Morris Minor Owners Club

What would be the least damaging de-greaser to use on a dirty diff?
Is parafin any good?
Thanks, John.

Paraffin is good.
It is what I use to wash down engine blocks.
Unfortunatly not cheap anymore.

Thanks Phil.
Nothing that works well is cheap any more.

Apparently paraffin contains a small amount of water so needs drying well after. When cleaning individual items I use Comma hyperclean and then wash it off with hot water. If the water is hot enough it will dry almost instantly, a run over with compressed air then leave it in the warm airing cupboard. Probably not the right method for assemblies, depends how much you are stripping the diff down.

Thanks, that is useful.
I will dry it properly and oil it up before anything rusts.

Further to my post above - when I have washed the block down with paraffin I always hose the block down and then blow dry with compressed air.
I did not mention it in the above post as water could get trapped between the diff pinion bearings and cause rusting of the bearing seats etc.
Engine blocks do not have hidden pockets where water could get trapped.
The small amount of water in the paraffin will not cause any problems in this case.
The use of a compressed air spray gun is very helpful if you have one.
Between washing and fitting I spray the components with GT85 which protects the clean metal.
Good luck.
Phil

Thank you Phil.

I use trimite or gun cleaner. I use it in my workshop at work so have plenty. Never seen anything cut through grease so easy. You have to wear mask, ppe etc

Regarding paraffin, just as good and very much cheaper is central heating oil currently at about 26p a litre (for a 1000 litre delivery! Paraffin seems to be about £2 per litre.) Mind you, it needs a baked bean can on a stick to get it out of my tank but its worth it and works perfectly.
Regards from MikeN.