Underbody Washing

[utekineir]

we've always just set out a lawn sprinkler and driven back and forth over it slowly for awhile,

low cars become a bit of a pain, usually have to get up in the air then move the sprinkler around yourself.

since my new place has a slanted driveway that goes into the road, and i don't really want to create an ice slick in front of the house i just stick to one local touch less (pull in bay with automated guns). It has the most powerful undercarriage spray i've found in the area, plus you can pull over it slowly and reverse.

[HunterGreene]

Originally Posted by utekineir

we've always just set out a lawn sprinkler and driven back and forth over it slowly for awhile,

low cars become a bit of a pain, usually have to get up in the air then move the sprinkler around yourself.

since my new place has a slanted driveway that goes into the road, and i don't really want to create an ice slick in front of the house i just stick to one local touch less (pull in bay with automated guns). It has the most powerful undercarriage spray i've found in the area, plus you can pull over it slowly and reverse.

I'll have to check my local touchless places and see if they have the underbody array. Thanks for the heads up!

[utekineir]

Originally Posted by HunterGreene

I'll have to check my local touchless places and see if they have the underbody array. Thanks for the heads up!

the key is to find a good one, which means $10 or so a pop on trial and error,

i've pulled into some that have the bar and it doesn't go on, some that just have no power, etc.

[1Cor10:23]

Originally Posted by sshole

Yeah, I like to give that skid plate a good scrubbing (Sonax Full Effect wheel cleaner [safe on aluminum wheels, should be safe on aluminum skid plate] + medium bristle brush + rinse) when I'm doing an oil change. I realize that you don't need to remove the skid plate, but since it's there and my car cleanliness OCD is burning whenever I look underneath my car, I do it.

Curious, do you jack up your car to remove the plate/oil change?

I've been thinking about whether it's worthwhile to get both jack + ramps but I'm leaning toward just getting jack + 4 nice stands. Would you jack up both ends or just the front for oil change/plate clean?

Thanks

[wheelhaus]

Originally Posted by 1Cor10:23

Curious, do you jack up your car to remove the plate/oil change?

I've been thinking about whether it's worthwhile to get both jack + ramps but I'm leaning toward just getting jack + 4 nice stands. Would you jack up both ends or just the front for oil change/plate clean?

Thanks

Here's what I do for a quick oil change:

Open the oil fill cap. Jack the front of the car (at the center crossmember) just high enough to slip a low height sealable drain pan under the car. Crack open the fumoto valve and let it drain. Remove oil filter. Once draining is sufficient, close fumoto valve, drop the car. Fill oil, wet a new filter and install. Run engine, check oil level, Done.

To clean visible debris (leaves, rocks, dirt, etc) from the belly pan you could use an air compressor and a long neck blow nozzle down through the engine compartment. Just push it around until it leaves the tray.

[sshole]

Originally Posted by 1Cor10:23

Curious, do you jack up your car to remove the plate/oil change?

I've been thinking about whether it's worthwhile to get both jack + ramps but I'm leaning toward just getting jack + 4 nice stands. Would you jack up both ends or just the front for oil change/plate clean?

Thanks

I use my low profile jack and stands to raise the front of the car.

[smbrm]

Originally Posted by HunterGreene

I'll have to check my local touchless places and see if they have the underbody array. Thanks for the heads up!

Yes, many touch-less washes only have perimeter spray, and no underbody. The karcher thing looks kind of useful, accept for the soap applicator. Where I live you can only wash in your driveway with water, as drain-off goes in the river where drinking water comes from.

I always bend down and spray all across the bottom from both sides and the front and the back, with the wand at local self wash. The other thing that is important is to clean the inner lip of the rear wheel wells where dirt can accumulate and lead to fender rust if left built up over time. It would be nice if self wash wands had an articulated head to get this area. But an angled brush or even your finger tips if you don't mind getting dirty are effective in rubbing accumulated debris out of this area.

I understand that someone else has observed that dirt can accumulate behind the front mud flaps/ fender liner area.

When you get too close, you also have to be careful that pressurized spray does lift any 3M film you may have. You may not notice it at the time, as the film can flip back into place, but the film can later bubble after small pockets of air heat up.

[TM]

I go to my local touchfree laserwash for the underbody spray.

Maybe check this place out? http://www.parmalaserwash.com/the_wash_card.htm

The one near my place includes underbody in the basic $8 package, but it seems like you'd need to get the next package up, which is $10.

It might be different between the laserwashes, but mine has a 30-second underspray as I enter. I went too one time and it stopped before it was able to spray the rear.

[CyberFormula]

if you have a pressure washer,

all you need is an angle sprayer tip.

then you just have to turn the gun upside down and it can spray the under-body.

Washing underbody would be important for those that experience alot of salt on the road.