Cleaning after mudding?

[GaryPatt]

I returned on sunday from Stainby quarry and duly set about de-mudding and cleaning all my Disco`s under-bits....2 hours later i went to check oil and water etc, lifted the bonnet and found ...erm well half of the said stainby quarry! now i have been off roading for some years now but not in a Land rover, soooo.... cleaning engine and all the mud under the bonnet? is this normal for a Disco? it will take forever, oh! and the bonnet blanket is sort of muddy also (packed actually) dont want to steam clean and brushing will take me a month! honestly!

So guys and gals, what you you people do?

Gary

[Xtremeteam]

i come home from events & jack up & remove each wheel in turn & blast with power washer,then do under side on both sides,got a big bit o rubber matt so i can lie underneath to clean the gearbox & engine since i dont have acess to a fork lift   then do inside foot wells & then do under the bonnet,then do inner wings inside the bulkhead outriggers etc,then wash the outside  8)
time taken between 4 n 6 HOURS

[Arightpest]

I just drive though a big puddle and hope for the best  :shock: (it’s a Landover it will rust anyway just learn to weld it last longer than washing)   a lot of vehicle never see the mud and still rot its down to that nasty man at the council spreading the salt at the first sign of frost and snow on the roads.  

[GaryPatt]

But what with and how do you clean the engine comp?

Gary

[POTASH]

i just look at it and close the bonnet :lol:

[Arightpest]

lots of mud equals good day and lots of fun  ( if it clean you didn't try hard enough) use any heavy duty degreaser to remove oil but good soap and water for the mud.  or the best advise so far have a look and close the bonnet. ( and drive though a big puddle) :twisted:

[Wanderer]

Throw half a dozen cats under the bonnet once you've doused them in some soapy water. Shut the bonnet and start it up.

Clean in no time :)

Ed

[Arightpest]

oh you are a bad lad  :shock:    :twisted:

[robbie]

My lad had 12 months of hard earned mud under the Suzuki from back to front. He was tunred away THREE TIMES for its MOT last month before they would take a look at it because of the amount there

It has got to be worth letting it accumuklate and periodically paying £30 or so to have it steam cleaned. As someone said, they will rust anyway

[laser_jock99]

My top tip is to take your car to the local jetwash and deal with it there (no need to spend 2 hours cleaning your drive afterwards). With a diesel you should be able to jet wash the engine bay too. I leave the engine running when jet washing it. Avoid aiming the jet directly at anything obviously electrical or the air intake.

Jet washing the engine will also attract strange looks from other customers at the garage!!

Nevillef

[Colin 009]

I get my V8 :twisted:  Steam Cleaned for a tenner  :D

[jjsaul]

i just start it up

then pressure wash the engine bay avoiding air intakes.

[muddyweb]

Unfortunatley, there is no quick way (I wish)    

I tend to do the bodywork first so I'm not working around a filthy vehicle, then the engine bay, then down to the chassis.   If I've been at an event with especially nasty mud, I'll also strip, clean and repack the wheel bearings...   and if it was a particularly hard event where I've been sitting underwater for long periods of time, I'll often drain and refill the diffs.   (Oil is cheaper than diff centres)

Don't let *anyone* tell you that it is "cool" to leave your vehicle covered in mud for long periods of time....   it isn't.    Mud will encourage corrosion, it will keep water next to the metal  bits, can cause electrical problems and generally make the vehicle unpleasant to work on.  It is also not very sociable to be dropping chunks of mud (wet or dry) as you are driving along.  

This applies to the bodywork and the mechanicals.    I know this is going to get me some stick, but I'm used to it...   keep the bodywork polished.   A polished vehicle repels mud far more efficiently and is easier to clean.

[Reaper]

I completely agree with you Tim not only is a clean motor easier to keep clean after a hard day off road but also in this day an age with the antis all over the place a clean motor attracts less negative attention.

[jnoshea]

I don't have a pressure washer but I hose down the bodywork then move on the the engine bay.  Hose off all the mud, then spray on a good engine degreaser like AutoGlym Engine & Machine something or other.  Brush the particularly greasy or dirty bits and then hose off again.  Rainbow water flows underneath the car and everything looks lovely  :D Then to keep it looking lovely in the engine bay I always spray AutoGlym Vinyl & Rubber something or other onto the hoses and black plastic bits to make them more repellent of the brown stuff next time.  :D  Then I clean out the interior if it needs it. All of that will have made the bodywork stinking again so I wash and polish that last.

[seph234]

i usually go through a couple of fords near me first then i take it to a jet wash park and spend about a tenner+ cleaning all around/underneath etc and and when im done if the floor is that bad i quikly give that a clean to keep the jet wash company happy so they dont ban me :D

[rokcrawlin]

why dont you prevent the mud from getting into the engine bay if you are getting mud in there it usually has to get in through the radiators air con one /radiator and intercooler then hit the fan and we all know what happens when the #*%@ hits it   just use a canvas with over the front of the radiator grill when traversing deep muddy puddles this will save it a quite a bit and just roll it up once through it and dont worry about looking like a prat when you do it, at least you wont look like a broken down prat with steam pouring from the engine bay due to a blocked radiator..........usually a recipe for a new head gasket .....preventative maintainance on the cheap and an easy to clean engine and remember a good photo of a vehicle hitting a muddy puddle at speed looks good but can cost anything up to £6,000 for repairs to a unprepared vehicle ......................no doubt i will be shouted down on this but on the way back from the Driffield show I saw 27 vehicles stranded waiting for breakdown vehicles i think that says it all and more than likely if they had prepared their motors with something over the grill they would not have been there nuf said :-({|=

[GaryPatt]

Thanks for all your advise (serious and otherwise) like the sound of jet washing the engine and blanket,  the concern I had was the electrics but if others can then so can I.


Gary

[Bishops Finger]

Thanks for the idea ref cleaning the engine with it running

My routine is either garage pressure wash or if at home hose then wash followed by a pressure wash

For the engine I spray with a suitable degreasant such as gunk rubbing it in with a washing up brush (obviously not the one for the plates :D   ) then hose off

OR

I get back from an adventure open a can and spend the next few days listening to people at work whinging at me about the state of my Jeep :D

[thumbs]

i have to agrre that a clean motor is always easyier to clean, dont go to the extreme of repacking wheel bearings each time, but i definetly keep on top of the mud!

i just pressure wash everything! dont even have engine running, but all my electrics are water proofed as best as poss! it always starts again  :D

[Xtremeteam]

why dont you prevent the mud from getting into the engine bay if you are getting mud in there it usually has to get in through the radiators air con one /radiator and intercooler then hit the fan and we all know what happens when the #*%@ hits it Wink just use a canvas with over the front of the radiator grill when traversing deep muddy puddles

wish that would work for me but its a pain stopping halway round a flying lap to roll the canvas down,(henry will no what i mean) personally just aim for the shallowest bit & have wipers & washers on before i get there & pray