CLEANING - TM-9-2320-303-24-20225

TM 9-2320-303-24-2

FORWARD-REAR AXLE DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER REPAIR - CONTINUED

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CLEANING

Ground or Polished Surface Parts.

WARNING

Exercise care to avoid skin rashes, fire hazards, and inhalation of vapors when using solvent-type cleaners.

CAUTION

Do not use gasoline. Do not clean these parts in a hot solution tank or with water and alkaline solutions, such

as sodium hydroxide, orthosilicates, or phosphates. Do not steam clean assembled drive units after they have

been removed from the housing. When this method of cleaning is used, water is trapped in the cored passage

of the castings and in the close clearances between parts as well as on the parts. This can lead to corrosion

(rust) of critical parts of the assembly and the possibility of circulating rust particles in the lubricant. Prema-

ture failure of bearings, gears and other parts can be caused by this practice. Assembled drive units cannot be

properly cleaned by steam cleaning, dipping or slushing. Complete drive unit disassembly is a necessary

requisite to thorough cleaning.

(1)

Parts having ground and polished surfaces, such as gears, bearings, shafts and collars, should be cleaned in

detergent (Item 18, WP 0312 00).

(2)

Clean all mating surfaces where fiber or liquid gasket material is used. It may be necessary to use a scraper

to completely remove gasket materials. Be careful, not to damage mating surfaces.

Rough Parts.

WARNING

Exercise care to avoid skin rashes and inhalation of vapors when using alkali cleaners.

Rough parts, such as differential carrier castings, cast brackets, and some brake parts may be cleaned in hot solution

tanks with mild alkali solution detergent (Item 18, WP 0312 00) providing these parts are not ground or polished. The parts

should remain in the tank long enough to be thoroughly cleaned and heated through. This will aid the evaporation of the rinse

water. The parts should be thoroughly rinsed after cleaning to remove all traces of alkali. If this solution is not available, dry

cleaning solvent may be used.

Complete Assemblies. Completely assembled axles may be steam cleaned on the outside only, to facilitate initial

removal and disassembly, provided all openings are closed. Breathers, vented shift units, and all other openings

should be tightly covered or closed to prevent the possibility of water entering the assembly.

Drying. Parts should be thoroughly dried immediately after cleaning. Use soft, clean, lintless absorbent paper tow-

els or wiping rags free of abrasive materiel, such as lapping compound, metal filings or contaminated oil. Bearings

should never be dried by spinning with compressed air.

Corrosion Prevention. Parts that have been cleaned, dried, inspected, and are to be immediately reassembled

should be coated with light oil to prevent corrosion. If these parts are to be stored for any length of time, they

should be treated with a good rust preventive and wrapped in special paper or other material designed to prevent

corrosion.

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