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Question: What to use to remove mud from undercarriage?

22K views 21 replies 11 participants last post by  steve500 
#1 ·
Hi guys, :hello2:

I'm wondering if those of you who have done mudding can share with me your secret to remove those stubborn mud from your undercarriage?
I sprayed it with pressure washer for 2 hours on Saturday and 2 hours on Sunday, but there seems to be mud in some places I can't get them all out.
I read some where that using Simple Green is a good way, thinking of buying that if there are no other alternative.
I like to keep it clear of mud to void rust.

What did you guys do? Any special chemical or technique?
 
#2 ·
Avoid mud.

Seriously...it's the best defense against the stuff.

A few things I have found.

1. Simple green. I buy it by the gallon and put it in a spray bottle. I use it to clean just about everything. You can dilute it with water, but for mud, I usually use it straight up.

2. Lots of water. A pressure washer helps get the initial chunks of mud off. I usually go to the spray it off car washes and spend about $4.00 in quarters to knock the heavy stuff off. Spend another $.50 to spray down the bay when you are done. Then I go home with my simple green and my normal hose with two attachments. One is a a hose wand (something like this: http://www.tractorsupply.com/garden...spray-wand-with-shut-off-valve-28-in--2130403). The other is a shower wand (something like this: http://www.tractorsupply.com/garden...-head-spray-wand-ca-prop-65-compliant-4457372).

It takes a lot of water and a lot of time and no matter what you do that mud will hide in places for years.

Again...mud is bad.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Thanks again as always Muzikman.

I sprayed it sooo much but what I found is that even with all the big chunks of mud are gone and it seems to be clean but when the water dried up it starting to show the white clay-ie stain everywhere.
It's not the actual mud anymore but it's actually mud stain.
I will try out the Simple Green, but I pray I don't have to scrub.

You guys got it pretty cheap down in US for car washing... here you can't find any self car wash place take less than $1 and it only give me 1.5 minute. If I didn't have the pressure washer at home, I would probably have spent $150+ just for spraying all that water for 4 hours.

I am definitely staying out of mud from now on, but I need to get rid of these mud first. Nasty stuff.

EDIT: I think I found the stuff I need here
 
#4 ·
Just spray on the simple green and let it sit. If it starts to dry up, spray more on to keep it wet. I find it best to do this when it's not sunny (evening) as it keeps the simple green from drying.

If that doesn't work, you have some killer mud. My next suggestion would be Marine Clean, but it's much nastier to work with (it will burn your skin).
 
#5 ·
I just edited my link above... are those the same stuff you referring to?
I think this stuff will definitely work. On the car body and paint is fine because I just use the brush in the car wash place to clean so now it's like new.

Yeah the Alberta mud is quite sticky and tough, must be from all that salt. LOL
 
#7 ·
I have use the one you posted before but only for engine cleaning and it works great to remove grease and oil.
I figure for the tough job maybe the HD will be better :) It said on the label, remove grime and stains.
I hope it doesn't melt the paint off. lol

I will report back in a week. Thanks again.
 
#8 ·
I haven't found Somethin that works good yet. My last wheelin trip was almost 2 months ago. I use the pressure washer at my work atleast once a week on my truck. I still have chunks of mud come from the undercarriage. I say the best method of removing mud is wait till winter. They salt the roads pretty heavy by me. My frame is usually mud free by spring time. But then I spend the summer puttin it back.
 
#11 ·
Yea I got a bit of rust but I would say it's more due to the heavy salt in winter than the heavy mud in the summer. I'm trying to clean up the frame so I can kill some of the rust. I've got some brush on and spray rust inhibitor. The spray will work good for the hard to get spots. Then will go over with some sort of paint.
 
#12 ·
badlands mud almost killed me and another forum member this past weekend. completely ATE the fan bearing and it exploded all over the engine compartment....we lost power steering and power going 75 on interstate 80 at 2:30 am in the morning saturday driving out to Jeep skool.





the bearing (or whats left)


this is supposed to be attached to the assembly...


so i guess what i am saying is....if you like your X....stay the hell out of deep mud. Otherwise a powerwasher and silicone spray helps keep off the lighter stuff.
 
#13 ·
i just gave up. i suspect my X will fall apart in about 3 years

Mud is a huge part of what we have around here, you can't really do any trails without mud or deep water. I also gave up on my interior about a year ago. poor thing is only 5 years old

yes, it will cause rust. yes, it will cause parts to fail. 100%
 
#14 ·
i spent 2 hours under my X with a big F'in flat head and a pressure washerto get 98% of the red clay out from under my truck. the water jet only takes away a little the chipping from the base with a screw driver is what did the trick for me. after that i will avoid mud as much as possible! STILL havent got my engine compartment clean yet...its been over a year & have tried many cleaner.
 
#17 ·
yah we got towed to the hotel. i had her sleep while me and a bunch of friends from this forum called around to find new parts. once we got the parts i had it rebuilt in an hour and a half in a comfort inn parking lot. it was a long weekend...but still fun. other peeps from this forum drove us across the state of ohio for the new parts. (these people happen to be some of my best friends in the world these days)

mud is no good.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#18 ·
Dude, wow I'm happy to hear there are so many great helpful peeps on here that not only help their hands in the forum but on the road.
Nonetheless you did awesome job yourself rebuilding everything in a parking lot... props to you sir.

Definitely no more mud for me. They looks fun to play with, but bad for the X.
 
#20 ·
Long drive in a rain storm and hit all the puddles.

Took my Equator out when nearly new on road called Red Gap (as name implies consists of red powdered clay) - wasn't concerned, only very light rain - found it was pouring rain just ahead of us as the road started having water running down the tracks - what a mess. Ended up in 4L, 2nd gear, vdc and locker off at about 10-15 mph for most control. Became really 'hairy' sliding around and keeping out of the mini washouts that would have spelled doom. Luckily, it continued to rain for next about 6 hours of driving on paved roads. Nearly all washed off, except for red stains, by time I made it home. Quite an initiation for my new pony but found out it is also quite capable and that BFG Ruggeds aren't worth damn
 
#22 ·
I'm always finding myself having to drive through mud around here in central utah. For mud, I just run to the car wash, soak down the undercarriage and go about washing the body, when I'm done with the body, I'll throw some more quarters in and do a second spray of the undercarriage and all the mud falls off after its' initial soaking.

my .02 :)
 
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