Hauled a bunch of sand in my bed. Best way to clean out the hinges?

Noticed that when I’m pulling on the handle to open the tail gate it’s quite sticky. I’m gona clean the bed today with a pressure washer and worried I’ll blast away any grease or lubricant that’s in the joints and such

anyone have any tips on how to properly clean out all the sand that’s settled in all the mechanisms without damaging it. And also any recommendations on what I need to relubricate with if that’s necessary thanks!

 

soap and water by hand. If it's still sticky/gritty use WD40 to clean it more. Once you get it unsticky, re-lubricate with a white lithium grease. Don't use a pressure washer. Use a hose.

 

You might try compressed air for the hinge areas before you get anything wet so get rid of the loose sand.

 

Yeah, I would blow out what you can with some compressed air before doing anything with liquids.

 

Once you clean it - TEST IT BEFORE CLOSING IT!

Click the latches on both sides shut by hand, then try the latch handle. If it works a few times, great. If not - it's easy to get the panel off to fix it while still open. If you close it and it sticks shut, getting the panel off is hard and fixing it is hard. Trust me.

 

Look, nobody is going to judge you for buying a second hand Toyota from the Taliban. No need to make up stories about hauling sand.

 

Are you talking about the handle or the hinges? I would not lubricate the hinges as any grease would actually attract dirt. I'd just blow it out with an air compressor. You could grease the handle after cleaning if that's your concern.

 

Sounds like a good excuse to finally get myself a compressor for the garage. Yea the sand I hauled was alittle wet. I imagine once it dries and I hit it with air it would work out. Thanks!