How Best Svend?

[flatisflat]

Question to you, Opponauts: what would you do to clean up 60k-mile chassis / suspension gear before putting it on your car?

Recently, I went and retrieved some gear off a parted-out MINI Countryman with the intent to install these near baby-newborn (respectively to my 115k-mile parts) on my MINI Clubman.

The front subframe will require some light fabricating before I install it, but otherwise the rest of the bits are effectively plug-and-play.

And while they may be new to me, they are not new to this world. I'm not looking for Concours levels of clean, but it feels right to give everything a once-over since they're all out and available to work on in this interim period before install.

What are your suggestions that I do? What products should I use? Should I oil the splines in the wheel hub after I clean them to keep surface rust at bay? Something I'm not considering? Anything in particular I should focus on? What say ye, Oppo?

[ClassicDatsunDebate]

@flatisflat If it was me, I'd hit 'em with some Simple Green and a parts washer brush or an old wheel brush I didn't care about getting greasy

[MM54]

@flatisflat Depending how much I cared, I would consider just a pressure washer, or spraying them with a general cleaner (simple green or the purple stuff or whatever) then pressure wash. Definitely hit any machined surfaces with a light oil afterwards.

Personally, those parts look very clean to me for used parts (then again, anything used around here more than 2 years old is in the process of returning to earth, or covered in oil/wax/undercoating) so I'd probably just rinse them with a pressure washer and install.

[Albino Kangaroo]

If I had a place to capture run off then I would use engine degreaser and a power washer on everything but the shocks. I haven't done this but I think self car wash places have built in filters to capture grease and gunk. Might be something you spray with degreaser and head down to the local Suds & Spray. May want to ask an attendant if any if it is ok.

[Sovande]

@flatisflat power washer

[flatisflat]

@Albino-Kangaroo said in How Best Svend?:

I would use engine degreaser and a power washer on everything but the shocks

Not the shocks so as to keep from potentially compromising the shaft seals?

[svend]

@flatisflat
There are some great degreaser/cleaners out there, Simple Green is a good well known one in the US. Bilt Hamber Surfex HD is a good water based degreaser that even when watered down to 200/1 can still be very effective.
Liberal spraying of cleaner and agitation with some soft and some stiffer nylon brushes to get into tight nooks and crannies, then a good rinse, nothing too higher pressure around seals or more sensitive parts.
Generally for engine bays I give a light spray of 303 Aerospace to have things looking nice and fresh nut also adding something to protect from moist air.
If you can find any, check out some Bilt Hamber products for protecting metal components from rust.

[Old Busted Hotness]

If you're replacing the subframe due to rust, now's a great time to hit it with some Eastwood products: Rust encapsulator (I like the rubberized) and internal frame coating. Pro Tip: spread an old shower curtain to work on; shit's messy.

[Albino Kangaroo]

@flatisflat Yes that's my best guess. Gentle spray from a hose should be fine for rinsing but you wouldn't want the high pressure to force water past the seal.

[flatisflat]

@Old-Busted-Hotness Good tips! Luckily for me, Texas is almost as far from the rust belt as possible.

[Albino Kangaroo]

@Old-Busted-Hotness @flatisflat Or some POR-15. If using any type of isocyanate like POR15 you must wear the correct respirator filter for organic vapors. Should be 3m 60923 or similar. Maybe if doing it outside you could use a fan to hit you with fresh air instead but a bit of a gamble if the winds change. Short term limited exposure for a small piece outside probably isn't a big deal but for larger pieces you can mess up your lungs even if you think you aren't inhaling it.

I make sure to use a respirator even when I rattle can to catch small particulate and am always surprised how much shows up on the filters.