Cleaning Transmission/Tranny case

[Go240Zags]

Quick question. I did a search, but did not find anything on cleaning up the exterior of the tranny case. My 5 speed that I will put in my 240Z is pretty cruddy looking, on the outside anyway - lots of old grease, dirt and grime. But I keep seeing all these nice shiny transmissions for sale on eBay and I'd like mine to look presentable, especially since the motor is all rebuilt and looks nice and clean. What's their secret? Take it somewhere and have someone else do it? I've used a cans-worth of Gunk on it and a wire brush and it looks better, but still has a long ways to go before it will be suitable to be wed to the engine.

[sblake01]

I just plugged and/or sealed the openings, sprayed it with Gumout Steam Premium, let it sit for a couple of hours then sprayed it with my pressure washer.

[zcarnut]

After using a pressure washer to remove any grease and oil, I painted mine with Eastwood's "Aluma Blast" spray paint:

http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=248&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=400&iSubCat=403&iProductID=248

The finish looks very realistic and the paint seals the aluminum surface so it stays clean looking.

[sblake01]

Hey Steve. That tranny is for my 810. It's out of a 83 ZX so it has the 25.5% od fifth. Should get me a little more freeway mpg. How's your 810 doing? Like I always tell people, you'll see more Skylines than 810 coupes.

[zcarnut]

Hello Steve;

My 810 is doing good, thanks. I took it over to an “all makes welcome” car show in Decatur last month and every spectator asked “What is that?” Even one person though it was an old Skyline.

I just pulled the rear seat out for the upholstery shop. I’m getting recovered so it will match the front Recaro seats.

[Walter Moore]

I used various "Orange oil" cleaners, over the course of a couple of years on my tranny. It looks okay, but will not win any awards.

In my case, it is just going to get dirty again anyway...

[Go240Zags]

Thanks guys. Between the Gunk engine cleaner, which I always thought should be called De-Gunk, and a little wire brushing it is looking much better. It could still probably use the steam-cleaning SBlake mentioned. I also wire wheeled all the old paint and minor rust off my gear reduction starter and painted it with some anti-rust paint. Probably not as good as POR15, but looks much better now - I even polished up the aluminum on the starter somewhat. Since the guy who was going to do all my welding has had his health take a turn for the worse I'm keeping myself busy with little projects until he gets better. Fingers Crossed.

[Go240Zags]

Double Post - Website seemed to be having problems and I hit it twice. My bad.