Last Thursday, I started with the removal of the coating on the lower wheel arches to uncover the true extent of the corrosion. I will use the same procedure as member BMWWGN as described in
post 68 of his blog on this board. After degreasing and cleaning of the metalwork, I treated the exposed metal with Caprotec RX5, which is a rust converter and primer.
[Blockierte Grafik: http://rwoe.150m.com/tmp/20080301/img770.jpg]
In the mean-time, the new tie-rod end s and associated small material arrived as well.
[Blockierte Grafik: http://rwoe.150m.com/tmp/20080301/img771.jpg]
As I experienced difficulty with the removal of the old tie-rod ends on the car, I removed both tie-rods and placed them on a bench, but even there with lots of WD40 applied and a few whacks from the claw-hammer onto the affected tie-rod ends, they wouldn’t move. A commonly used method is to heat them up, but as this is not allowed I have no other choice then placing an order for new tie-rods. Until they arrive, I can continue working on the front suspension.
[Blockierte Grafik: http://rwoe.150m.com/tmp/20080301/img772.jpg]
I also started working on the left drive-shaft by removing the cover of its coupling joint. The plan is to replace the boots and replace the lubricant. This is no luxury as the 25-year old lubricant lost its viscosity and was concentrated in small clogs with no even distribution on the balls of the coupling joint anymore.
[Blockierte Grafik: http://rwoe.150m.com/tmp/20080301/img773.jpg]
The next step is the removal of the driveshaft from the coupling joint after which I can clean the coupling joints themselves. Please note that it is not allowed the disassemble the joints in single parts.
Due to the work on the front suspension, there was little progress on the refurbishment of the differential until now. To apply a coating of RX5, the surface must be slightly corroded so blasting won’t be required, however there is lots of rust that needs to be removed first.
[Blockierte Grafik: http://rwoe.150m.com/tmp/20080301/img774.jpg]
In order to remove that rust, I started with covering the case its openings for which I use simple carton-board.