Underbody flush

[wiswind]

OK, this is not an oil tip.....

To wash the salt from the underside of my car, I use a simple metal lawn spinkler. Not the big oscillating kind, but one of those small metal ones that sprays up and out in a circle.

I got fancy, and put a cheap ON/OFF valve, like one of the ones that often comes on those watering wands,...then to that, I put a short length of hose. Onto that, I put the lawn sprinkler. I slide the sprinkler under the vehicle, and turn the water ON using the little valve. Then I move sprinkler around under the vehicle....washing the underside.

I use a normal spray nozzel to wash out the wheel wells.

 

[obbop]

Well..... I use the BIG oscillating lawn sprinkler to wash off the hades side of my pick-em-up.

And, not just ANY oscillating sprinker, by golly.

Nope. No way.

I ambled through Lowe's home improvement store and peeked and poked at every lawn sprinkler offered; abd, shucks, there were oodles and gobs of 'em.

I opted for the most expensive critter there. A mostly-metal fellah' and the most expensive offering except for some of those "professional" things designed to work with timers and that spray outwards hroizontally in that chinka-chinka-chinka-chinka manner.

I pull the sprinkler via the hose, first longitudanally down the length of the conveyance then multiple passes with the sprinkler inserted from the side. With all the nooks and crannies akin to an English muffin to be found in those nether regions I want the water stream to have a chance to enter all those crannies and varied assorted nooks and nooklets.

The truck appears to revel in the rinsing. I fact, if I look out of the corner of my eye, squint, tilt my head then whack myself with the pert'-near-all-metal sprinkler I can almost imagine the conveyance shaking itself akin to a dog to toss off the excess water. Sorta'.

Some proclaim that water alone is not enough but it's good enuff for me. Sure, some anti-salting products contain surfectants to assist in flushing the salt away I just rely upon copious water amounts and the fore-mentioned liberal use of said water.

You betcha'.

 

[Jim Cissell]

I've given this particular topic a tremendous amount of thought over the years - so much so, that I've concluded that the only true way around it is having a 'beater' car available for the salted roads! The main problem I have with a follow-up rinse (or wash for that matter) is getting the rinsing benefit into the minute areas that the atomized salt water manages to get into on the highway during these treated-road excursions.

In other words, imagine driving through wet, salty roads at normal speeds, with the cars ahead of you - as well as your own tires - throwing this fine sodium mist up and in your nooks and crannies all over your beloved automobile.

Sometimes this can go on for hours, and settle in over the course of a few days, in many cases. How are you realistically able to remove ALL of this brine with confidence? Especially those tennie-tiny areas that effectively trap this salted mix, only to create a potentially serious corrosion point on down the road (so to speak).

Without a truly ridiculous disassembly of many of the components, including some body panels, you effectively can't do a perfect job. No way.

So, whenever the roads are threatened by ice (and then followed by salt) I just pull out the beater-truck and use that until Mother Nature does a THOROUGH job of rinsing those roads with MUCH rain water... I'd be delighted to learn of a method that indeed does the trick.

Jim

 

[obbop]

Shucks, Jim.... gotta' agree with thee!!!!

But, finances do not allow 2 vehicles at this time so I gotta do the rinse thing.

Sure would be nice to have an old junker to absorb the brutal realities of the all-pervasive brine bath.

Until I can afford an old clunker I'll just have to rinse rinse rinse!!!!!

A typical thorough rinse via my BIG expensive oscillating sprayer of water plumes is around 45-minutes to one-hour!!!!! And, by using multiple approaches I believe it assists the water jets in reaching the multitude of crannies, nooks, and nooklets.

Sure, some salty residue may cling to the furthest nether regions but I believe most of the crud is washed away and what is left must be diluted to a certain extent.

Hopefully, the improvements made in rust prevention at the factory combined with my efforts will delay the onset of rust. I also eagerly await the spring rains and the washing away of winter residue. When a couple hard rains have cleansed the street I revel in driving during a cloudburst so that the spray fro the road permeates the truck's cute little bottom. A few miles of driving in a midwest downpour sends a tremendous amount of water against the frame and other components down thataway.

 

[Kestas]

Jim, you very descriptively wrote how and why cars corrode, even for people that regularly wash their cars during the winter. Well written.

Since I was in college, I always had a winter beater since I knew I couldn't beat salt, no matter how hard I tried.

And even my winter beaters are rustproofed. If you drive in salt and hang on to your cars for a long time, you have to consider rustproofing.

 

[Jim Cissell]

Thanks Kestas, I appreciate the kind words.

Yes, it really is about impossible to stay ahead of the salted-roadway game. You will obviously be able to minimize these negative effects with properly applied undercoating, and good' ol' fashioned washing and spraying, done religiously, but eventually the salt will indeed win.

