. to hit a deer :eek: ...see what happens when you try to pamper something).