best way to protect motor from mud

Submitted: Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 15:13
ThreadID: 42484 Views:5223 Replies:9 FollowUps:9
This Thread has been Archived
after a few problems and mistakes playing in the mud i was wondering what you all thought about possible ways to protect your motor from mud like wearing a bikini not me the surf. and maybe spraying all electrical bits with crc, of corse having a snorkel is a good idea but im not there yet its next on my list.

So what can happen when you introduce mud to your engine bay apart from all the cleaning

as i have found out water in air intake

alternator stops working from mud getting inside

as ive been told ac compressor can also ingest mud

has anyone had problems with p/s mine leaks so it could ingest some i suppose which would then kill the pump

should i be worried about cold water on a hot motor cracking a block or head

one time after playing in the mud my turbo stopped working i dont know why but after a good clean it was good again

if you can suggest any more problems or maybe some solutions then i would like to hear them
_________________
if you aint coverd with mud you aint trying hard enough
Back Expand Un-Read 0 Moderator

Reply By: Chucky - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 15:31

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 15:31
There really is no way to stop mud getting to all the engines beside not going into it. But I have found that when you do play, just given the engine bay a really good clean, as well as your brakes, the insides of your wheel rims, and suspension.
Also all the other nooks and cranny's under your car.

A wise man once told me:
Driving in mud is like drinking too much.
You know it's gonna hurt in the morning,
But you are having so much fun you just dont care.
AnswerID: 222686

Reply By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 15:38

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 15:38
Our 4WD club did 3 days of demo's and "Ride the course for a Gold Coin donation" at the 2005 YP Field Days. The course we used involved a mud puddle about 20 meters long. A few of us had to get our brake pads renewed after that, cos the mud and grit just stuffed em.

As siad above (previous response), there's not much you can do to avoid getting the mud in the motor and it's ancilliaries (alternator, air con etc), but all you can do is either avoid the mud in the 1st place, or wash it out thoroughly asap after you've finished.
AnswerID: 222688

Reply By: Wayne-o - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 16:06

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 16:06
I have never tried myself, but i have been told that spraying the engine, susp...etc with cooking oil spray prior to \the play will cause the mud to stick to the oil and it will come straight off with a gerni......worth a try....wonder how expensive cooking spray is....ill ask the missus!!
AnswerID: 222700

Follow Up By: dirty dirty 4x4 - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 16:14

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 16:14
sounds like a good idea it sucks spending an hour cutting the mud of the underside with a gerni i will give it a try next time i go out and let you know if it makes a difference
0
FollowupID: 483530

Follow Up By: Scoof - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 16:55

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 16:55
When I used to race speedway we sprayed the cars panels with diesel with a garden sprayer helped a bit.Brings back memories

also clean it of as soon as your able , if you got slack and left it for a week, it was twice as hard to remove.

Cheers Scoof.
0
FollowupID: 483535

Follow Up By: dirty dirty 4x4 - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 17:18

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 17:18
i hear that its usualy a couple of days untill i can get it to the car wash. with the water restrictions its just to hard to do with a bucket
0
FollowupID: 483541

Follow Up By: DaLUX - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 21:04

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 21:04
i dont know if cooking oil is a good idea near a hot motor, cooking oil is designed to get hot as apposed to motor oil i wouldnt put it near my motor, although it might make my engine smell like Fish n Chips which is good...

Chich
0
FollowupID: 483592

Follow Up By: Kiwi Kia - Tuesday, Feb 20, 2007 at 10:59

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2007 at 10:59
This is an old trick used in the USA on camper vans;
At certain times of the year there a millions of kamakazi bugs about that smash into your vehicle and get baked hard in the desert sun, boy are they hard to get off. Some people get a can of cooking oil spray and put a light coating across the front of their vehicle, this makes washing the bugs off a lot easier.
0
FollowupID: 483710

Reply By: Peter 2 - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 17:28

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 17:28
Avoid driving through any mud, if there is a diversion take it! Like has been said it WILL come back to bite you!
AnswerID: 222722

Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Nullagine) - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 18:05

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 18:05
chewed out brakes/rotors, siezed load proportioning valves,stuffed alternators, worn leaf springs til they snap, blocked radiators, sticking low range mechanisms, chewed out pinion seals, rust

Go ahead i will watch I spend enough on my 4by without deliberatly destroying it
0
FollowupID: 483547

Follow Up By: Peter 2 - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 18:18

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 18:18
In the past I've refused to let people come on extended outback trips because of how they treat the vehicle as every bog hole and mud puddle will come back to cause grief and I don't want vehicle problems in remote areas.
0
FollowupID: 483552

Reply By: Member - Stephen M (NSW) - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 17:44

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 17:44
And the biggest thing with mud as I have found out is that it gets up between the radiator and air con condensor and sets like a brick reducing air flow which inturn as we know produces over heating problems. I had a play in some mud only last year and yes while its fun at the time the cleaning is a pain in the ar#e so unless I have to go through it to get where I'm going I usually take the way with least mud. Gernie is great to clean mud off but I wouldnt go blasting around cv boots etc as the pressure from the gernie will open up the rubber boots and shove mud into them not what you want. As said above brakes etc I ended up having to pull the drums off the back to clean out properly and the list goes on. The worst thing I have done is when playing around the nunes up lithgow way I had mud sprayed all over my windscreen by my mate yeah had a good laugh until I put the wipers on then the squirters and scratched the crap out of my windsrceen cause it was a sand stone quarry. Have fun just remember some of the points people have mentioned as to cause less cleaning hassles and mechaniclal problems. Another thing I have done when I have got home is park the lux on the back grass and whack the green soaker hose under it for a while, nice soft spray but loosens a hell of alot of mud from the under body. Just remember if going through deep water your diffs as well unless you have breathers nice and high. Go for it have fun but remember to do it in the write places as it is hard enough now to prove that we arnt doing damage to nature to the greenies. Steve M
AnswerID: 222725

Follow Up By: Baldrick - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 17:54

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 17:54
Yup, mud in my radiator/intercooler and the space in between cost me a new head because I didn't clean it out properly and it overheated on a highway run.
0
FollowupID: 483543

Reply By: David from David and Justine Olsen's 4WD Tag-Along - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 18:53

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 18:53
Best way is to stay out of it :-)
AnswerID: 222739

Follow Up By: Stu050 - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 21:28

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 21:28
X 2 If at all possible, go round it.
0
FollowupID: 483604

Reply By: Member - andrew B (Kununurra) - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 22:41

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 22:41
Ivanhoe crossing is the best spot up here, drive accross acouple of times, do a bit of backwards and the underside is spotless!

I have also found that giving tha underside a fairly good soaking (if you have the water), then leave it for an hour or so, and most of the big hard chunks will fall off nder their own weight, the same chunks will take ages to hose off dry.

Cheers andrew

AnswerID: 222804

Reply By: arewelost - Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 23:31

Monday, Feb 19, 2007 at 23:31
hi the cooking spray doesn't work the heat generated under the bonnet bakes the spay and mud to the most heat affected area ,what i have used with a reasonable degree of success is dry silicone lube while the engine bay is cold trying to avoid the exhaust manifold and turbo. This has the same effect as mud on polished paint work cheers steve
AnswerID: 222821

Reply By: dirty dirty 4x4 - Tuesday, Feb 20, 2007 at 01:57

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2007 at 01:57
well it sounds like most of you say dont do it go around it avoid it like the plage and a cupple have good ideas and afew more things to be cautious about.

Well i like playing in mud the reason for this thred was to find out ways to minimise damage to my 4x4 i know im going to break things and replace others sooner than usual but for me its all a part of 4wdriving, sure down the track i might get sick of allwas having to fix my 4b but im not there yet

thanks for everyones opinion if you have any more keep em coming
AnswerID: 222835

Sponsored Links