Cleaning Road Grime.

[VTWilly]

So, My '55 has some weird combination of grease, oil, road grime, something fuzzy, and I don't know what else on the frame cross members, the brakes, the steering column, and pretty much everywhere underneath.
Any good tricks to cleaning this off? I think maybe it has never been cleaned in 60+ years and might be the only thing holding the underside together.
I have access to a pressure washer but am not sure that is the best route... and if it is, what should I watch out for. The pressure washer is at my work so 20 minute ride from home, I assume I would want to hit all the grease points up again, so I'll bring my grease gun with me.

Any insight?

[bmorgil]

Clearly Grease Putty. Grease and oil from the leaky transfer-case, engine, transmission and axles mixes with road kill, dirt, dust, sand anything on the road. It then dries out a little and makes those hard chunks of stuff. I always go after it all with a scraper/wire brush and an old screwdriver with everything dry. Then a good dose of de-greaser and after it again then once more with the de-greaser and a power wash. You will find a lot of junk on top of the skid plates and elsewhere.

It is a messy job to say the least but very rewarding once you get it cleaned up. Pick a spot on mother earth you aren't particularly fond of or, you can clean up. I hauled a garbage can full of dirt out of my garage! It was unbelievable. So much nicer to work on.

Hit the grease zerks after and try not to pressure wash the u-joints and the top of the transmission directly. The shift tower is not real good at keeping water out of the transmission.

[gmwillys]

VT,

Some will use industrial strength degreasers or even oven cleaner to loosen up the big chunks. A hot water pressure washer would help the most, but pack a lunch and a rain suit. Stay away from the vents to the diffs and drivetrain.

In my opinion, I would scrape the big chunks of grease then use some nylon abrasive brushes sold by Horrible Freight for $4.00, and plug it into a 3/8" variable speed drill. This will remove the grease residue and rust/old paint. The pictures bellow are from my wagon project, and it looked a whole lot like yours when started. The nylon brushes work really well in removing paint and rust from everything. I am not a fan of sand blasting, so this is the best thing I've found.

https://www.harborfreight.com/4-in-80-grit-nylon-abrasive-wheel-with-14-in-shank-60325.html

[VTWilly]

Pick a spot on mother earth you aren't particularly fond of

Well, Work it is then.. haha!