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Cleaning up axle parts

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Paul Shuler

Member
Spent about 3 hours tonight cleaning all the old gasket off of the axle housing. Its not perfect yet by any means. I couldn’t help wondering. Guys doing this for a living or someone that is farming with a piece and needs it up and running fast there is no way they can spend 3 hours cleaning one part to get the old gasket off. How do you guys do it? Also found some wear on the axel where the old seals sat. Hope to put two of the newer thinner style back in on each and hope that will seal it OK. Anyone else done this before?
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Paul, I've never installed one but I think you should probably use a "speedy sleeve" over the rough or grooved surface so your new seals will have a smooth surface to seal on. There are several folks who have used them that will most likely post on this thread with how it's done. A good auto parts store can probably advise as well. Looking good and hope all is well down your way, Hal.
 
I always clean most of the gasket off with a putty knife and then a single edge razor blade. That is pretty quick and leaves behind a pretty decent surface.
Zach
 
I would probably use a twisted wire wheel on an angle grinder and have it cleaned up in 10 minutes.

There is a possibility you can install the new thinner seal in such a position that it will ride on the unworn area of the axle. Have to do some measurements to verify that.
 
I have several wire brushes of different styles that fit my drills and die grinders. Also have several different pads and assorted discs for the die grinders that also fit the drills. Looking at your pictures, I could have that cleaned up in 10-15 minutes.

Casey in SD
 
I do have to clean gaskets as part of my living. I start out on a tough one like that with a gasket scraper similar to a putty knife but longer and sharper, then a single edge razor blade clamped into a needle nose vise grip. Finish it off with a 3M fiber or abrasive disc ( use caution not to remove metal ) or wire wheel in a small air powered angle tool. Than wipe with brake clean and its ready to go. Use tape, rags, or newspaper to plug off any holes or areas where the old gasket material shouldnt go, especially important when using the fiber discs .
 
Ditto on the 3M "Rolock" abrasivr wheels used with my die grinder! Work well!!!

These throw a lot of harmful residue. be sure to rinse parts well after using these!!!!
 
Looking good so far! You definitely don't want to use two seals, since the outer one would never get any lubrication and would burn up soon. I suppose you could try filling the space between them with grease, but I doubt that would last very long. Take some emery cloth and smooth the axle surface where the seal rides and see how bad it really is. You could also try to place the seal so it rides on the good part that isn't worn, since you have more room to play with now.
 
I mounted 5 or 6 speedi sleeves on my Super A. Your size is available too. See link. Be prepared for sticker shock; these things cost their weight in gold.
For mounting them in a position away from ht ened of an shaft, you must fab your own mounting tool. A piece of pipe of a nicely fitting size will work. Where I could not find a pipe, I bored a properly sized hole in a piece of 1/8 inch sheet metal and tack welded a larger pipe onto it, concentric with the hole.
HTH, Hendrik
speedi sleeve supplier
 
I go straight to the wire brush from the scraper. it"s quicker than the knife blade for getting the last bits (a pointy tool is sometimes necessary to get into holes and corners, though). I then blow all the crud out before washing.
 
All good suggestions here. Age is a factor and when these things were 10 yrs old and getting field repair they were not as gummed up and grimy. Also field repairs simply did not get the time and attention we spend fixing them up.

Myself I avoid using wire wheels to clean old gaskets as a lot of them contain asbestos fibers as part of the recipe.

The seal I use on M-450 axles is the 417316, Amazon has them reasonable and it has the double lip. As long as the bearing doesn't have excessive wear they have sealed on axles that look like yours. I haven't tried a sleeve on any of mine due to the cost and the effectiveness of a new seal
 
Cleanup is the sticker in all flat rate work as the manual was wrote up on new machines where cleanup was minimal or non existant. They also wern't looking for any problems, just how long it takes to get it apart and back together. Had a service rep once upon a time that actually did the tear down for flat rate manuals on the 1586 tractors. When he got done telling me how they went about it I more fully realized why it usually took me longer than the book allowed.
 
> Myself I avoid using wire wheels to clean old
> gaskets as a lot of them contain asbestos fibers
> as part of the recipe.

An oil-soaked gasket is not going to shed any inhalable fibers.
 
It could be worse. This is how the axle on my 240U looked. Luckily I had a buddy who was a welder who filled it, and then off to a machine shop.
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