Dusty Road

[Rick Daniels]

I attended a fox and hound hunt near Wells, Nevada.  Convoyed down in my Beaver from Montana behind several large horse trailers.  Was told the 25+ mile gravel road into the hunt camp was well maintained.  Well, it was but.......it was by far the dustiest road I have ever been on.  It wasn't gravel, it was powder, fine powder.  Just the exhaust blast from my cat C12 blew up a cloud of fine dust second only to the great depression era dust storms, not to mention the dust caused by the trucks and horse trailers ahead of me.  Adding insult to injury, I forgot and left the bedroom windows open about 2".   Stupid human trick, right?  Needless to say the entire interior of the MH was covered in dust.  Every cabinet, every drawer and all of the contents, all furniture and bedding.  You get the picture.  Clean up inside is near done but now for the parts I cant see including the engine compartment.  My questions are; Can I hose down or pressure wash the engine compartment by raising the bed without threatening damage to any components and how do I go about that without drenching the bedroom?  Are there issues with the engine or transmission I should be concerned with such as filters, etc?  How to you teach a 74 year old man to avoid such perils?  By the way, the hunt was phenomenal.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Rick,
Been there, done that with a hunting trailer years ago that had a rear window. Amazing where dust can go. As to the engine, I would not use water as you risk it getting into areas that can cause expensive problems like the ECM. Compressed air would be a better approach IMHO but you may also get more dust in the bedroom if you access the engine from there. As to the radiator, I'd blow it out with compressed air and then run the engine to get the radiator warm. Wet it down and then spray it with a solution of water & Dawn DW soap. Let it set a couple of minutes and then give it a good rinse with water.
Steve

[Rick Daniels]

Thanks Steve.  Guess I should have done the engine compartment before I cleaned house.

[Dave Atherton]

Rick, I would suggest remove and blow out air filter or if element cannot be removed. Basic
50 miles of power dust with Cat C-12 engine. In and out on dusty roadway you best service the air cleaner. The reason behind all of this slight break where paper in element is glued to end cap
on filter housing can dust your engine beyond repair. I would also take a warm oil sample and
have Caterpillar test engine oil . The engine oil sample will indicate if engine has injested dirt.
another indication of air filter restriction would be increased engine temperature it will take very
little dust / dirt into intake of engine to cause severe damage. Dave Atherton Retired Cat Mechanic

[Rick Daniels]

Great advice Dave, I will do just that.  Thank You.