As I opted to get my axle cases shotblasted along with the other stuff, the law of Sod had prevailed and the front axle tube had a lot of chilled iron grit and shot in it. This stuff is seriously hard, and will destroy any bearing it comes in contact with. Like the bearings in the diff, the CV joint, or the wheel bearings, you know, anything which goes in or on the axle tube and is crucial to the working of it all.
I naively thought that is be able to simply blow any grit etc away with an air line, but I forgot that this axle casing is 22 years old, and is lined with a tarry substance from the decades of having munting old oil in there, and every piece of grit stuck fast.
I had to make covers for the ends of the tube, and silicone them on, then I filled the casing to the brim with paraffin, left it overnight then drained most of it, and gave the tubes a good going over with a paraffin soaked paintbrush and paper towels. Good news! The grit was loose. But it wasn't out.
Off I went to the local garage, armed with a fistful of pound coins to stick into their steam cleaner. 5 minutes of getting as wet as a very wet thing indeed, and I am now the proud (if damp) owner of a clean axle tube. If only I'd thought about things earlier and blanked the openings off, I'd probably have a finished front axle on the thing.
As it stands, I do have an offside hub ready to go on to the tube, but I want to degrease the front diff, as if the inside of the axle tube is anything to go by, it'll be as gooey as a freshly shat blanket, and for want of a couple of litres of paraffin, its probably wise to do it.
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