Cleaning Road Grime.

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?

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.

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-8...ank-60325.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bmorgil

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

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Well, Work it is then.. haha!