After driving my E-320 in snow and slush last week I gave it a good washing to get all the salt and grime off. I noticed that when spraying around the inside of the rear whell wells, a lot of grime had built up behind the wheel wells themselves. I got it out by spraying directly at the source (the typical corner at the rear end of the wheel well) until the water ran clear.

Is it normal for this much junk to build up behind the protective barrier of the wheel well? If so, is merely spraying the cr*p out of it with water sufficient to clean the area to prevent rust?

Thanks!

Normal, and the water flush is the right thing to do

when you can, run some water along the whole underside (when everything is cool ) of the car, as my Mercedes manual suggest. this is all you need to do in the winter. if you get a chance to hand wash, use a sponge and car wash soap in this area.

a nice warm weather detailing job is a car wash soap cleaning of the wheel wells along with a cheap wax application.

Thanks for the reply Ethan. Yeah, I also washed the entire underside of the car as well and flushed the drainage areas in the engine bay, etc, which is a regular thing for me to do regardless of the season.

I have to tell ya, it's been a few times that I slipped a quick wash in when it warmed up enough during the winter where I had to deal with water freezing on the car while drying it off!

The things we do for these great vehicles....

Hi guys,

normally I spray the wheel wells with water and hand wash the entire car. Good point about cleaning the underside. I take mine to a car wash during the spring to clean the bottom.

Enjoy spending a quiet Saturday afternoon in the summer with a sponge and then some polish.

I noticed that the weather forcast for this coming Moday is a HOT 45 degrees! I've got a date with the bucket and sponge.

I am in Baltimore, I need to wash and hit the wheels on Monday, thanks for the forcast. I am going to try clay on my wheels.
I had a leaf get into the Blower Motor of my A/C making a noise, thought it was a bad bearing. Just a tip!

Sifon, do you patronize Herb Gordon Mercedes in Silver Spring?

Neil Richardson, Where in England are you?

Hey Ethan,

I get my work done at RC Imports in Rockville. Great shop with an honest mechanic that's worked on my cars for about seven years. (301) 762-4205 ask for Rick.

My brother worked as a mechanic for Herb Gordon (Nissan) for around ten years. As far as I know, they run a tight shop.

Hi Ethan.

I live in a county called Hertfordshire, about 35mins drive north of London.

Wash your car on Saturday in England and it is guaranteed to rain on Sunday.!!

I used to work at a detail shop many moons ago and I must say, these are some of the most neglected areas of a car and one of the most important areas to maintain, especially if you live in the snow belt. All we did if something came in excessively dirty was hit it with a pressure washer to knock the loose crud off and then sprayed some diluted all-purpose cleaner/ degreaser in there and brushed it as best we could, possibly repeating again if necessary. Make note that I said DILUTED degreaser. Most of these products are very strong, and truthfully don't need to be used at full strength for anything!! You will find that you can get satisfactory results with as weak a solution as 3 parts water to 1 part cleaner. Even that is pretty strong, depending on the product. Make sure to read the manufacturer's label for cautions and the like so you can avoid any potential hazards to the car and yourself!!
You will be suprised how much better a car looks with clean and properly detailed wheel wells!! Or should I say, how nasty wheel wells can make a good wash look incomplete!!

Hey good tips!

For that matter, being a former carpet cleaner for while in college, when cleaning your carpets (house or car) you never have to use as much soap as they call for. Half as much soap as they say is more than sufficient. Many of the houses I cleaned only needed cleaning because someone had "cleaned" the carpets themselves with too much soap. As a result soap residue was left in the carpets which attracts dirt like glue! Always make sure to get all the soap out. Never use those foam cleaners without also rinsing them (assuming the material doesn't have to be dry cleaned).

I think it's gonna get up to around 50 degress in the next day or so. Can't wait to get all that salt/grime off the car!!

yes this is what I do also and cant obsess over it anymore! I want the car to stay in perfect shape.

__________________
99 C43
98 S420
99 C230K
01 C240