[Charles]

They are redoing the roads in our semi-rural area. They have stripped the asphalt off to the dirt. So I get to the end of a road and there is a huge machine working on one side of the road. He is gesturing to me but I have no idea what he is trying to mean. Since he is on the other side of the street, I go past him, and suddenly find myself plowing through a strip of gray powder. I mean, it must have been a foot deep! Now this stuff is super fine and is EVERYWHERE! Caked all over the engine bay, under the bottom of the car, in the door seals, wheel wells, EVERYWHERE!

What is this stuff? Concrete powder? Lime?

I have been taking my leaf blower to it and trying not to breathe it in. I suspect I need to change the air filter and oil. I am worried about using water if it is concrete powder.

 

[sulk]

From your description it kinda seems like concrete powder, but was the road you were driving on a concrete one? Or did it have concrete curbs? Otherwise I dunno if they would use concrete. Also you could go back to the place and ask them what the powder was, or maybe your local works department, maybe theyd have more info.

-Sulk

 

[Charles]

I don't think it was concrete, but it may have been. The big machine apparently was mixing this powder with the soil. Could have been lime. But I thought that was white. This is definitely gray like concrete.

I am afraid to go back because when I hit that stretch of powder I was going about 20 mph and the stuff went everywhere! I ran away like a little girl. I didn't want to hang around and get reamed for going through it.

 

[lysinger]

Check your air filler and inlet pipe right away. If it's lime or any other sort of mineral, you don't want it getting in your cylinders. Check the CV axles as well and brush it off the ends where they mate up to the front suspension and the tranny and on the boots. I'd check the fan motors and accessories too, make sure they're clean. Call me paranoid, but it's cheap insurance.

 

[shorte]

I got an idea, Come down here, wait a few minutes for it to flood somewhere, then drive slowly through like a foot of water washing it all off :lol:

Seriously though, maybe a pressure washer or the carwash equivalent?

 

[Charles]

Just got back frm the car wash. I spent about a roll of quarters spraying every square inch of the car I could reach. I think the stuff might have been "fly ash". Well, it was something they were going to mix with the soil to fortify it before laying the top on the road.

I think I got it all, but I still have to take off and check the tires/suspension, air intake, belts.

 

[jfish360]

i could just imagine u driving tho it and workers being like wtf is he doing!

 

[Charles]

I know. I suspect that they were laughing or pissed. But I didn't want to find out which.

 

[jfish360]

it would of been hilarious if it was concrete powder and u drove through a puddle at the end of all the dust. omg i would have cried laughin so hard.