spit shine polishing and cleaning the outside of your trans. housing....

[zachis4wheeling]

So....like the title says....

Does anyone have any pointers, advice or info. on how to get the outside of their aluminum cased transmission to get it from looking like this....

to this.....

????

Any and all help is appreciated. I have already given it a good powerwashing, but I was curious what some of you guys have found to work well.

I am not huge on if my drivetrain looks pretty or not, but I figured since I had it apart, it couldn't hurt to give a good once over....

 

[jamesdem1123]

Alot of work, i did that to my intake manifold on my 89 supra turbo. Start with a rust remover wheel (looks like a black gritty spider web) then move to a finer sandpaper and once its smooth polish it. Too much work for a transmission IMO

 

[Shran]

Have it sandblasted? It shouldn't cost too much...I had a medical lift (about the size of a cherry picker) blasted and powder coated at work...only cost $115, and it was a bunch of pieces.

 

[177CIOfPureLove]

Sandblasting. Use a less abrasive media, that would do it. Although I wonder why you would waste the time...are you going to clear coat it too?

 

[AllanD]

I have two transmissions that are as clean as the ZF6 in the picture.

The first one I acid dipped then wirebrushed (royal PITA) before degreasing and painting.

The one in my truck now took a small fraction as much time.

I dusted off my sandblaster (a 15gal bucket on wheels)
and blasted the case.

Then primed (Zinc Chromate primer which has become "unobtanium")
them silver Mag wheel paint.

Looks good and judging by the last trans case I painted will likely stay that way.

a clean transmission case will reveal leaks.
a painted transmission case can be cleaned off with a paper towel.

a corroded bare metal case is a real bastard to get clean again...

"goo" sticks real well to corrosion.


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[zachis4wheeling]

Although I wonder why you would waste the time

Because unlike a lot of hillbilly fawk shadetree wanna be's out there nowadays, I was taught how to do things the right way and to take pride in what you have and what you do by an older generation who are sadly dieing off nowadays. One of the main things I learned is that no matter what you do, do your best and take pride in what you do.

It's kind of like the house you live in that was probably built by a carpentry crew that either you hired to build it or the original owner hired to build it. Just because you can't see what's under the drywall, don't you expect that they did a good job and threw 2 nails in every stud top and bottom, put the right nails in all the joist hangers, glued the subfloor down, and used enough screws or nails to secure it to the floor joists?

It doesn't matter if you can see it or not, or that it'll prolly get doused in mud and grime the 1st time out, I still want to do an excellent job of this.

Are you going to clear coat it too?

Probably.....I have like 6 spray cans of the spray type clearcoat, so unless I find some other way, I'll prolly end up throwing a couple coats of clear on it....

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

I pressure washed the case with purple power after i wire brushed the heavy stuff off.Went over it with carb cleaner before painting.
Used VHT aluminum color engine paint.I think it turned out pretty good.

 

[zachis4wheeling]

now that's what I'm talking about. That looks good. Turned out real nice. Keep the pics coming guys!

 

[AllanD]

The BEST coating for cast aluminum is the paint they sell to recoat aluminum wheels.

it makes for a glossy durable finish

And even though my trans will get splatterd with all kinds of unspeakable stuff,
little of it will stick to that glossy surface.

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[cocoasranger]

I pressure washed the case with purple power after i wire brushed the heavy stuff off.Went over it with carb cleaner before painting.
Used VHT aluminum color engine paint.I think it turned out pretty good.

I dig that patriotic theme; red, white, and blue.

 

[LittleHorse]

I've been thinking of doing the same thing...I've got a gutted M5OD case in my garage with no extension housing...I was thinking about using it as a table stand with the bellhousing acting as the base, and bolting a plate of steel onto the case as the top, with countersunk bolts of course. Was thinking it would be a great end table for a couch in a man cave.

 

[zachis4wheeling]

I've been thinking of doing the same thing...I've got a gutted M5OD case in my garage with no extension housing...I was thinking about using it as a table stand with the bellhousing acting as the base, and bolting a plate of steel onto the case as the top, with countersunk bolts of course. Was thinking it would be a great end table for a couch in a man cave.

That'd be an awesome idea.....

 

[sfwjesse]

Quote: "Because unlike a lot of hillbilly fawk shadetree wanna be's out there nowadays, I was taught how to do things the right way and to take pride in what you have and what you do by an older generation who are sadly dieing off nowadays. One of the main things I learned is that no matter what you do, do your best and take pride in what you do."

I think that this is absurd. Life is too short to waste hours polishing every nook and cranny of the outside of a transmission, when it has NO FUNCTIONAL VALUE. I suppose when my wife cleans the toilet she should take pride and use a Q-tip around the base of the porcelain, but really......why bother?? To each his own, but before you insult us "wanna bes" for throwing our transmissions back under the truck without polishing them for 8 hours, consider that we quite possibly used those 8 hours for more useful and productive things.

 

[Shran]

I think that this is absurd. Life is too short to waste hours polishing every nook and cranny of the outside of a transmission, when it has NO FUNCTIONAL VALUE. I suppose when my wife cleans the toilet she should take pride and use a Q-tip around the base of the porcelain, but really......why bother?? To each his own, but before you insult us "wanna bes" for throwing our transmissions back under the truck without polishing them for 8 hours, consider that we quite possibly used those 8 hours for more useful and productive things.

You guys both have good points...my only reason for cleaning and painting stuff is so that it's clean. I hate working on old greasy junk.

 

[zachis4wheeling]

I think that this is absurd. Life is too short to waste hours polishing every nook and cranny of the outside of a transmission, when it has NO FUNCTIONAL VALUE. I suppose when my wife cleans the toilet she should take pride and use a Q-tip around the base of the porcelain, but really......why bother?? To each his own, but before you insult us "wanna bes" for throwing our transmissions back under the truck without polishing them for 8 hours, consider that we quite possibly used those 8 hours for more useful and productive things.

So what did you just contribute by going off on your little rant about? And functional value or not, any day of the week, I'd rather go above and beyond what is asked and what is the minimum. Even if it's not required, it says something about the person.

What's wrong with....
-a guy spending weeks and months on a sweet paintjob? Is that a waste of time too? I mean a normal one would work just as well.....

Or if someone spends months of time on the trim on the interior or exterior of their house? I mean seriously, what do people need trim for on the inside of a house anyways? It has no function for gods sake....

Or if someone puts a lot of time and effort into their lawn and landscaping? Wouldn't a nice dirt patch or hayfield around their house do the same thing?

Or if a guy decides to have pavers for his driveway instead of concrete or asphalt? I mean, wouldn't a dirt 2 track do the same job?

Or if someone puts months and years into their project Ranger, being fussy as shit over every weld and making sure the drivetrain is solid and the suspension works flawlessly? Wouldn't a skyjacker lift essentially do the same thing?

You see, if everyone settled and never went above and beyond, we'd never have great things like nice buildings, awesome vehicles, and general progression forward. Yes, you could install a dirty trans. back in your truck and go on your merry way, but wouldn't it feel good to just clean in up a little and do it right?

Why is it wrong to want the best of the best? Some of us would rather not "settle". Some of us would rather spend hours on prep and cleaning before we repaint our engines or trannys......Everything I just said falls back to the "taking pride in what you do" thing....sorry if you don't fall into that category. If I have to justify why people do these things and go above and beyond, you really should just move on.