MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG Midget and Sprite Technical - How to clean Back Axle?

After taking my noisey diff out,replacing sun and planet thrust washers and deciding to live with the noise for another year I thought I'd just give a quick wipe to the inside of the bell housing to get rid of any old deposits of oil etc.
It was the etc that I didn't like - three broken pinion teeth and assorted sparkly pieces from some long dead CW&P!

This has to be an "axle off" job which is not the end of the world, just labourious, but how to effectively clean out the whole inside of the back axle without having access to a bath big enough?

And what to clean it with? Gunk perhaps.

I'm open to suggestions.......
Tony Wood

Pressure washer?
Autogylm engine and machine cleaner is good stuff for shifting muck.
Jeremy MkIII

When l did mine l plugged one end and filled it half full with a water soluble 'green' citrus based cleaner. Then sloshed it around with a variety of brushes. A loo brush on an extended handle was very effective!
GuyW

Anything heavier than oil will always congregate in the banjo housing, so clean that in situ with an old paintbrush and paraffin. Leave the drain bung out, let it flush into a clean container so you can inspect the detritus. When done, wipe the housing dry with workshop paper or a lint-free rag.
David Smith

Thankyou guys.
Axle's off now and I think I'll take the opportunity to descale the outside too.
I've also glued a small circular fridge door magnet to the drain plug!
Tony Wood

The back of the diff casing is quite thin (on my axle) so go easy there if using power tools to remove rust/crud on the outside.
Chris Madge

Don't worry - on mine it's nice and shiney with oil! It's the axle tubes that are flaky with rust.
Tony Wood

This thread was discussed between 21/09/2019 and 23/09/2019

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS now