Anything bad about mudding?
 

Since I do a lot of mudding, pretty much my only off-road experiences for now...I was curious as to what problems could happen as a result other than a muddy paint job, been there..cleaned that :D

Are there are any places that its bad to get mud in? So pretty much, what the heck could happen while mudding???

Thanks guys, sorry if this seems like a dumb post, just kind of a split decision thread.

Later,

Fink:devil:

Seals. Mud/dirt will eventually get in and tear up seals. Anything that has a pulley on it has a seal with bearings. Mud/dirt has a way of getting in, and it's like sandpaper on your internal parts. It's a bad thing. The best thing to do is keep the splashing down to a minimum to avoid throwing it all over the engine bay and in everything.

Good point...is there anyway I could have my local place check the seals and stuff to make sure everything is doin ok? It's probably going in Friday or Monday to have some other stuff done...figured while its in there maybe have them take a look at it??

Thanks Kyle!

Fink:devil:

Yea i'm like you, all i do is mud(and deep water)

What i've found is if you get stuck in deep mud or go through a lot of it up to the tires, check your bearings sometimes. And every once in a while maybe your diff's.

Other than that what he said. If you ever do some mechanics on your truck, its a pain cause everything is dirty:D

As old as my truck is, and as muddy as I get it (just today: muddin pic) I like to go to the car wash, get the high pressure spray, and spray out the inside of my wheels, all springs/suspension components, the engine bay (w/ deck plate screwed in of course) and the steering components up front. But leave the mud... For pride, of course!! I haven't had any problems with mud in seals or anything (yet) but I have had some rust issues on the gas tank skid plate and various undercarriage parts, no doubt due to my affinity to mud. :)

Another thing...
 

If you break something, in the mud, its a whole hell of alot harder to "trail" fix than if you were on a trail or in the rocks!

I used to go muddin' alot, but I had to quit. I tore up too much stuff. I've had to have a few things replaced so far due to the mud....

Like what?

Fink:devil:

ive had to replace a rear pinion seal due to mud getting up inside it and making it leak.

I think this is the most imporant, at least to me it is.

Anytime I go mudding, which is often enough, I immideatly hit a car wash with high pressure spray and get all the mud off the wheels and steering compenents, just like KFORD has mentioned here.

It's not good to travel with all this mud in your wheels, etc.

two rear axle seals, passenger side diff seal, ps pump pulley, and I just had the AC compressor replaced. I don't know if it was due to muddin', but after a run one day that thing sure did sound bad....

Yeah...I usually try and go to the car wash afterwards. So washing the wheels and steering components right afterwards is all I need to do???

Fink:devil:

AT YOUR OWN RISK. There are plenty of hazards. Just take it easy and go slow. There's no reason to hit anything hard when playing in the mud. And avoid just doing donuts in thick mud and slingin heavy chunks in your engine bay for no reason.

You might notice the brakes feel funny right after u do a good mudding session. There might even be a shimmy, and of course if u air your tires down (which u should in the mud) it will handle differently. Just make sure to get mud out of wheels, brakes, and STEERING asap, and have recovery gear handy!

Oh yeah, and don't take advice from n00b's like myself too seriously! ;) Honestly, I am not a mechanic, I just have experience in the mud is all.

Pretty much all I do is donuts and just drivin around seein what kinda damage I can do...is that the wrong thing to do? I haven't noticed any mud in the engine compartment other than just some dirt and other crap that is normally there from my dirt road/gravel drive.

Fink:devil:

You may want to be careful about the pressure washer in the engine bay...

I haven't had any personal experience in this but I have read numberous times from various threads how people will never use pressure washers under the hood again.

I used to use that "engine/tire cleaner" but quite frankly, it doesn't do CRAP. I use the medium pressure sprayer (or high if med. isn't availiable) and so far no problems. Just use common sense... Don't spray in airbox, don't spray in close proximity to thin wires, or anything that looks dainty. Ain't much dainty in a toyota though.

I don't use the high pressure on the engine itself, I just spray everything in the wheel wells really well and the springs, wheels, tires and as much of the undercarriage as I can.

Fink:devil: