Cleaning and servicing your 4WD after a trip out is an absolutely vital activity to maintaining the functionality and reliability of your 4WD.

A dirty 4×4 may be a badge of pride to your mates but mud and dirt encourages rust by trapping moisture against your vehicle body and more importantly ingresses into mechanical parts increasing wear and early component failure so best you clean inside and out as soon as you can.

Depending on what kind of off-road activities you engage in is what is necessary to properly clean and maintain your vehicle.

Taking basic cleaning and servicing advice to heart means you will be able to prevent costly issues arising later on.

1. Reducing the Cleaning of your 4WD

Here are some tips when it comes to cleaning – before you dive into the mud and slush remember someone has to clean it off – more often it is left to the owner if you wish to avoid early and expensive repairs…

1.1 On the beach

Make sure to only open one door at a time in or around the beach. This reduces the amount of salty and sandy air that gets inside and on the inside part of the windscreen which means there’s less to clean up later.
Keep windows up as much as you can for similar reasons.
Don’t use beach creeks for under body washes. The fast moving water erodes the sand that gets under the tyres and causes them to quickly sink.

1.2 Mud and water

Many 4WD drivers dealing with muddy terrain as a fact of life on a regular or semi-regular basis.

Be aware that when washing a 4WD with dry or wet sticky mud it can withstand the pressure of a high pressure hose at point blank range.
A wad of sticky mud can be powerful enough to suck out important components of your 4WD like the rubber seals containing the grease and necessary lubricants that are key to 4WD’s moving parts.
4×4 mud driving can very easily corrode electrical contacts and destroy alternators.
Red mud from the Australian outback can have a major corrosive impact on plastic where it eats away at all types of rubbers and plastics.
It is a great help if you have been able to keep water out of the cabin – if not remove and dry all sodden mats, seats etc.
If you are lucky to come across a river with a depth that suits your vehicle you can more easily deal with this issue and better clean your 4WD.

2. Post Trip – What you need to do

2.1 Cleaning

Firstly clean inside and out so you can see the 4WD body and mechanical components! – dirt encourages rust by trapping moisture against metal and increases wear if it gets on moving parts. Prevent dirt getting ground in by cleaning the interior. Wash 4WD thoroughly, including the underside.

Give your 4WD an extended clean including an under body wash when you get home. You need to dislodge all the salt and sand that accumulates in and over the nooks and crannies which eventually leads to rust.

2.2 Servicing

Even the toughest 4WD vehicle will need some servicing once you get back from a trip out in the bush or elsewhere. Off-road trips place significant mechanical stress on your 4WD and the fitted accessories.

To prevent bigger problems in the future take note of these relevant post-trip servicing tips:

1. Check out your filters – When you are driving in a dusty area you need to daily check your air filter. Once you get home clean your air filter thoroughly. Depending on how your air filter has held up you may even need to replace it entirely.

2. Examine your suspension – 4WD suspension cops a lot of abuse when doing some proper off-road trekking with your 4×4. After every trip closely examine the shocks for leaks or any other damage as they take the full brunt of stumps, boulders and rocks thrown up by the tyres.

3. Regular lubrication – go round all the grease nipples and ensure everything that requires lubrication with oil and grease gets it.

4. Tighten up – make sure everything is secure and tighten up everything that isn’t. Pay attention to any personal modifications or accessories and particularly the bull bars and anything mounted on them.

Summarising Cleaning and Servicing your 4WD after the Trip

Following these guidelines means you won’t have to do as much work to get ready for your next trip and you can do so without constantly fearing something is going to go wrong.

For more relevant tips when it comes to cleaning and servicing your 4WD contact Jordan or Mark Smith at 4WD Obsession Noosa by calling 07 5474 1977.