Rear Axle Cleanup

[thebluemax]

I'm getting a new to me rearend this week. I figure any axle can be cleaned up but what would it take to clean this axle up?
Passenger side:

Drivers side:

[/QUOTE]

Truck was used to put boats in the water at the coast....salt water+iron...no bueno.

 

[CherryK5]

I'm getting a new to me rearend this week. I figure any axle can be cleaned up but what would it take to clean this axle up?
Passenger side:


Drivers side:

Truck was used to put boats in the water at the coast....salt water+iron...no bueno.

Is that a 10 bolt?

 

[1BEATK5]

torch it up into pieces, and start with a different one.

edit- i'd say scrap it, but i dont think you would get much

 

[owenst7]

So...I read the title of this thread and thought to myself "That's a dumb question".

I stand corrected.

Good luck with that

 

[gotblazers]

same as any other clean up. Wire brush attachment on a drill and go at it for a day

 

[thebluemax]

Is that a 10 bolt?

It's a six lug 14 bolt.

 

[CherryK5]

It's a six lug 14 bolt.

ohhh. if it was a 10 bolt i literally have a pile of them.

But yea good luck on the cleanup. Thats some serious rust.

 

[Burbdood 74]

It looks as if it was used as a boat anchor for Noah's Ark.

 

[ChrisPerry]

Boy, I think I need a tetanus shot just looking at that thing.

 

[thebluemax]

same as any other clean up. Wire brush attachment on a drill and go at it for a day

After I get all the rust off and down to bar metal , what should I coat/protect the axle with?

 

[CherryK5]

after i get all the rust off and down to bar metal , what should i coat/protect the axle with?

por15

 

[76zimmer]

Thats serious corrosion, I would check the spring mounts better, and even the axle tubes where the u bolts go. I think the metal may be thin enough to collapse from torqueing the u bolts.

 

[blazinzuk]

sand blasting is going to be the only way with that bad boy.

I have seen axles that bad before and it seem like they look really bad but none that I have seen used have had any problems

 

[British Slave]

Before you clean, check the internals.

 

[496truck]

Definitely needs new spring mounts, you can see where it looks like one has collapsed already.

I'm cleaning up a set of axles right now, getting them ready for the K5.
...you will need...
Wire brush and manual labor, and a dust mask, doesn't need to be clean metal, just knock the loose rust and stuff off
Soap and water, clean and dry thoroughly
Some paint brushes, cheap ones are good but will leave little hairs behind
Quart of Rustoleum primer, I went with the reddish brown color
Quart of Rustoleum paint, you pick a color, I went with semi gloss black
You can paint Rustoleum over the rusty metal, just make sure it's clean of dirt and oil/grease and loose rust flakes.

 

[thatK30guy]

torch it up into pieces, and start with a different one.

edit- i'd say scrap it, but i dont think you would get much

This would have been my first choice. Not even I would try and attempt to save or use anything with that much rust.

sand blasting is going to be the only way with that bad boy.

I have seen axles that bad before and it seem like they look really bad but none that I have seen used have had any problems

This would have been my first choice to clean it up, too. My second choice would be to sandblast it. Third is to sandblast. Fourth, sandblast. Fifth choice, I think you get the idea. Sixth, read the others before this one.

 

[76zimmer]

If you are disassembling the axle, acid dipping will get rid of all that rust, then you can see what a POS the axle is. Dump it, I seriously think that the tubes will be weak in the u bolt area. For sh!ts and giggles, drill a small hole in the worst areas to see what thickness you have left. If you decide to keep running it, you could weld it back up.

 

[BoondocK5]

Sorry dude, that ones a goner! Your going to hate that thing by the time you get all the rust down to a use-able level. Even if it was free.

 

[thebluemax]

It's 50/50 whether it would be worth it or not. If nothing else I'll scrap it . It's not a free axle but still cheaper than a FF 14 bolt even with all the work.

 

[diesel4me]

Just about every axle here looks that way in 10 years!...even if you never put a boat in the water with it,since our roads have more salt than the ocean in wintertime..

I've torched a few SF axles up for scrap at the junkyard--the tubes are at least 3/8" thick,if not 1/2",so though it might appear to be "thin",its probably still got some meat left under all that rust...I wouldn't waste much time making this axle look good,just toss it in after a quickie wire brushing and rustoleum spray job and run it till it croaks..