Tyler H
Tyler H Dork
11/28/10 10:32 a.m.

I just picked up an 85 RX7 GSL-SE.

The chassis is pretty rust-free, but the running gear is crusty. The rear axle assy and springs are covered in scaly rust, which I can flake off with my thumbnail.

The springs are a simple enough fix...chuck 'em.

What about the rear axle housing? What's the best way to clean it up? (By 'best way' I mean best way to clean it up in <6 hours for ~$50.) ;)

Woody
Woody SuperDork
11/28/10 10:36 a.m.

http://www.harborfreight.com/air-needle-scaler-1108.html

$44.99

Greg Voth
Greg Voth HalfDork
11/28/10 11:27 a.m.

I have and have had several rear ends for these. The rust never really bothered me. I just scraped off the flakes with a wire brush then slathered on POR 15.

aussiesmg
aussiesmg SuperDork
11/28/10 11:47 a.m.

as Greg stated.

novaderrik
novaderrik HalfDork
11/28/10 1:22 p.m.

a couple of wire wheels mounted in a drill, some degreaser, and a can or two of semi gloss black Rustoleum spray paint will fix you right up.

44Dwarf
44Dwarf Dork
11/28/10 6:48 p.m.

http://antique-engines.com/electrol.asp

This is how i clean mine up before i cut'em to resize them for dwarfs.

44

Tyler H
Tyler H Dork
11/28/10 7:30 p.m.

44:

Do you completely disassemble the axle/diff and just dip the housing?

Anyone got any before/after pics for POR-15? Or any experience with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator?

44Dwarf
44Dwarf Dork
11/29/10 10:15 a.m.

I normal strip the rear to just a housing and parts. I do all the parts one by one. If the "chuck" is realy nasty crusty rusty. I will put a grease gun down by the pinon seal and fill that area then top off with a cup of oil and hand the chuck from above to do the outside of the chuck. The gease keeps out the water if the seal desides its going to leak... Afterwards I'll flush out the inside with the parts washer. Dwarfs use the toyota mini version of the 9 inch ford.

turbo2256
turbo2256 New Reader
11/29/10 10:34 a.m.

In reply to 44Dwarf: Just remove the rear and have it sandblasted. Wrap some twine around the seal areas to prevent sand beating up the seals then paint. If you look at the rear diff pictures in my Grand Marquis in my rides. The center section is Rust Bullit. The black is some high end 2 part epoxy left over.

turbo2256
turbo2256 New Reader
11/29/10 10:35 a.m.

In reply to 44Dwarf: Just remove the rear and have it sandblasted. Wrap some twine around the seal areas to prevent sand beating up the seals then paint. If you look at the rear diff pictures of my Grand Marquis in my garage. The center section is Rust Bullit. The black is some high end 2 part epoxy left over.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker
Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork
11/29/10 10:53 a.m.
Woody wrote: http://www.harborfreight.com/air-needle-scaler-1108.html $44.99

....going to HF to get one of these.... brb

44Dwarf
44Dwarf Dork
11/29/10 11:56 a.m.
turbo2256 wrote: In reply to 44Dwarf: Just remove the rear and have it sandblasted. Wrap some twine around the seal areas to prevent sand beating up the seals then paint.

To messy to sand blast plus theres always grease and road goo on them. Grease and reclaiming sand don't mix well. I normaly have to cut one side completely off to weld on a new tube. Costomers like nice smoth paint jobs afterwards.

Mikey52_1
Mikey52_1 HalfDork
11/29/10 12:22 p.m.

The electrolitic rust removal is cool! I hadn't seen that before. NOW I know how to deal with my swap fodder that's all crapped up. Thanks, 44Dwarf!

CGLockRacer
CGLockRacer Reader
11/29/10 12:24 p.m.

you could get some Rust-eze

http://www.starstore.com/acatalog/Cars_rusteze-l.jpg .
.
.
.
Sorry, no help really.

hotrodlarry
hotrodlarry Reader
11/29/10 5:59 p.m.

Molasses works.

amg_rx7
amg_rx7 HalfDork
11/29/10 10:47 p.m.
Greg Voth wrote: I have and have had several rear ends for these. The rust never really bothered me. I just scraped off the flakes with a wire brush then slathered on POR 15.

+2

red5_02
red5_02 New Reader
11/30/10 9:34 a.m.

Electrolysis is definitely the way to go. We used it to reclaim some rusty accessory brackets we didn't feel like sanding. Worked like a charm.

Woody
Woody SuperDork
11/30/10 9:37 a.m.

Here's my electrolysis setup:

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

red5_02
red5_02 New Reader
11/30/10 9:54 a.m.

Ingenious

red5_02
red5_02 New Reader
11/30/10 9:54 a.m.

Ingenious

Pumpkin Escobar
Pumpkin Escobar SuperDork
11/30/10 10:06 a.m.

rusty parts from aging cars and backyard electrolysis using cheap stuff from around the house like washing soda and a car charger...sounds like a great mag article!

hint hint there was a post from august that had a link to a GREAT how to...

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