Cleaning undercarriage

**doc-rice** · 10-05-2007, 05:07 PM

Do any of you go the extra mile and clean under the car? If so, what products / process do you use? This may not be practical for a daily driver, but I`d like to do it just as a once-over every 5 years to bring it back to "factory fresh."

**stiffdogg06** · 10-05-2007, 05:11 PM

I had this pump fertilizer sprayer that I load up with APC/h2o and then let it soak for a good while and then blast it off with a hose or pressure washer.

**Morris9982** · 10-05-2007, 06:23 PM

I`ve done this a couple times on one car I used to own.

The car was fairly new so there was not a lot of build up. The car was about a year old and had been through one winter when I cleaned the undercarriage the first time.

I sprayed it with clear water using a regular garden hose and a stream type nozzle to knock off the loose stuff. Then I put it up on jack stands and spent a few hours with a lot of rags and some general purpose cleaner. I did not try to get into every crevice It did look pretty good when I finished.

After that first time, I just repeated the process occasionally. The subsequent cleanings went much faster than the first.

**mikebai1990** · 10-05-2007, 06:27 PM

Yes, I believe many people on the forum do thorough cleanings of their undercarriage. I would recommend that you set the entire car up on jack stands, and take your time. Probably use a strong dilution of an APC, spray on, dwell for a while. Then use some brushes to agitate, pressure washer to dislodge dirt and crud.

**arcampanano** · 10-05-2007, 06:30 PM

I take my car to a professional detailer and he steam blasts the hell out of my undercarriage. Total for a engine bay cleaning and undercarriage was $75, which I dont think is that bad.

**GlossyTundra** · 10-05-2007, 07:27 PM

I do mine, search tundra undercarriage for my process and pics in the c&b section of autopia.

**Crusader101** · 10-05-2007, 10:32 PM

When I did mine, I put it up on ramps and went to town with Megs APC and Wheel Brightener along with some brushes and rags. I was a soaking wet, dirty mess when done but it came out nice. I then saturated everything with TOL Grape Dressing...ended up looking showroom new.

**Accumulator** · 10-06-2007, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by doc-rice

Do any of you go the extra mile and clean under the car?

Originally Posted by mikebai1990

Yes, I believe many people on the forum do thorough cleanings of their undercarriage..

Yeah, that`d be me

I do the undercarriages pretty much *every* time I wash, even keep a pair of floorjacks and a set of jackstands in the wash bay just for that purpose. It`s sorta surprising how dirty the undercarriages get; I never fail to get plenty of dirt off, even when they still looked clean.

What I use depends on the vehicle. Drivers/beaters get an APC, garage queens get a sorta-strong shampoo mix. Both are sprayed on from spray bottles, allowed to dwell, agitated with brushes, and then rinsed off.

Some vehicles get the undercarriages waxed/sealed/dressed, some don`t.

In the winter I first rinse things off with the undercar wand from American Waterbroom, with hot water it does a good job of getting a lot of the salt off quickly. Not enough by itself though, I still need to get under there and really clean things off.

When I get a new used vehicle, I do the inital cleaning with solvents, degreasers, and the steamer. After that it`s just maintenance and I don`t have to redo things in a big way for quite a while.

**Ralliart16** · 10-06-2007, 01:09 PM

wow cleaning your undercarriage on every wash is... OCD lol.

I did mine using concentrated simple green, a nylon brush, and a lot of towels. Then hosed it down after. Looked great.

And I don`t plan on cleaning it again for a good while. Maybe once or twice a year. It doesn`t get "that" dirty.

**Accumulator** · 10-06-2007, 01:21 PM

Ralliart16- Heh heh, yeah most people consider my level of frequency a bit extreme.

But try wiping it down with a white towel, it might be dirtier than you think

One of the functional aspects of keeping the undercarriage clean is that I can quickly spot any leaks/etc. long before they become serious. I`ve headed off nasty surprises countless times just by seeing the first signs of impending trouble and taking immediate action.

**BlueLibby04** · 10-06-2007, 10:20 PM

Ive done my underbody twice now that I can think of. This past time was all out crawling under it with scrub bursh, a bottle of Megs APC, and Super D.

Super D(part of the process was taking the pad off under the hood):

Couple befores(front pinion seal is leaking

):

I went as far as to take the rear suspension apart and paint it all. Been dying to do the front but I would have to get an alignment then.

I found some stoners Tire shine on sale for half price at advance auto parts. It worked out great on the underbody.

Hope thats not to many pics.

**clnfrk** · 10-06-2007, 11:21 PM

BlueLibby, that is very impressive! Those before pics looked horrible. Thankfully, I don`t have to deal with all that rusty mess here in Florida. Was it difficult to remove various nuts and bolts on the rear suspension? I would guess that alot of those parts would be seized on there pretty good. Do you plan on doing anything with the exhaust and driveshaft? Now that everything else is looking new again, those two items stand out even more so.

**Accumulator** · 10-07-2007, 10:44 AM

BlueLibby04- That is just *SUCH* a great job!

Looking at the front bits, I think you`d be pleasantly surprised by how well the Eastwood Rust Encapsulator/Black Anti-Rust/etc. approach would work. Your Jeep is in OK-enough shape that you could get by without doing a really proper job of it.