Diff Cleaning

[jdehaan]

is it ok to use a grease solvent on a differential? So far i have just been scraping it clean, but it is taking forever and isn't getting it perfectly clean. is it ok to use some kind of liquid solvent to help me? if so what kind do you use/recommend? thanks!

[stormos]

got any pics of this?

i assuming its the inside of the diff rather than the outer casing....

[mrnine]

I've always heard not to use any cleaners or solvent inside whatsoever. If you're talking about the outside, however, I'd use just about whatever.

[jdehaan]

no i meant the outer casing. I want to put a fresh coat of paint and put a Z4 diff cover on it before i get the insides reworked from a 4.10 to a 3.63. I just didnt want to do something that would somehow mess up the diff.

[cali-ti]

covers are typically aluminum and the rest of the case steel. i would think any good degreaser would work well.

also, do you mean z3 cover or z4?

[jdehaan]

i think they are off a z4. i want the finned one to help cool the diff faster. ebay has them for a little over $170 i think.

[cali-ti]

should be the m-coupe/m-roadster one (mz3 models). i as well as a number of others on here have it on the large case diff.

not sure what the z4 diff cover looks like so i have no idea if that works or not.

[bmwtinut]

I would use kerosene. It is a great degreaser and leaves a small film behind that give some protection. I used castrol purple on my e21 and all the aluminum started to corrode after that. It was clean but too clean. But if you are going to paint right away then I would assume you could use almost any degreaser. Just make sure you don't let it sit too long, like dry on as it might start to etch the aluminum. Thats my 2 cents.

:biggrin:

[pdxmotorhead]

Oven cleaner works awsome but don't leave it on the aluminum parts too long... :)

Dave

[318tiRedLeather]

Just clean it with gasoline and a paint brush