i have an old 3 speed with a little mess inside of her. i was told just pore some diesel in and brush off the gunk and skale, change tail seal, and add oil back in. true or not?
An old mechanic told me the same thing.... Just dont get it anywhere youre gonna paint cuase the diesel is so oily... If you flush it out with degreaser and scrape alittle.. Ive had great luck with Oven Off... The oven cleaner...
I use oven cleaner all the time to clean dirty engines. Cheaper than engine degreaser. Probably would not be good for internal stuff like bearings and seals though.
The diesel will work, I have never used it but know people who have...My trannies never have "little messes"....I'd stray away from oven cleaner, could be hard on rubber and plastic things. And if you want to clean the diesel off of the case where your going to paint...Some carb cleaner or brake clean should do the trick.
Diesel was recommended when it was cheap. Now it's not. Gasoline is a better solvent and costs less than Diesel fuel.
a gallon of diesel is still cheaper than a gallon of typical cleaner/solvent...really, I don't think $5 is going to break the budget, though. should work fine. not sure of where you're at or who you know but if you can get ahold of some turbine engine oil, either used or new(about $10/quart new...) definitely try that...it's really good at dissolving and carrying/suspending sludge and carbon buildup. Marvel Mystery Oil is a decent option for the trans, it's also a high detergent penetrating lube.
Gasoline and kerosene were the solvents recomended by the auto companys from the turn of the century till the early 60s.
I' ve been using diesel fuel for cleaning nearly 50 years and it works great. I use it for flushing out transmissions, rear ends, spray it on and let it soak in on real crudy engine blocks before pressure washing. Works good for cleaning the grease off your hands and arms, doesn't dry out the skin like gas or solvents. Best of all it has a much higher flash point, so is safer to use and store than gas.
Like Lynard Skynard said: ooo, that smell! Use solvent, then clean with soap and water. If you want to paint, then use lacquer thinner. Do all this in a well ventilated area!
If I'm not mistaken, there used to be a small amount of diesel or kerosene in the engine degreaser. Now I have a pressure washer with a kersone heater on it...
careful with the lacquer thinner on a surface to paint, it's good at dissolving grease but typically will leave deposits that'll fish-eye the paint if you don't use quite a bit of thinner and frequently get a clean rag/paper towel. for paint prep on aircraft parts we either use acetone or soap/water, I've NEVER gotten fish eye spots doing that.
If you would, explain the details of this mess and why it needs to be cleaned up. Does the tranny work as is?
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