How to blast a rusty e-locker axle?

[zoombyu86]

I bought an e-locker axle and it's rustier than I care to deal with using wheels of any type. I want to sandblast it but have heard mixed things(mostly bad if not using extreme caution) about sand getting inside the "sealed" areas. I'm contemplating siliconing and gorilla taping the seals and leaving the drums on and bagging and taping the ends. Just remove and wire wheel those areas after. I'd prefer to dissemble but the cost of replacing all seals and bearings will put the total cost of the retrofit through the roof. The seals and bearing are all still good.

What route can I take without having to spend a left nut rebuilding? Can I get away with disassembling the housing and maybe just replace bearings? I haven't taken this apart before so I'm unsure of what can stand sand and being rinsed.

 

[tx_shooter]

A good wire wheel and some time will get the axle as clean as it needs to be. That said - I live in Texas so I do not have to deal with rust belt issues from states that run salt. I have always had good luck with a wire wheel. I do have a few friends that use coarse material for shop blasting on frames and such.

 

[ajordan1975]

Take it apart. Seals are cheap enough to replace. You don"t have to replace the bearings every time its pulled apart.
Sand blast the entire housing, and wire wheel the third.

 

[octanejunkie]

How rusty is it? Chances are if it's really bad it might even be rusted through; some parts of the rear end are prone to that.

Truthfully, a wirewheel and POR15 are probably all you need, but if you are upgrading to it, I'd R&R the entire unit to bring it up to spec all around so you don't have to worry about it anytime soon - that includes checking the gear and bearing lash and condition of the ring and pinion. Chances are if the unit has been sitting for a long time the gears inside the unit may have rusted too.

Nothing worse than an "upgrade" that fails due to EOL parts.

FWIW, axle seals are NOT an easy job, many many threads on the topic

 

[papapoopski]

I used a needle scaler for rust removal. Works really well and you can get into the corners and smaller areas.

 

[Scramble]

Take it apart & wire wheel it. Unless you have a big parts washer you dont want sand getting inside the housing. You'll want to put a new seal (gasket or gasket maker) on the 3rd member anyway.

I just did this over the summer. My new e-locker axle housing was from Virginia so it only had some minor surface rust but I did 2 coats of Eastwood Rust Encapsulator & 2 coats of VHT semi gloss black roll bar & chassis paint.

Switching from jack stands to cinder blocks & wood kept it more stable.

 

[zoombyu86]

Pictures updated for reference. I need to do more research but from what I gathered so far...I can pull out the whole axle ends with bearings attached and I'll just have to replace the seals on the inside of the tube ends and the gasket for the third member?

 

[phattyduck]

Yup, just remove the 4 nuts and the brake tube and you can pull the whole thing off.

-Charlie

 

[nevada]

Pictures updated for reference. I need to do more research but from what I gathered so far...I can pull out the whole axle ends with bearings attached and I'll just have to replace the seals on the inside of the tube ends and the gasket for the third member?

the housings are pretty thin, and you may develop pin hole leaks with that amount of rust.

you might be better off pulling the 3rd and getting a different housing.
if you were closer, ive got one id sell you for cheap.

good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[twitchee2]

If i remember correctly, the axle seals are ~$5 ea, and then you need a seal for the 3rd, but I think its rtv which is likely already in your tool box and if not its about $8.

Just take it all apart and have at it with a wire wheel or sand blast until your heart is content!

 

[Scramble]

Pictures updated for reference. I need to do more research but from what I gathered so far...I can pull out the whole axle ends with bearings attached and I'll just have to replace the seals on the inside of the tube ends and the gasket for the third member?

Yikes, that thing is pretty crusty & worse than the old one I took off my rig. I hope you got it cheap. There's going to be really thin spots I bet when you're done sanding. I didnt even bother looking for an e-locker housing in NY because of road salt. I just watched the T4R.org classifieds until I found something in good shape that was in driving distance. (8 hrs each way to Virginia) LOL But it was a fun road trip in the 4runner with my girl. Good luck with it!