Cleaning under car

Was thinking of just taking a bottle of simple green spray and a rag/toothbrush and cleaning the underside of the car. Is that okay? Anything I should be careful of?

 

I did simple green all over my engine and power washed it (I took an air compressor and blew everything dry, while the engine was cold) and it looks awesome.

 

Note that Simple Green in green (not the purple) format is bad for a number of metals, including alloy. it'll eat it raw, kill anodization. It says this directly on the bottom. To the point it's banned for aircraft use, including military aircraft. The purple SG bottle is OK on everything.

But there are better options out there. This may work well, and not maybe with the same issues? Bet you can buy it in jug format too: https://www.tundras.com/threads/wha...-gen-tundra-today.2558/page-1609#post-3179346

 

Spray with a hose to knock the dust off, spray with a degreaser, let it soak, spray it again, hit it with a stiff bristled brush, rinse. Repeat.

you can eventually use a rag, but dont try to do it all at once. Like i'll spend time on each wheelwell, then bottom of the engine, then trans, then tcase... chlorine will attack plastic, so be careful around wires and seals.

i like to pull my wheels & inspect everything during oil changes & usually degrease what needs it every 5k. After its clean, its real easy to chase leaks.

 

An undercarriage cleaning at the car wash won’t cut it?

 

There's dried battery acid in the front

 

Plus I'm in Ca they don't have that here

 

Ah, got it.

 

While I have you guys, I was thinking of taking off and cleaning my throttle body actuator, any tips?

 

Typically I just do the self clean with the high power sprayer on my underside. i would think they’d have that everywhere.

 

Yeah they have that

 

There's a specific red degreaser soap some of those have which works really damn well for cleaning undercarriages.

 

I saw your link for griots, love that brand

 

Anything I have to watch out for when spraying?

 

I mean, in general, it's bad form to spray into electrical connectors. There's one specific connector someone recently pointed out on the trans or xfer case that holds water recently. What is your goal, do you have a couple pics of things so we can see what you're up against?

@FirstGenVol has a nifty tool that lets you clean out the inside of the framerails.

 

The previous owner didn't care at all for this truck. I'm not seeking perfection but at least make it respectable.

Austin

 

Got it off per a yt vid but they didn't include what to do with these two hoses..

 

Assuming you'll have battery out to clean up acid and since it might be first time to do a deep clean since buying in Jan, I would recommend removing the whole airbox all the way to throttle body, since you're going to clean it....CRC throttle body cleaner.

If you have not cleaned your MAF sensor, pick up a can of CRC MAF cleaner also. Cover the intake, in particular where throttle body is missing when your sprayiung water.

As for throttle body, be gentle and do not let the butterfly slam shut while cleaning or when opening and closing.
As shifty mentioned, be cautious around your electrical connections when spraying. Hopefully you have the time to clean it good so it will make it easier keeping it that way.

Car Care Nut has many good videos and is a great Toyota Master Tech....
starting at 9 min mark he gets busy cleaning throttle. The beginning is interesting if you wish to watch

 

Thanks, for the vid very helpful. What gasket was he referring to?

Before/after




Pics are flipped by the way

Accidentally let it slam shut once

 

It's between the TB(throttle body) and the intake but since you did not take the TB off, it's not a concern.

 

I did unscrew the tb and started to take it off, but once I saw the attached hoses I put it back on