So I spent the day multi-tasking after I went and got more degreaser detergent.
The transaxle was scrubbed one final time. I was tempted to take it to the car wash and hot water power wash it but I figured this was good enough. It is at least clean enough to put in my car.
I also started the first degreasing passes on some other parts. There’s a whole lot of stuff that needs to be cleaned and prepped for reuse or potentially repainting.
I poured some mineral spirits into the oil cooler to ensure that any crud will be dissolved.
I’ll drain and redo until it runs clear. It will be finished with an interior acetone wash and then blown out with air.
The transaxle carrier is pretty filthy and it was quite a pain in the ass to remove the 2 bolts that hold the rubber transaxle mounts to it.
Heat finally loosened them up but I’m not surprised, there was a lot of oily crud all over this.
The carrier itself is rather distorted. You can see how the arc of the bend is no longer clean.
I’ll see what I can do to bend it back into shape after it is fully clean. It is going to take a few more passes.
Some of the tin parts are now fully finished with their clear cover coats.
The various under tin heat pipes really turn out well.
Multiple degreasing, sanding, and many coats of high-temp paint and clear later…
They turned out nice.
Tomorrow will be a 6-hour round trip visit to Jim’s Custom VW way out in Columbiana, OH to have the transaxle and heads rebuilt.