I have pulled the transmission on my parts car removed lose oil and grime with Gunk spray let it sit then took it to the car wash tried cleaning it up with the engine cleaner at the car wash, started to scrape the build up mess with plastic scraper and much of it just wont come off well its certainly much better but I want it nice and clean looking like my new engine any tips on cleaning years of baked on gunk?

Well, I was able to decipher what you were saying even though there wasn't a period anywhere in your post. Dr. Evil will kill me for saying this, but I used a couple cans of brake cleaner. A lot of guys don't believe in this because it strips away the original coating that was on the transmission to protect it. After I got mine clean I repainted it silver though, just in case. Good luck!

i use aircraft paint stripper.

If you get it clean and want to paint it, I recommend Aluma Blast from Eastwood. I'm doing my Alfa trans with it and it looks great.

http://www.eastwood.com/ew-aluma-blast-set.html

I put a little heat to mine with a torch and it melted off like butter.

I put my kids to work srcapping at mine, after a couple days and a new coat of silver paint it looked pretty good.

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I use AWSOME from the $ store! It works great!

spray on and let it sit for 10-15 minutes, use a wire brush and a screw driver to loosen the tough stuff and spray more on. Let it sit for a few more minutes and hose it off! If you have a pressure washer even better!

Repeat until clean! 2 - 3 times should be enough!

Brake cleaner is fine. Water is not if it gets inside. I use the Awesome that Jeff speaks of since he posted about it a while ago. Ez-off was my old go to, but Awesome is too cheap and easy not to use.

There are a lot of harsh cleaners that will do the job. But as many others have said, a little heat goes a long way. While I am not willing to use a torch on mine, warming the trans with an electric heater or heat gun will help a lot. Also any water based cleaner will work better when warm.

Just be careful about trying different cleaners one after another and creating a situation where you are mixing chemicals. So bad and dangerous things happen when chemicals are mixed. Fully rinse one cleaner before trying a new one.

are you guys referring to this?
http://www.awesome-cleaner.com/

Pretty sure its this

http://www.dollartree.com/LA-s-Totally-Awe...97717/index.pro

Yep thats the stuff!

LA's Totally Awesome

As for protection after cleaning, mine was coated with Cosmoline. www.cosmolinedirect.com ... Pretty sure it's close to what the 901 tranny came with from the factory. Richard Casto at Blue Sky Motorsports did mine. I'm sure he can talk to the specifics.

The factory coating sucked! It does not last the life of the gear box, it is gone after a few years. I wont use it. There is better stuff out there that lasts much longer.

You guys are great thanks! I had no idea that the case was coated with anything other than engine oil and road dust!

Before I get corrected, Rich used something that was "Cosmoline like" I think.

Anyway, what do you use then Evil?

I used that Awesome at the Disco Bay tranny clinic, Jeff gave me a spray bottle full!. sprayed it on, drove the shell to the car wash (guts removed) and pressure washed it, looked great! Jeff gave me a spray bottle full!

I am by no means authority, but it is my understanding that the transmission case is magnesium. based on that assumption cleaning it with whatever not corrosive means is fine, but once that is done, it needs to be painted or otherwise coated. mag oxidises and becomes brittle in no time if not protected from the atmosphere. on my matchless g50 the cases and hubs were mag and had an aluminized gold paint that was on any of the magnesium parts. it used to turn green overnight without a barrier.

I would guess it is more of a east coast thing because of the salt on the roads!

I have not had any problems here in central california!

There is at least one thread that covers this ad nauseum. Check them out

"A clean, unprotected magnesium alloy surface exposed to indoor or outdoor atmospheres free from salt spray will develop a gray film that protects the metal from corrosion while causing only negligible losses in mechanical properties."

answer from "corrosion-doctors.org"

So basically, Magnesium is like aluminum, it forms a protective layer of oxidation on the surface, and nothing else is needed...as long as ther is no salt present to foster continued corrosion!

I think I will paint mine, better safe yhan sorry, if its all the same.

I have two that I am interested in:

1 - cleaned with nothing but a toothbrush & soap & water.
Looked great but took a huge amount of elbow grease.

2 - one I purchased, PO plugged the vent and gave it a good cleaning in the parts washer.

They both look the same afterwards.

So.. If I can pull the diff out of one case and clean the crap out of it, what would be best (DIY, no walnut shell blasting) to clean it with if I wanted to paint it with caliper paint afterwards?

I painted my calipers with a brush and have plenty of High-temp silver caliper paint left.

Stu

Do not use Gunk or harsh engine cleaners on magnesium.

It will pit them metal quickly.

1: find the local engine machine shop. ( ask the local rednecks )

2: get them to clean it in their heated, turntable, jet spray, magic machine

3: spend 50.00 and have a super clean case to go forward with and no caustic chemicals staining your garage/driveway/hands/clothes





4: 330 people chip in 100 bucks so I can get a heated, turntable, jet spray, magic machine, and I'll do the supporters trannies for life

My 915 was steam cleaned by a generous member here. If you really want it to look new, try walnut after that.

Dr. Evil did mine. It is an original Six transaxle converted to side-shifter. I saved the tail-shift parts.

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Wow, that last one is pretty!

This was just several cans of brake cleaner, scraping, more brake cleaner and then rattle can silver.

Before I cleaned up my transmission I soaked it in WD-40. I let it sit for 2 days and then hit it with a pressure washer. The WD helped breakdown the gunk that was on the tranny.

I then rebuilt it within 2 days after that with Dr. Evil when he came to the Portland area.

1) Go to Dollar store get 3-4 bottles of Awsome Orange

2) Go to Goodwill or similar, buy change of clothes that you will toss

3) Spray trans with Awesome orange

4) while soaking, put liner in trunk or hatch, put on goodwill clothes over regular clothes...

5) drive to car wash and pressure wash, spray again with Awesome orange, remember to put on stocking cap, safety glasses and dust mask

6) Blast away, you will make a mess of yourself

7) Take home and spray with awesome orange on remaining debris, use appropriate brush

And after you have done all of this, you will be almost, if not as clean as the stationary pressure washer cabinets...

I used some concentrated degreaser from a restaurant supply store and a variety of plastic scrapers and brushes to clean mine, then sprayed it with a hi-temp glossy gray paint

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I think I'll try that 'Awesome' stuff next time