Yeah, sounds obsessive... but...

Need some ideas here on this.. while I've got my HP30 front stripped down and during the cleaning prior to building, I'd like to clean out the inside of the axle tubes. I'm going to flapper sand the inside of the tubes to clean all the rust and scale and would like to put some type of primer and paint the inside. Ultimately, I'd like to seal the axles at the inner C's to keep the grunge out, but that's another story.

Anybody have an idea of how to paint the inside of the tubes without dipping?

Careful on what paint you use. Oil will over time disolve most paint and it will end up in your gears.

tellicorick said:

Need some ideas here on this.. while I've got my HP30 front stripped down and during the cleaning prior to building, I'd like to clean out the inside of the axle tubes. I'm going to flapper sand the inside of the tubes to clean all the rust and scale and would like to put some type of primer and paint the inside. Ultimately, I'd like to seal the axles at the inner C's to keep the grunge out, but that's another story.

Anybody have an idea of how to paint the inside of the tubes without dipping?

Click to expand...

As Tom mentioned, most paint will break down over time when exposed to direct oil contact. Some industrial coatings including 2 and 3 component epoxies will hold up to longterm exposure to petroleum products........they aren't cheap and would difficult to evenly apply to the inside of the tubes by the average XJ owner.

I'd suggest just cleaning out the tubes by dragging a series of rags through, using brake parts cleaner to breakup the gunk that my have accumulated in the tube....... you could do a flapper wheel clean job to remove any rust or scale if you wanted to. The best way I know to keep out moisture which brings along the rust is by using these http://jeepin.com/features/axleseals/index.asp

I wonder if you got those axle seals from drivetrain direct or what ever (the ones that go in at the inner c with o rings) and left the inner seals out, the oil that would get in the tubes would keep it from rusting?? How's that for a run on sentence? Just a thought.


Dan

Dan,

Been looking at seals but not real fond of the type that require pressurizing with grease to keep them in place. I'm going to research and find some seals that I will press in like the inner ones.

All over the flapper sanding to clean it up. Dunno, may clean and lightly grease with bearing grease or cosmoline and install inner seals as well as some outer ones.

I don't know what to do to keep the gunk out, but every time I need to service an axle u-joint I've got plenty of gunk in there (live in WI). This last time I pulled the shaft (d44 front by the way), I used a threaded rod with a washer bolted on the end and cut off so that one side is mostly clear and the other fits the inner diameter of the tube. I would slide it in a ways with the clear side down, then rotate 180 degrees and pull it out bringing with it a bunch of sand and gunk. I did this numerous times till the bigger deposits had been removed, then I used a vacuum and a long tube to vacuum the inside of the housing tube. Then I used a fine wire cup that had it's 1/4" shank welded to a long rod to wire wheel the inside of the tubes via a drill. I vacuumed one more time. Then I used a long rod with a rag on the end soaked in brake cleaner to clean further. After several attemps at this, I was able to clearly see the inner axle seal and verify that it was clean and reinstalled the axle shaft. I don't know what these guys do in the field when changing broken shafts? I guess they just try their best not to push a bunch of gunk into the carrier when reinstalling shafts. Jeff

Dan Turner said:

I wonder if you got those axle seals from drivetrain direct or what ever (the ones that go in at the inner c with o rings) and left the inner seals out, the oil that would get in the tubes would keep it from rusting?? How's that for a run on sentence? Just a thought.
Dan

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Dan, do you remember MIke's seals? He was talking about how his axle leaked and I think that's what he ended up using.

If oil is going to wreck the paint, then you probably won't need to paint because the oil will keep the corrosion in check. 2 part epoxy paint should work- it's tough! Easiest way to paint the inside of the tubes is to simply pour the paint in and swirl it around and drain out the excess. Of course you'll need to block it at the one end so it don't get inside the pumpkin.

Wire wheels work good for removing rust- better than sandpaper. Another good rust remover is a sandblaster, good and messy too!

tellicorick said:

Been looking at seals but not real fond of the type that require pressurizing with grease to keep them in place. I'm going to research and find some seals that I will press in like the inner ones.

Click to expand...

What makes you think they have to be pressurized to stay in place? The o-ring on the outer diameter is what keeps them in place. You only need to grease them one just to keep the water and other crap from getting in the housing.

-Mike

Tell ya what.... I've got an idea on how to seal the outside, maybe some PTFE seals, so I'll get mine fixed up and post the results here when I'm done.