Mud/Sludge/Dirt from Hell (McDade, Tx)
 

When my wife bought the truck I noticed the dirt buildup on the bottom of both the engine and transmission but didn't think it was a huge deal. Was used out on a ranch, it's going to get dirty I thought. Crawled under to do some cleaning to help track down a leak today, started but almost immediately had a my god moment.

This mud/dirt/incarnation of evil is from hell, theres no other explanation. Ranch is out in McDade Texas and I wondered why my wife always called it the "evil red dirt", now I know. This stuff is EVERYWHERE on the underside of the truck and is rust colored to boot. I went to start brushing and scrubbing and you would think this stuff was some sort of epoxy coating! I would rather clean up tar then this stuff! I spent 2 hours with an assortment of degreasers, brake cleaner, carb cleaner and all manners of brushes and scrapers to try and get this stuff off. In that 2 hours I barely made a dent into the removal of said incarnation of evil.

I do not own a power washer but was curious as to how safe it would be to rent one hose the underside of the truck like crazy with it. Assuming I need to be wary of any wiring, fittings, linkages, etc but otherwise I presume it would be safe correct? If so, any recommendations for cleaners? Just about the only thing I can think of left to try against this stuff. I am NEVER going mudding out that way!

Re: Mud/Sludge/Dirt from Hell (McDade, Tx)
 

Wear clothes you intend to throw away . That Texas red dirt won't come out of your clothes . It actually will help with rust prevention . You have a big job ahead of you . I have put the truck in the yard and set a garden sprinkler under it and let that run with just enough water to wet the bottom of the truck . This will soften it up , pre pressure washer . Hope that helps .

Re: Mud/Sludge/Dirt from Hell (McDade, Tx)
 

I was going to suggest this, you can actually let the spirinkler run for a couple hours and it will fall right off.

Re: Mud/Sludge/Dirt from Hell (McDade, Tx)
 

putty knives and butter knives are excellent tools for scraping things off engines and undercarriges