The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Cleaning my rear end

I have the rear end out of my truck and want to clean it up and paint it. I am wanting to get whatever existing heavy gunk is on it of and out of the iside.I have heard sand blasting = bad.
If I take the third member out and set it in a cleaneris that bad? How far apart does all of this need to come? I just want to stop the leaks cleanit up paint it and try it out. What do you guys suggest?

thanks,
Sean

Sand blasting on something that thick doesn't hurt anything, as long as you can keep the sand out of the inner workings. That's the problem.

I just cleaned and painted the rear on my 69. First, scrape off all the gunk. Then, power wash it. You can go to the car wash, but don't let the owner catch you! What I did after that was to go over it with stiff brushes and de-greaser, until I could hose it down and not see oil on the water. If you have rust, a solution of muratic acid will make the rust go away, just be sure to neutralize it immediately. I've also used naval jelly (phosphoric acid) but it takes a lot more elbow work, even though it doesn't rust as bad afterwards.

I second Fred's opinion here. First, scrape the chunks then use a parts cleaner to get the rest of the grease off. With plenty of work here, you should be able to get a nice painted surface. Sandblasting to bare metal is overkill and not necessary if the components are in tact, sealed and real clean.

On the other hand, you may not see this post as I used the word "bare" while talking about cleaning a rear end! :rolleyes: