What is the best way to get the underside fully cleaned (aside from fixing those pesky oil leaks)?

During an alignment I took the opportunity to snap pics after I cleaned it up and degreased with Simple Green. Had to reach in there well while I was in the car wash bay so I could spray the underside generously, wait a few minutes as I cleaned the wheels and washed off as I rinsed the car. By that time the degreaser will have taken effect, but it seems something stronger is needed.

Any thoughts?

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I've used Purple Power and a pressure washer with good results. The pressure washer was from one of those do it yourself spray car washes. I took my jack and jack stands, raised the car, sprayed purple power, waited a bit, and then went to town with the spray washer. I also repeated the process.
Worked out great, but now it's kind of dirty under there. I'm about due for another bath.

BTW - Looks like there is remnants of grease from your left axle. Hopefully that was left from the previous axle and not the current. But we'll check it out.

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

Richard, the grease on the control arm is from the previous axle that had a ripped boot. Replaced it under warranty (was under a week old and the boot had a small pinhole). The left rear hub is leaking though so that is on the list.

I already used a pressure washer with these results, maybe I need to wait more for the degreaser to settle.

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You'll need something stronger then Simple Green. Try Purple Power from Autozoo. You'll need to get a good spray bottle for it though because it comes in a gallon container.

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

Clean it? That is one clean underbody!! Mine is lubed with tons of oil and grease, and I will keep it that way, its like a shield against rust!

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Yours is cleaner than two of mine and I own a steam cleaner

Have you ever seen Bodyart's car?

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You can get farther with a smile and a gun than you can with just a smile.

1984 300D
1985 300CD
1980 300SD
1993 SL500

If you turned Norm upside down, you would probably see the dirtiest underside imaginable. I swear half of Kansas is under that car!

used a very similar method. first i did the engine bay, because the grease from there goes down to the undercarraige. then drove the front end onto rhino ramps and sprayed the whole thing with 1500psi from different angles for a good 15 minutes, then did the rear end on ramps, with very good results. be sure to then pressure wash the surface you did this on.

One of the techniques I employ that works really well without running a lot of water is to use a garden sprayer . . . yes, that is what I said, a garden sprayer! I fill it with extremely hot water, pump it up and then I hit different areas of my car with micro blasts (these areas have already been pre sprayed with purple power, etc.) The combination of hot water, pressure and pre soaking really cleans things up nicely and you will appreciate not running large volumes of greasy water all over your driveway. I have even put an old moving van blanket under car which oil/grease soaks into and then I simply thrown the whole thing away. Sometimes, for a really greasy car, I will go to a car wash first with my ramps and blast away and then employ the above technique as a maintenance technique. Once car is clean, a light spray of waxy oil based spray is ideal as there is a certain benefit to all that dirt and grease that you just stripped from the metal -it does provide some protection from rust and corrosion. Good luck!

Looks like degreaser, warm water and high pressure works well.

Next time I'll bring ramps to the car wash place after a while the water that comes out the high pressure nozzle becomes warm. When I use up the bottles of Simple Green I will try Purple Power. Thanks!

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do you want clean or like omg fricking concourse clean?


I think I spent like 20 hours helping a friend get a car ready for concourse judging a few months ago.The car was already mint to begin with! gaaah!



I'd say just spray the crap out of it with purple power and attack with an arsenal of brushes and spray bottles.

I really want to get the SDL up in the air and scrub the underside.

To be honest, as best as I can clean it...

I do drive this daily, so I also take that into consideration.

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just get rid of that grease on the trailing arm, spray it down with purple power and rinse.


I have nothing better to do with my spare time so seriously detailing the underside of my car is something I want to do, but my neighbor is borrowing my jack.

When we finally go ahead with Richard (DeliveryValve) and replace the differential, flex discs, diff and trans mounts, I'll definitely clean it up.

Where I used to live overseas, some stations have underbody car wash services. You drive up to the lift, they clean it thoroughly (body/engine/interior/underside). I wish they had something similar here.

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you can always buy a nice scissor jack