Best way to clean off old mud from under bakkie?

[Rusti]

Hi guys.

So its time to give the big boy some much needed TLC.. There is thick mud under him that has been there for years.. Maybe even since he was born.. I bought him a year ago and the mud was there so the previous owner probably never washed it off..

What is the best way to wash it off? Its tempting to just get a high pressure hose but im not sure if there is anything that might be hosed loose that I need to worry about?? If power hosing is a problem what about putting the sprinkler under there for a few hours to soak the mud and then using a standard garden hose nozzle to push the rest off?

[Mud Dog]

I just use a high pressure cleaner - not too much under there that can be affected, just go carefully around your diff-lock actuator motor if you have one, the sender units at the gearbox and x-fer box and alternator / electronics in the engine bay area. If you don't bring the pressure lance in too closely, it shouldn't be a problem.

[ChrisF]

in the same veign ....

HOW do you clean the engine - when it was covered in mud - diesel engine.



I have tried Clean Green, and brushing etc .... once dry it always shows a thin brown layer ....

[Dingo]

Spray Prepsol on it, get in with a brush ( like a toilet style brush) and try and scrub off what you can with the prepsol, then hose off with a pressure washer.

[Stef]

+1

a little elbow grease is required to get rid of that light staining afterwards...

[Rusti]

Ja my engine needs a wash too.. Went through a moerse puddle on the way to Midlpos a few weeks ago..

rps20150106_151332.jpg (13.09 KiB) Viewed 2867 times

[LouisZ]

if you don't mind please take a pic from the back of your leafsprings. another from the bottom end in the rear.

That ome shock position don't look right.

[JohanW]

Louis, het ook daai gesien. Iets lyk nie lekker daar nie.

[Mountain Man]

if you don't mind please take a pic from the back of your leafsprings. another from the bottom end in the rear.

That ome shock position don't look right.

I think it looks fine Louis.

[smokintyres]

Try Dirtnurse, worked wonders for my engine! See before after pictures: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=26938

[Rusti]

Will post pic of shock soon as I get home..

[Rusti]

What did you think might be wrong? The opposite shock leans in the opposite direction.

[Mud Dog]

Quite normal - and if you look at it more closely you will notice that the angle of the RHS shock (rearward slant) is wider than that of the LHS (forward slant). I've seen this 'one forward and one back' on many other LDV brands and often wondered why this is done - probably to reduce axle-wrap.

[Rusti]

Thanks Andy.

I see that your 90 SFA has a 110mm lift.. Doesn't this make it more susceptible to rolling? If so can that be counteracted by fitting wheel spacers? I also see that your 98 has full OME.. My SFA has OME shocks all round and front OME leafs only but getting back leafs this weekend.. Do the shackles give it extra lift above the 50mm I already got from the leafs? Is this how you got to 110mm? I also heard that the shackles can cause the bakkie to rock a bit.. Have you exoerienced this? Maybe we should move this to another thread rather..

[Mud Dog]

I got that lift from the OME alone, no shackle job, although I have to admit that it did settle by about 10mm over a period of 5 - 6 years. You're quite right, any height alteration will affect the vehicle's COG but I never found that to be a problem with the lift I have (the way you pack for a trip makes more difference, especially if you load weighty items high or up on a RR).

You will pick up from numerous previous posts that I'm not in favour of extended shackles - you only achieve half the extension in actual lift. My belief is that extensions lead to instability (sway) and the longer the extension, the more unstable. That said, I would still accept a max extension of 50mm but since that only provides 25mm lift, is it really worth it?

Fitting spacers will widen the wheel base a bit and will also only marginally improve the COG, but they can also be problematic. If the spacers bolt to the hub and have their own separate wheel studs, they need to be checked regularly that they are not working loose otherwise you could just loose a wheel (with spacer still firmly attached) when you least want to. Also, the hub has a locating ring that centralises the rim - some spacers don't have this. On the front it's not a problem because the hub extension is long enough, but it is an issue on the rear.

Since all the above have safety implications, I prefer to remain as close to standard or safe practises as I can.

[LouisZ]

The reason I asked I can see that the rear leafsprings are still original or it is another brand. Those rear leafs are sagged a lot.

From the photos I see your shocks are almost pressed in and leave almost no room for good movement, One see that you hit the bump stop on the chassis quite regulary. This will cause the shocks not to last.

With a new leaf spring pack you see the position of the dustcover(black plastic cover) bottom will move up at least by 50mm.

This is mine, you see what I mean. :razz: I am glad you replacing yours soon.

[Rusti]

Hi Louis.

Ja I wasnt happy to have to buy the OME in stages but at 20K for everything I didnt have too much of a choice at the time. I got the shocks fitted at your branch here in CA 7 months ago. I asked them about this and they said the shocks would be fine for the time being as I only use the bakkie on weekends and almost never carry a load. I hope that this has not affected the life span of the shocks. If so I should have been advised to wait until I could get everything at the same time.

I then enquired about getting the leafs mid December in preperation for my Cederberg trip but the branch was out of stock. I was quite surprised to hear that your inter branch truck stops running over this time as Im sure other people also want to use their bonus's on your nice toys and they will often need to be brought in from other branches prior to their december trips too. We did 800km of dirt rd driving fully loaded so it would be interesting to see what impact that has had on the shocks. We havent felt the bump plate hit but ill give it a good look at when I get home.

Anyway.. All good things are worth waiting for and OME is certainly worth the wait. Just hope the rear shocks arent a bit buggered now..

[LouisZ]

I just Checked. Cape Town go 2 x Medium Load springs in Stock.

Somerset has the Constant 250kg in stock.

You should be able to get it now.

Just don't drive 1000's of kms like that. It can influence the shocks performance like it is now.

[Rusti]

Hi Louis.

Thanks for checking for me. When I called them in December I booked a set so they were delivered there 2 weeks ago. I havent had a chance to get there yet but ill go this weekend.

[Rusti]

Hi Louis.

I went and spoke to the boys about the shock and they said it should be fine but they will test it. They unfortunately can only fit the leafs for me next weekend so they will check the shock then too and we'll take it from there.

Thanks for pointing it out to me. I just want to get it all sorted now.