Hello, cleaning up my 15 chassis,which is free from major rust problems but a wonderland of grease and trapped road filth,the front and rear chassis rails are closed box section which makes getting the crud out very tricky. Front not too bad but the rear curved rail near the axel is truly dreadful. The through bolts make bottle brushing difficult so Any thoughts on getting the inside clean, I’m in the middle of nowhere so acid baths or sand blasting are not an option. Best wishes Rob.

Hello Rob,

I do not have knowledge on a 15 chassis, so my suggestion may be worthless.

Do you access to a wall paper stripper, one of those units that boils water and feeds steam through a flexible hose ??

My thought is you could tailor the end of the hose with a thinner piece of pipe which you can then pass in to the chassis. The steam would melt the grease quickly which can then be drained accordingly and these units do produce a decent bit of pressure so it will certainly get to grips with the muck inside the rail(s).

Once all done, let it dry thoroughly and treat to whatever rust inhibitor you decide.

Regards.

Richard.

Hi Rob, that's a problem I have had in the past also and there is no easy answer, at least you have the body off trying to do the same job with the body in situ is very difficult indeed.

If you cant get it sand blasted or acid dipped there is no easy answer except hard work, I used a small rotary wire brush on the end of a flexible drill drive but it was only 18 inches long so did not reach all the way in, but with loads of paraffin it did clean the bits that were in full view.

Frankly I did the bits you could see and that I wanted to paint and left the rest to chance, the chassis was a very solid lump of metal there was loads of paint still good on it covered with thick with oil and grease so there was no rust to speak of.

I took the view it had stood the attacks from road dirt and salt for 60 years had been stood in a field for 7 years and was still remarkably rust free and very solid, so leave well alone.

Thank you for your thoughts, the steam idea is interesting though might be a bit tricky as I’d have to try to find one and there’s no power to the barn, so I’d need a generator too. The wire brush is probably most practical, I’ve heard of long thin bottle type brushes used to debur metal pipes. I can lift the chassis upon end to help but I think it will be a do the best you can kind of job as you say. Cheers.

Well, I hate to say this, and those who know me may well say that my comments are hypocritical!
However, if the parts of the chassis to which you refer are full of a crud which is predominantly grease, then what is the point of removing it? If it is predominantly grease then I would have thought it is going to protect the chassis rails far better than clearing it all out and applying an anti-rust treatment.
Just a thought!
Terry

Hi Terry,
The rub is it’s not just grease, it’s sand,stones and greasy filth that’s been thrown up into the chassis and become trapped in the boxed section ends. It is quite loose but super difficult to get out. It blocks the drain holes so is an unwelcome guest and I’d like it to leave. A fiddley job but necessary.
Cheers.

Any fuel lines or wiring in there to think about?

Ron

Hello Rob,

Would increasing the size of the drain holes be of benefit with your current task and future drainage ??

Most drain holes in vehicles are woefully too small and enlarging really does help to clear excess water etc - could also give you an ingress opportunity for cleaning ??

Regards.

Richard.