Deep cleaning the underbody and frame with a hydro-jetter. Time to do some preservation. (1 Viewer)

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Nov 14, 2011
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Location
Arkansas
My truck has sat, neglected for the last several years, and during that time it was attacked by mud daubers. I'm finally in the process of cleaning it up and doing an EFI conversion, but I'm tired of fighting the mud.

Nests are in every opening and hole they could find in the truck, and it makes it very difficult to work on. They even clogged up the frame rails inside with mud. I figured with the gas tank and spare out, and the exhaust system off, now is the perfect time to do some cleaning and preservation.

I recently had to use a hydro-jetter on my septic system, so I figured this was the perfect tool for cleaning the frame rails out and boy was I right!

I'm going to coat the inside of the frame rails with Eastwood's Internal Frame Coating product once I get it cleaned up.

My plan is to scrub the underbody down well, and then also paint on an underbody coating product. Anyone have particularly good luck with any of the brands out there?

On to the pics:

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I was able to thread the jetter all the way through the frame rails from end to end, as well as through parts of the lateral pipe sections.

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It is a messy process, but I'm hoping it will be worth the effort. There is almost no rust to be found on this cruiser, and I'd like to keep it that way.

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I wasn't able to do much today in the rain, but it made for good lighting for a picture.

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That’s badass. I need to do that too. I don’t have dauber nests like you do but a lot of gravel and trash from over the years. I’ve been interested in eastwood’s Restoration products myself. Particularly the inner frame system.
I wish I something helpful to add. I’ll be following this thread if you keep us up to date!
 
Kanatii, I am glad you posted. I was wondering how that worked out for you after posting on my thread. Need to do that to my 60 also. Once I finish cleaning the engine compartment, I will be taking the front pieces off for cleaning like you did.

Damn nice looking rig you have there!
 
Hydro jetter on a pressure washer... thats a fine idea!

how do you plan to apply material to the inside of the frame rail?
 
I did the same thing using a hydrojetter I think branded 'Sewer Hog'? Anyway, worked great, also.

I used thinned POR 15 and a flex wand from Eastwood to coat the inside of the frame. Make sure it's very very dry before starting. I duct-taped an electric leaf blower to the frame opening and ran for an hour to make sure it was dry before painting.

This was about 10 years ago and it has held up well, but I'm in So Cal, so ...

Good luck.
 
Looks great. I use cans of Krown or fluid film yearly to satisfy my fear of frame rust. It’s messy but soothes my soul and mind

For the underbody spray, I think the consensus I’ve read here on Mud is to stay away from the rubberized coatings. Otherwise I think Eastwood has a good product for that if you will be using their stuff to do the inside of the frame too.

One of the POs of my truck used a black paint on the frame and it seems to be holding up well and I see no signs of bubbling. Rust prevention could be as easy as black Krylon on a clean, prepped surface I suppose.
 
Good idea. Been looking for a long time for frame solution. Thanks 😊
 
Amazon delivered mine today, should be very interesting. lots of very fine sand in the rail I have never been able to get out.

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Hydro jetter on a pressure washer... thats a fine idea!

how do you plan to apply material to the inside of the frame rail?

The Eastwood product comes in aerosol cans, and they provide a 24" extension wand to thread it up inside the frame rails. Fortunately these have lots of access holes to get it inside along the length.

I'm also going to use Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator product to brush on to the outside of the frame rails and any other exposed structural steel and skid plates. I will later be removing the axles so I can rebuild, re-gear, and then paint them all black as well.

I've been debating on what product to use on the underbody, as it is still painted, and even has some original factory or dealer applied undercoating in spots.

I have a few product samples on hand to try: Chassis Saver, Eastwood Rust Encapsulator, and POR-15. I bought a pint of each to see how they lay down.

I grew up in this truck (It was my grandfather's), and I've now got a kid myself so I want to make sure it lasts to see my own grandchildren.
 
Kanatii, I am glad you posted. I was wondering how that worked out for you after posting on my thread. Need to do that to my 60 also. Once I finish cleaning the engine compartment, I will be taking the front pieces off for cleaning like you did.

Damn nice looking rig you have there!

Your thread actually got me to get back on that project. I also have to have the rear carpet up to cut an access hatch for the new in-tank fuel pump, so I'm going through the interior and cleaning it up some. It was just a mess when I picked up the carpet. :p

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I grew up in this truck (It was my grandfather's), and I've now got a kid myself so I want to make sure it lasts to see my own grandchildren.
That is awesome! My mother has my grandpa’s 66 ford stepside rotting away in her driveway. I really want to rebuild that thing.
 
Nice trick! 👍

Also, if you have a greasy or oily chassis, go rent a Hotsy. 😉

Cheers

Interesting. I had considered trying to run the pressure washer from the hot water tank in the house, but its too far away.

And yes, I have both an oily and greasy chassis. I think the RMS/oil pan gasket let go some time ago and it marks its territory.
 
I have a mix of grease and sand / gravel in my frame rails. I put in some degreaser and was able to scoop out some but there is still ots left. I put in some engine oil afterwards to keep it oily. So I was thinking I'll need to find a steep hill somewhere with access to a water supply and electricity, and blast it so the crud goes back over the rear arch and out the back.

Or as you say, a Hotsy, but then 'll have all this oily water coming out and contaminating the soil.
 
I have a mix of grease and sand / gravel in my frame rails. I put in some degreaser and was able to scoop out some but there is still ots left. I put in some engine oil afterwards to keep it oily. So I was thinking I'll need to find a steep hill somewhere with access to a water supply and electricity, and blast it so the crud goes back over the rear arch and out the back.

Or as you say, a Hotsy, but then 'll have all this oily water coming out and contaminating the soil.
Little known fact, farmers used spent oil for fertilizer back in the day.... they used it to spray gravel roads to keep dust from flying and collecting on the leaves of crops causing sun damage. Then they realized that all the plants by the road were super healthy. For a long time, up until synthetic additives were introduced, it was common for people to use oil as a fertilizer.
 
The way to get rid of oil in soil is to aerate the soil so it decomposes. I spilled a few liters out of a differential a few years ago. I covered it over to keep the rain off and finally got around to digging it out last summer. There was no trace of it. But we are on a well system so I don't want to contaminate that.
 
Little known fact, farmers used spent oil for fertilizer back in the day.... they used it to spray gravel roads to keep dust from flying and collecting on the leaves of crops causing sun damage. Then they realized that all the plants by the road were super healthy. For a long time, up until synthetic additives were introduced, it was common for people to use oil as a fertilizer.
Probably a reason for organic farms
 
It has been too cold and wet to work on it for a few days, but today it warmed up enough to go back at it.

Today I worked underneath the truck with a wirewheel, and I also dropped some more of the heat shields. There is quite a bit of the original rubberized undercoating left, so I'm not quite sure how I should proceed with coating it. I really don't want to have to wire wheel it all off.

You can see some of the mud dauber action I'm fighting inside the radiator shroud. I'm hoping I can have the radiator hot tanked and refurbished for re-use.

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Spent some time getting the things I've removed cleaned up.

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Working the wire cup is pretty tiring.

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I used a lot of POR-15. Its not worth the money and it doesn't stop rust. The metal rusts underneath it. Even well bonded.

You are better to use a rust converter and then put on regular enamel rust paint. But for inside frames I suggest just regular oiling with a rust proofing oil (Krown, Rust Check, LPS 3 etc). All of those actually stop the rust from progressing. I even paint my frame and spray everything underneath in a rust protection.
I decided long ago I want my cruiser to last a long time and it was not going to be a show car with mirrors under it.
 

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