Case Cleaning

[zark]

Any tips on how to clean up the case on a trans that's spent it's entire life in the salty nothern areas? I'm looking for shortcuts before I start with the wire brush and sandpaper..

[supercrackerbox]

Just the outside I'm assuming? When I pulled the tranny out of my Shelby Z, it was horrifying. I picked up a couple cans of this heavy duty tool cleaner/degreaser from the parts store, can't remember the name of it off the top of my head. I also got a set of small cleaning brushes, and one larger brush for cleaning coffee pots from the dollar store. Then I took of the input housing, plugged all the holes, and set the tranny down bellhousing down on a large sheet of cardboard and went to town. That degreaser actually worked very well (ventilation is gooood), I'll post back if I happen to remember the name. As far as the salt corrosion goes, a moderately stiff brass bristled brush does wonders.

[TurbododgePirate]

Castrol superclean and a wire brush.. WEAR GLOVES Castrol superclean will eat the skin off your hands if you leave them exposed to it for a moderate time.

[turbovanman²]

Yep, Castrol Supercleans and yeah, becareful, wear eye protection. Note it will discolour aluminium, even if left on for seconds and will damage paint.

[packrat_turbo]

What I have done, if you have a lot of grease buildup, use the engine degreaser in a can first. It is a petroleum product , almost smell like deisel. Heck maybe deisel would work!
That stuff will melt all the baked on grease, and get everything liquidy. Wash that off (hot water if you can). That stuff will help break up the major build up , then use either that Castrol stuff they mentioned or there is some stuff from Autozone called Purple Power to get all the oily mess washed off that is left behind. That stuff will get it really clean. But I find it works best if you use the engine cleaner first.
As far as corrosion goes, your best bet is a brass wire brush.

Tom

[TopDollar69]

I have been told that oven cleaner will take corrosion off.

[Clay]

I was going to say oven cleaner! Got beat!

anyway, oven cleaner will take corrosion off....... as it eats aluminum. I would spray it with the oven cleaner, let it eat for a few minutes, then rinse it off with water.

clay

[2.216VTurbo]

Gonna take my empty 523 case to my cylinder head guy today to see if it fit in his media 'tumbler' That thing makes his heads so shiny and fresh That plus some clear hi-temp should make it real purty

[Clay]

That would make it sweet!

for the ULTIMATE finish........ CLEAR POWDER COAT!!

that would look *S*W*E*E*T*

[mw6886]

I've always used the high pressure car wash with some degreaser. It's amazing what it will do with some hot high pressure water.

[Turbodave]

I've always had good results with Simple Green and some scrub brushes.

[2.216VTurbo]

Hmm, I started the whole process of cleaning with my pressure washer, degreaser, Simple Green and a brass bristle brush-still not shiny and new like a want it I want that you-can-eat-off-it -look

As a side note, my wife was real pleased that the kids and I were bringing little bits of grease chunks into the house and onto the hardwood floors from our shoes NEVER pressure wash a greasy trans in your own cement drivway!