How do you clean after wheeling?

Kevin Q

Kevin Q

TJ Enthusiast
Supporting Member
Joined
May 11, 2020
Messages
795
Location
Perkiomenville, PA
I wanted to learn some best practices for cleaning up and maintaining your Jeep after wheeling. This past weekend I pushed it hard on the rocks but the damage appears to have been from a mistaken swim in muddy waters. Now it is squealing and groaning. I power washed it when I got home then yesterday I soaked it, soaked it with soap, rinsed, then properly washed. Beyond the body I rinsed the frame and the undercarriage.
 
Kevin Q said:
I wanted to learn some best practices for cleaning up and maintaining your Jeep after wheeling. This past weekend I pushed it hard on the rocks but the damage appears to have been from a mistaken swim in muddy waters. Now it is squealing and groaning. I power washed it when I got home then yesterday I soaked it, soaked it with soap, rinsed, then properly washed. Beyond the body I rinsed the frame and the undercarriage.
Click to expand...

For the future you will have stuff falling in your eyes every time you do any work underneath it.

Also pressure wash the inside of the frame.
 
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I wash it off as soon as I can after wheeling. What most guys will do, is put a sprinkler under the Jeep for some time, and let that rinse off the undercarriage. And yes, as @RINC said, clean out the frame... there are some Jet nozzles that will self-feed (designed to clean out pipes) that work great for this...
 
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I'm hesitant to use a pressure washer. They can knock off the heavy stuff easily, but can also push crud into small out-of-reach places. I just hit everything hard with standard water hose pressure and get as much crap off as I can, as soon as I can, and I make sure the underside is clean. Then I typically put it away until the next day when I have time to do a full wash and scrub.

For hard surfaces on the inside, I use a water & vinegar mix to do a clean wipe, then I start using products as need.

Basically, my cleaning philosophy is to start out as mild as possible and keep it that way until I have to ramp up for a particular reason.
 
I try to wash/wax mine at least once a year. The interior is a different story:sick:
 
If dry conditions it's not a big deal. If you went through any kind of mud I would say clean it asap. My first jeep had a very clean body. I then had a rust hole begin in the area between the hood and fender within a couple days of going through some mud pits, I missed that area during the first wash. Since then I have realized how evil mud is and avoid it like the devil. Always open the hood and wash under there as well as inside frame, inside body mount channels, etc. I like to start with a garden hose and purple power, and then I do pressure washing. For the inside of the frame it can be difficult to pressure wash without risking the paint chipping, so I just leave a garden hose running inside. I also like to jack up the front or rear to get the water to drain out better.
 
I hit the car wash on my way home and spray off the undercarriage and spray out the frame. I got a pressure washer recently to do my driveway, looking forward to using it under the Jeep so I don't have to pay and crawl around on the ground of a car wash.
 
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