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Who does springtime underbody wash to remove road salt?

NotEnoughGPs

NotEnoughGPs

New member
Springtime is traditional time for me to do a complete check of the Grand Prix for possible corrosion damage due to driving on the wonderful roads in Pennsylvania. This check involves raising the car and checking the underbody. I raise one side and support with jack stands, then use high pressure wand and soap and spray the entire underbody paying particular attention to the rocker panel areas and the suspension. Then I do the opposite side. I spray using liberal amounts of water.
Then, after a few days, I repeat the procedure again.
This is an attempt to knock loose any road salt deposits that would result in a rust condition.
How many car owners take the time to do this on their winter driving machine?
 


Yeah, same here. I just take it to a car wash with an underbody spray.

I dont know about Pittsburgh, but some of our Turkey Hill mini marts out east have an auto car wash with a really nice underbody spray you just drive over and it really blasts everything. The other nice thing about them is they have a huge wind tunnel thing that blow dries the car.

That's just for starters in early spring though. Once it gets around May I get way more involved, Wash > Dry > Clay > Compound > Polish > Wax all with my DA buffer.

Then I upkeep with Wash > Dry > Wax > Detail spray every few weeks all summer.
 
As others have said I generally take it to a touchless wash with underbody spray to clean the underside. I usually try to hit them on the nicer days through the winter.
 
I hit the self serve wash first and spray inside the wheel wells under the hood ect. Then i go to the drive in wash with the under body spray.
 
I lay on the driveway and spray the underside everytime I do a 2 bucket.
It takes me longer to do the wheels and under body than the rest of the car.
Spray the engine bay down and seal everything metal within reach.
I Usually push in the rear fender liners and get the lip with the nozzle.
I'll probably take the fender liners out to see what's going on in there
 


I just take a garden hose and spray the entire bottom of the car for like 5 minutes. Seems to work pretty well.
 
I get down on one knee and use a garden hose anytime its even just muddy. The idea is to flush out ALL the pebbles from inside the rockers and behind the rocker moldings and the area just behind the rear wheels where the bumper cover traps debris. Also the strut towers trap a lot of dirt. If theres no dirt pile to hold moisture, no rust. This years driveway dirt pile after the hose-out was a couple pounds worth.
 
NotEnoughGPs said:
I raise one side and support with jack stands, then use high pressure wand and soap and spray the entire underbody paying particular attention to the rocker panel areas and the suspension. Then I do the opposite side. I spray using liberal amounts of water.
Then, after a few days, I repeat the procedure again.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a great idea, simple and quick yet I've never thought of it lol, but I will now.
 
After having been the owner of 2 previous Grand Prixs that rusted out pretty good and I had to scrap them, this is what I am doing now.
It says somewhere in the owners manual of most cars, that this procedure of an underbody wash should be done each spring. It suggests that this be done at a dealership, where the car can be raised on a list, and a mechanic can have access to all the spots that are prone to rust from road salt. But I have never taken my car to a dealer to have this done, nor ever known anyone who went to a dealership.
 
I have my underbody sprayed with oil coating that make most road grime and salt not stick then i do the same as you after the first few good rain storms and all the salt is wash away from the roads.the underbody oiling runs about $100
 


I have seen an angled attachment with wheels to a pressure washer that could get under the car. Looks pretty cool. I'm on the west coast so I can't comment on this thread.
 
Just had all of my brake lines and fuel line replaced...they had rotted out. This includes all of the hoses that go into the calipers, all of the lines and fittings, new rotors and pads all around and new calipers up front. Replaced the oil pan also...it was rotting out. Thinking about undercoating the car to prevent this from happening again after all of the above. Just finished washing the engine compartment with simple green and detailing the inside of the car as well as giving it a good bath with Meguiar's Gold Car Wash. I'll be claying it, polishing it and waxing it in the coming weeks. Also planning a doing the the UIM and LIM to it. This will include aluminum elbows in the coolant bypass lines, LIM metal gaskets, new t-stat, plugging the LIM to prevent future coolant leaks from the know weak link in the UIM.
 
I use the under carriage wash at the car wash too, took my rocker panel covers off last summer, wire brushed them (4" cup) and painted them with POR 15. Pennsylvania sucks.. lol
 
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