Yermo dust removal - pressure washer OK? Any other recommended appraoches?

[blutow]

I just took delivery of a truck that has been sitting in Yermo for a while. It's full of that gritty dirt/dust, every nook and cranny. I was thinking I'd pull all floor/tunnel insulation, start with compressed air, then a hose, then a pressure washer. The pressure washer is my big question. HOw likely is this to damage electronics? Any particular areas to avoid? Bad idea to pretty wash in general? I'll button up the open CDR stuff before doing anything and try not to hit electrical connections, but wondering if this is high risk.

I used to have a car that had been bead blasted and I never managed to get all the media out of that the car. I'm guessing the yermo dust may be similar, but trying to get rid of as much as possible. I don't want to overthink this, but also don't want to destroy a bunch of electronics if that's a big risk. Any guidance is appreciated.

 

[T9000]

I just took delivery of a truck that has been sitting in Yermo for a while. It's full of that gritty dirt/dust, every nook and cranny. I was thinking I'd pull all floor/tunnel insulation, start with compressed air, then a hose, then a pressure washer. The pressure washer is my big question. HOw likely is this to damage electronics? Any particular areas to avoid? Bad idea to pretty wash in general? I'll button up the open CDR stuff before doing anything and try not to hit electrical connections, but wondering if this is high risk.

I used to have a car that had been bead blasted and I never managed to get all the media out of that the car. I'm guessing the yermo dust may be similar, but trying to get rid of as much as possible. I don't want to overthink this, but also don't want to destroy a bunch of electronics if that's a big risk. Any guidance is appreciated.

Mine also had tons of sand and even after several washes, including high pressure, there is still a lot of sand left.
I used Crystal Simple Green foam, it has the least chemicals that would attack rubber, plastics, etc, yet in foam mode, it stays longer on a surface to get in and loosen the sand and grease (the sand in many cases it feels like it's stuck on the surface so it takes several rounds to get it out).
One thing to pay attention with the pressure washer is the distance from which you spray vs the pressure, as you will have the tendency to get closer to get the stuck sand out (in some cases it will look like the sand it's not moving no matter what) but if you get too close, the water pressure will leave marks on the surface, including on the paint or interior insulation, so you have to balance it and go over it several times.
Also be prepared to use a higher power shop vac because in some places the sand will just move from one place to another if you use only the water and not it will not get out completely without a vac,

 

[M1028A1ShelterCarrier]

I just picked up another 40lb's of sand from Barstow Friday. I started with my shop vac followed by four sessions with the pressure washer. I am doing open heart surgery tomorrow to find out what's making my turbo sick. Then off to the machine shop!

 

[williamh]

I just washed out my 1123 over the weekend. I couldn’t believe how much mud I took out of it. Along with rocks and tons of other stuff I must have pulled out a 5 gallon bucket of mud from the cab. I didn’t know there were drains in the floorboards , after an hour of spraying and using a shop vac I found the holes . No way I would use compressed air. Not unless you want to really piss of ur neighbors.

 

[tomelroy]

vacuum, then flush with hose, followed by low pressure (heated) wash with stubby wand (500psi) and wet vac to suck up water instantly....water wand in one hand, vac in the other....cleans up like new...no chemicals...works well on the engine bay too. Machine was designed for carpet and upholstery...200 to 1000 psi and up to 220+ degrees. works wonders on the seat cushions as well.

 

[JetbikeAnt]

I pulled my insulation, vacuumed, then scrubbed everything with soapy water. Then I rinsed it out with a hose, blew in dry with compressed air and put a fan on it for a day. Came out great! I could see the water line on the Tunnel from deep fording and found the original insulation moldy underneath so I decided

It needed a good cleaning. My Wife told me I was crazy! LOL

 

[Russ Knight]

Looks good!

 

[tgejesse]

I have a Yermo 1123. Same situation. I vacuumed, power washed, vacuumed… power washed… again and again. Eventually you give up and begin disassembling and cleaning OR live with the sand LOL

 

[DREDnot]

Ive always removed the seats and insulation pads and vacuum what you can then hose out, then pressure wash top to bottom and underneath then purple power and a scrub brush on every square inch. Gets all the nooks and crannies and panel gaps. Makes it look new.
If your paint is good and you want to keep it then spray it down with diesel fuel or WD40.

 

[DREDnot]

 

[blutow]

Ive always removed the seats and insulation pads and vacuum what you can then hose out, then pressure wash top to bottom and underneath then purple power and a scrub brush on every square inch. Gets all the nooks and crannies and panel gaps. Makes it look new.
If your paint is good and you want to keep it then spray it down with diesel fuel or WD40.

That's pretty much what I did. I plan to keep the original paint, may or may not try the diesel spray down. For the cleaning, I did find it really helpful to start with a hose rather than going straight to the pressure washer. I cleaned for most of the day saturday and sunday I think I've got most of it. There is no way to get every nook and cranny (particularly underneath), but I got pretty soaked crawling around trying. +1 on disassembly. I pulled the seats and insulation, the battery tray, folded down the windshield, basically anthing that wasn't too tough. I proabably should have unbolted the trans controller box also, it took a long time to get that area clean. I considered removing the blower motor assembly, but I couldn't figure out how to get it out without a bunch of work. I was happy when I hooked the battery back up today and everything seemed to work. It's not really even cleaned yet, I was just mainly focused on getting rid of all the sandy/silty dirt.

Some pics below.

 

[rcamacho]

Nice progress


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