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Best way to clean out axle housing?

jonrpick

jonrpick

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I've got my 10-bolt rear completely disassembled on jack stands. When I pulled the axle seals and bearings, I found a bunch of metal shavings, and large chunks of what appeared to be oily, rusty metal.

I plan on lifting one jack stand so it's on an angle, then spraying a bunch of carb cleaner in one axle tube so that everything runs down into the center section for easy removal. I've heard of folks using some sort of honing on the inside of the tube. Is that necessary or just a nice finishing touch?

After I use the carb cleaner, I know it's going to want to rust up. Should I spray some WD40 in there to keep it from rusting up during the rebuild?
 
jonrpick said:
I've got my 10-bolt rear completely disassembled on jack stands. When I pulled the axle seals and bearings, I found a bunch of metal shavings, and large chunks of what appeared to be oily, rusty metal.

I plan on lifting one jack stand so it's on an angle, then spraying a bunch of carb cleaner in one axle tube so that everything runs down into the center section for easy removal. I've heard of folks using some sort of honing on the inside of the tube. Is that necessary or just a nice finishing touch?

After I use the carb cleaner, I know it's going to want to rust up. Should I spray some WD40 in there to keep it from rusting up during the rebuild?
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I used a steam cleaner and spent a good 15 mins or more jetting it out. They take some cleaning! I didn't bother putting anything in there to stop rust as my build was done indoors.
 
southernspeed said:
I used a steam cleaner and spent a good 15 mins or more jetting it out. They take some cleaning! I didn't bother putting anything in there to stop rust as my build was done indoors.
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Well mine is being built in the garage. It's 46% humidity outside, don't know if that's high or low. When I used the angle grinder with wire brush attachment on the outside of the housing, very slight surface rust appears very soon after.
 
I think the best way is to hot tank it then pressure wash it. I dont have a hot tank so i just used degraeser and a pressure washer.
 
jonrpick said:
. It's 46% humidity outside, don't know if that's high or low. .
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That's dry! Don't think we ever get down to that here. A bit of surface rust on the inside is no problem. Once it's oiled it won't make any difference.
 
twoslo4five0 said:
i tried brake cleaner once and just made a big mess and wasted 5 bucks do what 38377k5 said
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Ok, but some kind of solvent would still be good, correct?

Also, cleaning the outside to prep for paint is a beotch with an angle grinder... :(

It's gonna take forever. Maybe I should just sandblast the outside.
 
ideally stuff should be sandblasted (properly), then smoothed with sanders, grinders, etc... ideally...

that way you insure all nooks and crannies are rust free, and your large areas are smooth for primer, paint, etc...

I'm doing such processes on all my stuff as I'm down for 6 to 8 months, have a ton of time and tools, but few parts at this point... Just finishing up polishing my tranny case... :wink1: Now I just need the grand for the rebuild parts... :doah: :haha:
 
ryoken said:
ideally stuff should be sandblasted (properly), then smoothed with sanders, grinders, etc... ideally...

that way you insure all nooks and crannies are rust free, and your large areas are smooth for primer, paint, etc...

I'm doing such processes on all my stuff as I'm down for 6 to 8 months, have a ton of time and tools, but few parts at this point... Just finishing up polishing my tranny case... :wink1: Now I just need the grand for the rebuild parts... :doah: :haha:
Click to expand...

Well I put in another session with the grinder/wire wheel after my last post, and at this rate, it's gonna take a while...probably another few hours. I can get the small areas with a wire wheel on my Dremel, but it will take some time.

I could pay the $20 for a cheap sand blaster, and probably borrow a compressor... I'm trying to avoid spending any more money than I need to on this.

Either method will end up making it look much better than it did before.
 
For me I just wire wheel it and then rattlecan it. Because its a diff and hangs kind of close to the ground, it will get paint chips in it and with the rattlecan job touchup is so much easier.
 
i thought this thread was about cleaning out the inside of the housing where the gears and carrier are...if not i agree with what was previously stated
 
if you are talking inside the housing, use engine fogging oil, that is what a guy at napa told me after I asked if I should use wd-40, he gave me a reason not to use the wd but I can't remember what it was. hope it helps!
 
I use my parts washer I built for axles, it works GREAT. using water will allow the cast iron to flash rust, BUT! as stated, once its assembeled it wont hurt a thing as long as its not left to rust a LONG time. It will not rust at all with solvent though. Yet another gratuitous reason to whore my parts washer pics, thank you. :D

DSCN0015.JPG

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DSCN0244.JPG

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:bow:That's one nice purpose-built parts washer:bow:

I used that purple-bottled de-greaser stuff (got it from my dad) and used a broom handle to push a cloth towel through it. A preasure washer with hot water wash used to rinse it. Compressed air was used to dry it.
 
twoslo4five0 said:
i thought this thread was about cleaning out the inside of the housing where the gears and carrier are...if not i agree with what was previously stated
Click to expand...

Well it was, but turned into general cleaning, inside and out...
 
38377k5 said:
Oh yeah, forgot to mention that :doah:

I generally use paint thinner or brake parts cleaner.
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Think I'll go with paint thinner...

I used brake cleaner on the inside where the gears go, and after it evaporated, surface rust appeared pretty quickly.
 
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