I was just curious if there's any simple maintainence I can do for the somewhat deteriorating undercarriage of my w124. This is such an awful season in terms of roadsalt, and judging by what my body and bumpers look like, I hate to think what the underside looks like. Usually I wipe down the bottoms of the rocker panels and inside the wheel wells ... is there anything else I should periodically wipe the residue off of? Also, I'm going to wash my car today ... is it safe or useful to wash anything underneath? As I said, there's a lot of rust and wear under there, but I'd like to do everything I can to preserve the body/chassis from here on in.

Flushing the undercarriage is a good idea to remove builtup dirt to reduce poultice corrosion. But it's so impossible to keep the undercarriage dry and free of corrosive products during the winter months, that I suggest undercoating with a good rustproofing compound. You can painstakingly clean the undercarriage, but the corrosive products return the next time you run over a puddle. Even an old car can benefit from undercoating.

Corrosion starts from all the nooks and crannies that make up your car, not on the flat panel surfaces. It's next to impossible to clean all the seams where corrosion starts. A good undercoating such as Texaco Rustproofing compound will penetrate the nooks and crannies, helping to delay or slow down the rusting process. Plus it's simple and won't break the bank.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

Beaware that cheap under proofing with cause problems....such as a cheap rubberixed undercoating...they will provide more moisture than protect...it might look pretty and blackish new, but it is a moisture trap.....

the best thing imho is to tear it down clean it as best possible and repaint it from rust proofing primer up - sandblasting, wirewheeling, stripping and rebuilding......then and still use oils and waxes to seal and protect the nooks and cranies...the oils might be more muckey and ugly, but if you are looking to keep it solid and strong, thats a good thing to do....

good luck i know my w123 needed alot of love

jake