i'm an idiot! (1 Viewer)

[kenai]

I am not very chemical savy! Okay, so i am prepping my 69 3spd t-case to rebuild it and put it behind the LT-1 4l60 E combo. The grime on it is super heavy and thick and no degreaser was even touching it.I went to the store to find something else to strip it and the guy says, hey muratic acid is great at stripping the grime. So, i took just the empty case itself and dunked it in a bucket of acid and water solution and go inside to finish other chores. Well to my shock i come out and there is smoke and fumes everywhere! I should have known that muratic acid and aluminum don't mix!!! So my case is pretty F uped. Pitted good and i am affraid that the threaded holes would just crumble under the load of a bolt. This is actually pretty embarassing to post but i thought yall would laugh.

My options....Find another case or upgrade to the orion. I already have the adapters and don't want to spend the $ on new ones. The Vette LT1 would probably
be suited better with a stronger case. any thoughts? thanks!

 

[Poser]

The Vette LT1 would probably be suited better with a stronger case.

Agree 100%



Orion.


Good luck!


-Steve

 

[HawkDriver]

Laugh, I did. Would have been funnier if you would have taken the time to catch the fumes on camera. See you're not an idiot.

Aftermath pics would be cool though.

 

[wesintl]

at least go with a split case...

and.. what, no pics for us?

 

[camcruiser13]

explosion pics would be sweet.

 

[kenai]

freak! i don't even own a digital camera! Maybe i can borrow one.

 

[camcruiser13]

welcome to technology

 

[largenfirm]

The dread PARTS GUY strikes again!

Never believe anything the PARTS GUY tells you without checking it, first - they are evil (except for C-Dan - no one who loves Garands can be evil )

Say, any thoughts on why the heck anyone would use aluminum for the transfer case housing?

Weight savings can't be the *only* justification, or we'd see lots more aluminum in the land cruiser, wouldn't we? For example, the transmission case would also be aluminum, right?

Kirk

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

I bet it got rid of the grime.

 

[Trollhole]

lol.. Aluminum in Muratic acid make Hydrogen gas. Very explosive. Good thing you didn't have a flame source near by.

 

[dgangle]

If you did this on a concrete floor or driveway I bet it made a mess of that as well. BTDT. Good to know about aluminum so thanks for the info.

 

[snailwagon]

Hydrochloric acid isn't the best choice for cleaning aluminum or zinc containing alloys. This is one reason I don't like using it on radiators also, afraide of not knowing what alloy they are made of. If dilute, it does take a while to eat through aluminum. See what happens if you thread the drain plug hole 10 or 20 ft-lb above torque specs. How about those bearing races? At least you got rid of any carbon containing grime.

 

[JJS]

if you were smoking a butt while doing this you would have been a real idiot.

 

[HawkDriver]

Hydrochloric acid isn't the best choice for cleaning aluminum or zinc containing alloys.

So is muriatric acid similar to hydrochloric acid? Found a bottle of hydrochloric acid at work once, dripped a couple puddles of it on the sealed concrete floor and it just sizzled and burned a hole in it. Wouldn't want that crap on ya.

 

[JJS]

So is muriatric acid similar to hydrochloric acid? Found a bottle of hydrochloric acid at work once, dripped a couple puddles of it on the sealed concrete floor and it just sizzled and burned a hole in it. Wouldn't want that crap on ya.

it's used for etching concrete. people have told me it does work pretty well on aluminum when well diluted.

 

[largenfirm]

So is muriatric acid similar to hydrochloric acid? Found a bottle of hydrochloric acid at work once, dripped a couple puddles of it on the sealed concrete floor and it just sizzled and burned a hole in it. Wouldn't want that crap on ya.

Same stuff.

You don't want the fumes anywhere with rustable metal surfaces - I saw a tablesaw and a jointer with the cast iron surfaces consumed by rust after 2-3 days in a garage exposed to fumes from a leaking bottle of muriatic. Lots of rusty steel tools, too.

Kirk

 

[mallred]

I bet it got rid of the grime.

I have found it leave the grime just eats the scale and rust.

 

[jim45r]

Caustic (lye) cleans grease real good (that's what was in the old hot tanks), but aluminum doesn't like acid or caustic - it dissolves in either one. Got to clean aluminum the hard way . . . unless you have a buddy with a nice high tech "dishwasher".

 

[Poser]

My Karcher steam cleaner seems to do ok...

 

[mustardfj40]

My Karcher steam cleaner seems to do ok...

Yep, that how I cleaned my 3spd transfercase back then:

Btw, Anybody interests in a rebuilt 3spd transfercase with new idler gear/high-low gear set/ and ready to be bolted on a 4speed tranny (since it has the special gear/bearing for the conversion)? It's comming out for an Orion.

/td