WHYDTYTT: What Have You Done To Your Truck Today?

[essmaker]

Acetone will wipe acrylic house paint off like rinsing mud off with water.

It's available anywhere because it isn't considered a VOC.

For something less harsh KrudKutter makes it's original product, I think the red label... which will dissolve dried house paint.

You need to keep it wet, so you can cover it with Saran wrap, and it will stay most of the day.

Then use a hose and plastic scour pad to rinse the sludge off. 💡

You can't hurt the factory paint with this method.

I will absolutely give the acetone a try, especially in some areas not easy to reach.

Many thanks.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Acetone will wipe acrylic house paint off like rinsing mud off with water.

It's available anywhere because it isn't considered a VOC.

For something less harsh KrudKutter makes it's original product, I think the red label... which will dissolve dried house paint.

You need to keep it wet, so you can cover it with Saran wrap, and it will stay most of the day.

Then use a hose and plastic scour pad to rinse the sludge off. 💡

You can't hurt the factory paint with this method.

I will absolutely give the acetone a try, especially in some areas not easy to reach.

Many thanks.

Let me know how it goes.

My father was director of engineering at a number of plastics plants, and the acrylic in house paint is no different than a sheet of Plexiglass.

Methacrylate monomer (Momo) can be catalyzed and polymerized a few different ways, but they all will dissolve.

Better solvents like MEK, Methylene Chloride and other 'slower' solvents have more time to bite, but even simple starting fluid (diethyl ether) will cut it... and evaporate instantly leaving no trace.

[Nothing Special]

Not as far as I know. The truck is very original... but the previous owner was a 'kid' who owned it for a couple of years and went mudding pretty deep a few times (so bad it decommissioned the engine).

There are no seals at the outer end of front axle housings, so driving in water over hub deep will definitely put whatever was in the water in the axle tubes. It doesn't take much to get them dirty. And it's a lot harder to get them clean. When I put the high pinion Dana 44 in my Bronco it came to me with pretty full tubes. I had the diff and gears out so I used a garden hose with a pressure nozzle to clean the tubes out, then cleaned the pumpkin out the same way before finishing the pumpkin with brake cleaner and then WD40 for some rust protection until I got it filled with gear lube.

[viven44]

Not as far as I know. The truck is very original... but the previous owner was a 'kid' who owned it for a couple of years and went mudding pretty deep a few times (so bad it decommissioned the engine).

There are no seals at the outer end of front axle housings, so driving in water over hub deep will definitely put whatever was in the water in the axle tubes. It doesn't take much to get them dirty. And it's a lot harder to get them clean. When I put the high pinion Dana 44 in my Bronco it came to me with pretty full tubes. I had the diff and gears out so I used a garden hose with a pressure nozzle to clean the tubes out, then cleaned the pumpkin out the same way before finishing the pumpkin with brake cleaner and then WD40 for some rust protection until I got it filled with gear lube.

That makes sense.

This was supposed to a simple brake job but evolved into a bit more as I started taking stuff apart (rotors, hubs, U-joints, the various shaft seals.

I noticed as I was taking stuff apart that the 'axle nuts'.. both of them (one with the 'nub' and the other) were only hand tight. What is the correct torque for the inner and outer nut for a Dana 44 ?

I could find various sources quoting different things. Inner nut is 50 ft lbs, then loosen 1/4 turn and torque it back to 15 ft lbs. Outer I have found range of anywhere from 50 ~160 ft lbs. I had the factory manuals, but my coworker wanted it back. I've ordered my own set now that comes on a USB. Let's see how I like an electronic version.

 

[Gary Lewis]

That makes sense.

This was supposed to a simple brake job but evolved into a bit more as I started taking stuff apart (rotors, hubs, U-joints, the various shaft seals.

I noticed as I was taking stuff apart that the 'axle nuts'.. both of them (one with the 'nub' and the other) were only hand tight. What is the correct torque for the inner and outer nut for a Dana 44 ?

I could find various sources quoting different things. Inner nut is 50 ft lbs, then loosen 1/4 turn and torque it back to 15 ft lbs. Outer I have found range of anywhere from 50 ~160 ft lbs. I had the factory manuals, but my coworker wanted it back. I've ordered my own set now that comes on a USB. Let's see how I like an electronic version.

That’s the way most things go for me - a simple change and then …..

As for the spec’s, try the Instructions tab on our page at Documentation/Driveline/4WD Hubs & Rotors.

[viven44]

That’s the way most things go for me - a simple change and then …..

As for the spec’s, try the Instructions tab on our page at Documentation/Driveline/4WD Hubs & Rotors.

Thanks.. I'll refer to the documentation here, although I am guessing it would be for the TTB axle... but the axle nuts should be similar.

[BigBrother-84]

Thanks.. I'll refer to the documentation here, although I am guessing it would be for the TTB axle... but the axle nuts should be similar.

Today, I replaced (again) the speedometer Drive and Driven gears.

The old gears had around 13800 km (8600 miles). I was surprised to see that they looked a bit worn.

But during this new replacement, I tested a 18 Tooth Driven gear and after a 40 miles test I replaced it with a 19 Tooth one.

I was really surprised to see that these driven gears get worn out quite fast.

[viven44]

I don't know what's worse, the dried mud in the axle tubes or 1/4" of sludge in axle tubes to clean out. I found using an engine cylinder bristle cleaning brush chucked up in the drill worked pretty well for the sludged up axle tubes.

Thanks for the suggestion. I would clean it that way. The mud is very very dry however, almost rocky When I jacked the axle over on the driver side today to pull the driver side axle, a bunch of axle lube got in !! Now its greasy as well. My hands are full with other things and the way the truck is parked I cannot rinse it as well. Since the axle tube was very dry when I pulled the axle out, the hope is the inner seals are still good. At a later point in time I will revisit this. Pulling the Dana 44 axles out is easy, so worst case I can target this job back soon with a better plan.

[essmaker]

Thanks for the suggestion. I would clean it that way. The mud is very very dry however, almost rocky When I jacked the axle over on the driver side today to pull the driver side axle, a bunch of axle lube got in !! Now its greasy as well. My hands are full with other things and the way the truck is parked I cannot rinse it as well. Since the axle tube was very dry when I pulled the axle out, the hope is the inner seals are still good. At a later point in time I will revisit this. Pulling the Dana 44 axles out is easy, so worst case I can target this job back soon with a better plan.

While this may a bit overboard 😀 last summer I tool my axle right out and put it on a makeshift stand I built.

Before I split it and took the axles out, I power washed and then used mineral spirits and a wire brush. But at waist height it wad bad.

Before

After

[mat in tn]

Today, I replaced (again) the speedometer Drive and Driven gears.

The old gears had around 13800 km (8600 miles). I was surprised to see that they looked a bit worn.

But during this new replacement, I tested a 18 Tooth Driven gear and after a 40 miles test I replaced it with a 19 Tooth one.

I was really surprised to see that these driven gears get worn out quite fast.

I'm not sure why. I see flawless gears with hundreds of thousands of miles on them very often. in fact, I have a collection of them because they do not wear out generally. my concern is that the install may not be at the proper 90-degree angle. is the cable long enough to sweep widely and enter straight with no bind or bias?