Wheel-well brush/tool help?

[clapperc]

The traditional wheel-well brush will not fit between the tire and wheel-well. Suggestions for an alternate brush or tool to the below?



I tried this one... Although it fit... The end was too pointed.



Anyone try the below Wheel-woolies? Dimensions of the handle?

[GearHead_1]

I use the wheel woolies and they fit between my wheels and the calipers and that`s a pretty tight fit, perhaps only an inch and a half. What kind of vehicle is it? I know this is kind of a worse case scenerio suggestion in that it isn`t actually a convenient step when washing your car but you could of course lift it by the frame/sub-frame/uni-body and let the wheels hang to give you a bit more clearance. If your clearances are that tight it might be nice to get that extra clearance to be able to really clean the wheel wells and suspension components.

[clapperc]

I use the wheel woolies and they fit between my wheels and the calipers and that`s a pretty tight fit, perhaps only an inch and a half. What kind of vehicle is it? I know this is kind of a worse case scenerio suggestion in that it isn`t actually a convenient step when washing your car but you could of course lift it by the frame/sub-frame/uni-body and let the wheels hang to give you a bit more clearance. If your clearances are that tight it might be nice to get that extra clearance to be able to really clean the wheel wells and suspension components.

Don`t think I haven`t thought of lifting the vehicle! Only place I would share this... I had the undercarriages sprayed with epoxy-paint and would be afraid of marring the finish... I have two Jeeps I need this solutions for... An SRT; And a Commander with oversize tires.

[Detail Impressions]

Please measure the clearance, most likely you have to customize a brush. Grind down the handle area to allow clearance.

[GearHead_1]

Don`t think I haven`t thought of lifting the vehicle! Only place I would share this... I had the undercarriages sprayed with epoxy-paint and would be afraid of marring the finish... I have two Jeeps I need this solutions for... An SRT; And a Commander with oversize tires.

Ha! You need a pillow/cushion for your floor jack.

I use a block of hardwood (actually 2, one for each side using two jacks) with a slot cut in it to straddle the pinch weld on one of my cars when not lifting by the suspension. Might not be soft enough for your purposes and would definitely be a problem for a very low vehicle but might not be an issue on a jeep. There are also a variety of jack saddles with rubber cushions in them available. A guy has to be able to get his car in the air in various manners while in the driveway or garage. Sometimes you really need the suspension hanging.


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Amazon.com: Universal Slotted Rubber Jack Pad Frame Rail Protector: Automotive

[clapperc]

Please measure the clearance, most likely you have to customize a brush. Grind down the handle area to allow clearance.

Someone who`s thought about this before I`m thinking! Will measure.

[ShaneB]

I always just bend the Daytona brushes about 90 degrees and they work great that way. Makes it much easier to get the back corners this way too. Done this plenty of times with no ill effects

[clapperc]

I always just bend the Daytona brushes about 90 degrees and they work great that way. Makes it much easier to get the back corners this way too. Done this plenty of times with no ill effects

Seems like it would work... Right? Tried multiple bends with the Daytona... The result is rub-marks in the residue where the tip hits.

[ShaneB]

How are you bending it that the tip hits? I bend it right in the middle so the brush is in an L shape. Never have an issue with the tip hitting anything

[Accumulator]

Gearhead_1- Agree completely about using a pair of jacks with the appropriate blocks/pads.

clapperc- I too think the answer lies in raising up the vehicle a bit. I do it on vehicles that have *NICE* undercarriages and it`s certainly possible to do it without damaging anything. I mean, when it gets under-car service it`s gonna get lifted up anyhow...and you gotta get under there to clean that part of the car unless you pull it up onto ramps (RaceRamps are good for accessing the undercarriage but don`t help with the wells or allow you to turn the wheels). I additionally pad the jackpad/block with thin sponges and/or MFs, having cleaned and dried the jacking points beforehand. Only takes a few minutes once you get your system sorted out.

You can do some cleaning by squeezing wash media in the wells, but it`ll miss a lot of areas and I can`t help but think that it`d be hard to inspect your work properly unless you raise things up enough to be able to see what you`re doing. I know that *I* have to inspect the wells from a few different positions to really do a proper inspection. And then there`s the LSPing of the wells to consider, even if only using a Spray Wax or a leaves-stuff-behind type of Rinseless or QD.

Eh, can`t help but think that it`s all a matter of how far you want to take it and that I`m perhaps a bit extreme about this topic even by Autopian standards

The WheelWoolies don`t work as well as I`d expected in wells/undercarriages but that`s almost certainly dependent on the vehicle and they`re good to have on-hand. Note that they don`t rinse out as easily as brushes or even some mitts; they require dunking/hosing and lots of squeezing-out. Their short nap doesn`t get into tight nooks and crannies either.

Once I gain access (yeah, by lifting it up, other than the Tahoe), I use a combination of mitts and BHBs, trying to get most of the dirt with the (easiest to rinse) BHBs. For mitts, I *really* like the little "three-finger" sheepskin mitt that Griot`s sells for wheels. For BHBs, I usually prefer the cylindrical "BBQ brush" type ones when doing the tight spots of wheelwells. For large areas I like short-handled BHBs for cleaning wheels or regular-size wash mitts.

I`ve had some vehicles that required various sizes of swabs to do certain areas.

As I get older, I seem to appreciate additional lighting more, a waterproof/rechargeable trouble light is handy.

I use the Daytonas for some things like cleaning coil springs and getting between exhaust systems/driveshafts and the belly pan, but I don`t like using them for wells as they always missed some areas and the tip doesn`t lend itself to doing any real cleaning in tight spots (so I had to go back in there with something else anyhow to get those areas).

As for the hose, this is one reason why I use a plastic female quick-disconnect with integral shutoff as my nozzle (with an additional shutoff on the hose end, so it`s hose-> shutoff -> female quick disconnect). They fit in the wells easily and don`t cause much damage if I accidentally touch the paint with them, and once they`re adjusted properly (via the integral shutoff) they function just fine as "hose nozzles".

[Accumulator]

Some day I`m gonna cut the handle off one of those wheel brushes, making it something palm-size. Might work great, might just ruin the brush...

[briarpatch]

You`d think someone would have developed a brush to fit these wheel wells without having to get the vehicle off the ground.....something like one of the old school toilet bowl brushes.....

[Accumulator]

Back before I got so extreme about this, I used THESE http://www.quickie.com/product/glass-mug-sponge/106 for a long time. They fell apart quicker than I liked, and you have to be careful about the stee-loop core, but they`re kinda similar to the "toilet brush" idea. Altough similar to the WeelWoolies, they worked better for me (until falling apart).

[clapperc]

Please measure the clearance, most likely you have to customize a brush. Grind down the handle area to allow clearance.

Two-inches.

[clapperc]

Well... Well... Wheel-well folks... It`s comforting to know I`m not alone with these obsessions!

I`m pondering all your suggestions... And would like to try other alternations to lifting... But know it seems the best solution right now.