The cleanup continues. As posted earlier, most of the "exterior mud" was
washed off Sunday.
The oil and filter have been changed, mostly because the oil filler cap
popped out of the valve cover at some point Saturday. The oil has no grit in
it that I can find. Yes, I had my hand in the drain pan for five minutes,
feeling around. Cutting the filter open shows no evidence of dirt so I feel
pretty safe so far. The tan mud in the pit and the darker, gray stuff on the
trails has little or no grit in it. It's entirely clay. When wet, it has a
slimy feel. The microscopic particles are nearly impossible to remove with
water alone. The engine bay and the underside of the hood have been power
washed and until the surfaces are wiped with a damp rag, a brown residue
remains. Anyone who has seen a "drowned" vehicle that has been immersed when
a river has gone over its bank will have an idea of the silt covering every
surface, inside and out. Getting the vinyl bed cover really black again with
no trace of brownness will probably take the better part of a day because of
the texture in the material.
The front bumper has been removed for easier access to the radiator and
front suspension. All of the plastic pieces from the air intake to the
throttle body have been disassembled, and cleaned. Front bumper and plastic
air dam have been separated and fog light mounts cleaned. At some point
while in the mud pit, one of the plastic covers in the front crossmember got
blown inward. The area inside the crossmember, around the lower "A" arm bolt
was packed with several pounds of dried ooze.
I getting as much mud as I can off now because it's easier now and if left
in all the crevices, it will absorb salt laden water next winter just like
kitty litter. Not a pretty thought!
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:05:03 EDT