Cleaning a Wheelhorse - What's Your Method????

[leeave96 487]

So I'm busy posting pictures of my foot control kit on my 520H in another thread and I'm looking at these pics and thinking - the folks on this forum MUST think Bill NEVER washes or cleans-up his tractor - LOL!

Well, I do keep the grass and crud build-up off the tractor and mowing deck pretty well - just under the seat pan and in the steering column and hump - it really didn't occur to me that those areas would see so much build-up. I know better now.

But....

I've always been leary of opening up the water hose on my tractors, especially around the engine and electrical in fear of causing damage.

Question is - how do you clean-up your tractors after a hard day's work (or prior to shedding them after a season of mowing). Do you blow them off with a leaf blower (which is what I do) or do you turn loose the water hose on them or do you use a pressure washer or something else. When is to much cleaning a bad thing - where do you draw the line.

BTW, another thing I have avoided is spraying engine cleaner on the engine or tranny. My thinking is that some of this cleaner is oil based and in addition to that, what does it do to the belt drive if oil gets cleaned off the engine or tranny and finds itself on the belt or pulley? Don't like the idea of lubricating a belt!

Any advice, tips, etc., would be much appreciated.

Thanks!!!!!!

Bill

[Wheelhorse84 87]

I blow mine off with a back pack blower every time I mow. I only use water and degreaser when I first buy one and its filthy.

[Tankman 3,515]

I do use water, sparingly. Then a dry job with my backpack blower.

The Horse backs into the barn, clean. I'm a little picky 'bout "clean Horses."

I often open the hood, and leave it down to remind me, "check oil and gas."

If sunny, dry, I sometimes leave the Stallions to sunbathe, a little extra treat (drying). :-)

[AMC RULES 36,941]

Pretty simple really.

The old, crusty one's get blown apart and steam cleaned at work...after that, a back pack blower cleans them up after yard work.

I'm constantly wiping them down with the citris GOJO hand cleaner wipes, and they get an occasional detail wax applied to the tins too.

To me, that first clean is the most important, and basically just maintain 'em from there.

[Martin 2,130]

workers get air hose blown off, through the air screen on the flywheel side, to get all the grass, whatever out of the airflow passages of the engine and blow off the rest of the hard to get areas around the tractor/deck etc. then i give them a good hose down if needed. i dont get the engines/electrical wet if i can help it but the rest of the tractor is fair game. then give them a dry off again with air....

the nice ones get a hose and bucket/ sponge with some car wash and a good blow down.

im not scared to get the hose out on them, they get dried off real good, just need to watch that you dont get everything wet (electrical, ignition, seat!!!!) and cause more work for yourself.....

the nice ones have a good coat of wax on them anyway so that makes them easy to get clean.

and the workers need to be a little dirty, makes them look like they're pulling their weight.

Edited December 10, 2012 by Martin

[Jeremy Watson 22]

Once a year I remove some of the tins to better get to the transmission and other hidden part and power wash, then leaf blower to speed dry. Then let sit out in the sun to dry out 100%. Reinstall and wax tins. Finish by greasing and wiping fitting clean. Then take the leaf blower after each time I use it. In the winter I broom off excess snow and try and try and towel dry everything I can.

Jeremy

[smoreau 658]

Once a year each of my workers get a full power wash from top to bottom. If there really bad in the engine area, I will remove some of the tins to get them really clean. Then they get blown off and the oil changed, new are cleaner, grease job. If there is anything else that it needs that is warn out, it get replaced. On the nice ones get pampered and a bucket and sponge bathed, rinsed lightly with a hose, then waxed.

[Kelly 1,028]

:text-yeahthat: Pretty much what Scott said, all my tractors I pick up get a stop at the local car wash, even if they are going to be a parts tractor, it make them nicer to tear apart.

[rydogg 186]

On the workers I make sure that I keep the cooling area behind the engine tins clean and free of mouse nests and debris same thing with a hydro transmission you need to keep the cooling fins clear so they can do their job. On the heavy grease I use Purple Power and a pressure washer but I try to stay away from the engine unless it is extremely dirty.

[can whlvr 991]

power washer,i hit everything with it,i just dont blast the fuse area or the gauges

[wh5208speed 602]

If I buy a new horse, the sheetmetal gets removed and I use a combination of air hose and long flat-tip screwdriver to clearn out all the oil and debris. Then I will use Castrol Super Clean (puple bottle) to degrese the areas where greese and oil have built up. Once washed and clean I use a combination of the air hose and Stihl backpack blower to get the water out.

I usually try to wax the tractors once a year (early summer).

It is usually pretty easy to keep them clean as I either use the air hose or backpack blower after use to keep them clean. If for some reason they need another bath. It is washed via soap and bucket then dried with the backpack blower.

Biggest thing is if you keep them clean by blowing them off every time you put them away, you rarely need to wash them. I have done my best to make it very convenient to keep them clean. I bought one of those wall mounted retractable hose reels and placed it just inside the garage door area so I could just just unwind the hose and reel it back up. I always hated rolling up the hose then having to step over things to get to the air compressor.

The air hose tool I really like is a hollow tube about 24" long that has a trigger at the base where you can squeeze to let the air out. This air tool is about the diameter of a pencil and really puts out a lot of PSI since the opening is so small. It just quick connects to the air hose and is great for getting into those hard to reach areas like the transmission, the center frame, mower deck covers, engine area, and in the battery area, where grass and debris just love to fill up.

I do have a 4K PSI pressure washer on my Christmas list, that I am hoping santa decides I have been good enough to get one!!

Thad (Ohio)

[canam1991 2]

quick ride to the car wash after every 5-7 mows

[Duff 206]

Hand wash and wipe dry just like our cars, usually after every mowing. I just check the tranny shift boot to be suire it's still in good shape before firing up the hose. Wax at least once a season. Never had a problem!

Duff :thumbs:

[fourwheels0 191]

pressure wash and 120 psi air compressor hose.

[608KEB 794]

Hand wash after 3rd or 4th use. Throughly detail and towel dry. Spray wax on tins and rims a few times a year.

[MalMac 1,328]

Workers after use get blown off with leaf blower then get rinse off. When exceptional dirty and grimy get power washed staying away from sensitive areas. The shiny still red ones get all that plus wipe down and waxed twice a year.

[SousaKerry 500]

I leave the tractor running and go at it with the hose once the water hits the tranny fan and engine fan it self pressure washes. Then I dry it in the sun and hit whatever is left with compressed air. The trailer queen 655 gets waxed every year before the Charlotte show. The rest live outside so not much point in worrying about every drop of water

[6wheeler 585]

I use an air hose to blow the crud and dust off of em'. The only water they see is if I get caught in the rain with my britches down . Otherwise, they are healthy, happy, dusty, dirty work tractors .

[varosd 1,185]

I wonder if one of those "Infomercial" bathroom steamers might work on the lawn clipping crud, transmission fins etc. obviously woundnt use it on sheet metal

[Lars 526]

well i wash my horse usually after every mowing whit a hose and somtimes pressure washes and do a real clean up whit wax.ill wax it mabye 3-5 times in a summer. and twice in the winter....ill do take of the deck and clean the innside of it everytime/ pressure washes it.. because of the jucy grass we have here.. then i blow it dry

are also very carefully and keep it lubricated. and that there is enough grease.. Also using contact spray on all electrical for and protect against moisture

ill give them more TLC then my car LOL