How should I clean my diff now that it is out.....

[TR6BILL]

Pretty gunky. Even though it is a fresh rebuild, it has lot of oily crud on it. Can I hurt the seals if I spray it with a harsh cleaner and scrub it?

 

[BobbyD]

Bill,
When I got my Nissan diff it was filthy but no leaks except from being upside down during shipping. I hit it with my power washer and degreaser and that got the major gunk of. Then I hit it with my angle grinder using some wire brushes and a flap wheel and that got all the scales and rust off. Once it was pretty clean, I painted it with POR-15. BTW....I did the same thing with my TR6 diff after it was off the car and it cleaned up pretty good too. The whole diff clean up story is here.

 

[Brosky]

It better end up either Red or Chromed............

 

[71MKIV]

Pressure washer, the hotter the better.

Won't bother the seals.

 

[poolboy]

I use GreaseLightning on oily grime. It kind of melts or disolves grease. Let it sit and penetrate the grime, wash with a hose. If you have thick layers in corners, you'll need a bristle brush and hit it again.
But, I wouldn't hesitate to break out the pressure washer, like Steve said, either

 

[kodanja]

I used a scrub brush and Purple cleaner

Thanx John deere!

 

[Brosky]

Nice touch.......

 

[sp53]

Yeh Bill I have had some bad experience with some of those cleaners. Some will eat aluminum and others will destroy seals, be car full. It seems that there is some technical design difference between solvents and detergents, but I do not know what it is. A couple of the guys I respect will wash the parts of with warm/hot soapy water when they are done. In addition, the time the things are exposed to the chemicals makes a big difference. I once took some rocker pedestals from a tr3 and dropped them in a can of some stuff I got at the parts store. It was some new degreaser in a purple plastic gallon jug, and the next morning, they were white little furry things. I like a product called Moss solvent; I find it benign. I also find a die-grinder with a wire wheel very helpful.

 

[2wrench]

Power washer, Marine Clean water-based cleaner, (POR 15 Product), sprayed on and power-washed off -- shiny.

 

[Trick6]

My R200 Nissan diff was prepared as BobbyD's.

So clean it the way you prefer. But you should change the input seal anyway. It is an easy thing to do and once done you will know that you don't have that to do for a long time if ever. POR 15 is the best.