With zinc plating and more body plastics sneaking in these days, it certainly isn't as serious as it once was, but should you have a vehicle you really value, and intend on keeping for the LONG haul, I just don't see a viable alternative to a beater-mobile...

Jim

 

[eljefino]

Jim, you're right. Dry salt at temps well below freezing isn't that hard on metal.

Audity, my first apartment had a washer hookup and the landlady paid for the hot water. I rinsed my car with scalding hot water through a hose I dropped out my 2nd story window. Hot really does dissolve salt better.

Kept the water off the windows though.

My own approach is to drive through puddles during spring rain, hoping the spray patterns match the brackish water I crossed mid-winter. Then in April when I do an oil change I put it on ramps and wash really well underneath and on the shiny side.

 

[yugrus]

I have a pressure washer nozzle that sprays high pressure water vertically. Is it worth to use it for underbody flush?

 

[surfstar]

The easiest answer is to move to California.

It'll be mid 70's by Friday.

 

[Audity]

Gee thanks surfstar. I'm glad your emoticon shows smileys having a beer, it's cold and rainy here and I need one about now...

 

[Audity]

I've always been a winter undercarriage-washer (just did it two days ago), but never thought of the lawn sprinkler approach.

Thanks, guys!

p.s., running a garden hose from a hot water tap inside the house really helps -

 

[yugrus]

If only California could hold its ground

 

[BlazerLT]

The only way to really stop the salt water from getting into the little places is to get your underbody oil coated and misted right off of the new car lot or at least when you first get it.

Getting oil in there before water is the key to stopping rust.

Oh, and also, only oil spary in the spring and not in the fall.

Fall is the worst time seeing all that happens during the winter is the oil is washed off and the body is subjected to warm temperatures and water which will corrode more than any body in the winter.

 

[Kestas]

Blazer, I see fault in your reasoning. I'm not sure where to begin.

Cars corrode when there is a wet salt solution on them. In our climate, that is pretty much all of winter. The only time it won't corrode is when the temperatures are well below freezing and the brine solution is frozen solid. With calcium chloride in the picture, which can melt ice down to -60°F, and the fact that cars are often warmer than the outside temperature, this can mean the cars are in a perpetual corroding situation when wet with brine in the winter.

Cold weather brings ice and snow. Ice and snow bring salt on the roads. Salt brings corrosion on cars. To say cars corrode more in warm weather than in cold goes against this logic.

Spraying oil, which provides a temporary barrier between metal and the corrosive solution, is needed in the winter, not so much in the summer. If you spray in spring, the oil will have dried out by winter, when it's really needed. Fall is the best time to spray.

On a side note, I agree that oil gets washed off. I tried it once and found it dried out before winter was over, leaving my car unprotected. That's why I urge people to spend their efforts using a quality rustproofing agent, which lasts considerably longer than oil, and is not too expensive when you consider the damage it prevents. Some of these rustproofing agents are commercially available if you do a little homework.

 

[OriginHacker21]

I came from Iowa (salted roads) to California. Nice not having those

anymore but the salt sure saved me from the ditch more than a few times.

If I drove my car on those salted roads for one winter (then moved to CA) will the salt continue to corrode?

 

[Jim Cissell]

Underbody flushing expanded...

Something else to be concerned with is fertilizer. Yes, good ol' garden-variety granulized fertilizer. If you haven't notied, many people are very sloppy about its application, and a considerable amount ends up on the roads in neighborhoods each spring and summer. I know - it may seem like no big deal, but if you drive thru that stuff - especially after it rains - that will get slung up underneath the frame and cause corrosion damage as well.

In fact, the salts in fertilizer are actually more damaging than the road-salts used for deicing. Granted, you probably encounter these chemicals at much lower speeds (due to the neighborhood environment) so it probably doesn't get atomized and distributed like it would on a highway situation.

Still, something to be aware of, and certainly reinforces the frequest underbody washing/risning advocated in this tthread...

Jim

 

[sanitarium16]

what i do is i put my car up on ramps and spray the bottom with rubberized undercoating. I check occasionally for rust and when i see it i spray it with the undercoating. Works really well! The roads here get disgusting when it snows.

 

[Kestas]

If it was that easy, do you think auto manufacturers would be spending millions of dollars adding rust-preventive features in the design of automobiles? We're a Tier 1 supplier for the automotive industry, and we beat our heads against the wall trying to cope with corrosion issues.

I guarantee you the item does not work!

 

[obbop]

"Something else to be concerned with is fertilizer."

That's it.

The truck goes into the garage and there it will sit.

 

[r961161]

Do you guys think that anything like this could help to prevent rust on a vehicle:

EBAY