Check and check...

Thanks once again to Black Pearl for those photo essays! We just finished our first B16 service (well, at least the oil/filter change & rear differential fluid change). My husband says the drain plug for the rear diff fluid change was a real b@&^h to get off, and it took him a little experimentation to figure out how to get the new fluid to actually leave the bottle and flow into the reservoir, but other than that, it was smooth sailing.

Code B16 hit 0% somewhere between 13820 (when he did the oil/filter change) and 13958 (when he did the rear diff fluid change), in case you are curious.

Now we just need to get the tires rotated again, get some of those inspections done by a private mechanic (kind of not looking forward to finding one, but I do have a few recommendations and am hoping they will be open to just doing the stuff we can't do ourselves & will charge us reasonably). Probably we'll get the brake assemblies cleaned & lubricated too...

It's been a long salty winter around here, and my husband said when he was doing the rear diff fluid change, he noticed quite a film of white on the undercarriage. What's the best way to get that off? We don't have access to anything that would lift the car up...

Thanks for the kind comments. There are car washes that clean the undercarriage, but I have found them to be rather quick in duration. What I did one warm day about 6 weeks ago was get my hose and creeper out (one of those wheeled contraptions that mechanics lay on to work underneath your car) and just hosed down the undercarriage for about 20 minutes to half hour. Just decide ahead of time that you are going to get wet, splashed, have crud drip on your arms and do it. Laying on the creeper makes easy and you don't have to get under the car, just your arm does. I shot water into the various nooks and crannies and cleaned out a whole bunch of crud. I was wet and cruddy when I was done, but using the creeper, my back and knees didn't hurt and I did a really good job.

OR you could buy or make one of these:

http://www.sweepfast.com/under_car_cleaner.jpg

No need to get under car, and you can also just jam one of those rotating sprinklers under there as well.

Gotta say, I can't even tell what that contraption is... :)

We do have an adjustable pressure washer... is that likely to be "too much"?

The pressure washer is fine.

What that tool is is basicaly a stiff hose, so you can push it under the car and give it control, and the nozzle on it is a dish that sprays upward like a sprinkler at high pressure on the car in a circle shape. Works great, and the dish has wheels so you just rool it around under the car without crawling under the car.

Guys, you are making it too complicated:

http://tinyurl.com/ck5yrq

Kids have fun, car gets cleaned! I can't see how it could go wrong!

i want one.

Guys, you are making it too complicated:

http://tinyurl.com/ck5yrq

Kids have fun, car gets cleaned! I can't see how it could go wrong!

hahahahaha. That's amazing.

i really want one.

i really want one.

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....yeah... me too...:(

that reminds me, of going in to a store and seeing all the things you wanted as a kid....:(

It's been a long salty winter around here, and my husband said when he was doing the rear diff fluid change, he noticed quite a film of white on the undercarriage. What's the best way to get that off? We don't have access to anything that would lift the car up...

I just hose the undercarriage down (reach under and spray) every time I wash the car in the winter. You have to do it thoroughly...not just a quick splash. (At least 15 seconds of running water on each area.)

The "crust" from the road salt is difficult to remove after it dries.