Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Stub Axles -?repaint

Hello all,

Having finally removed that last vicious Cotter pin, I’ve disassembled my entire front end. Fred Sisson’s design for a tool to decompress the springs worked brilliantly! My stub axles are now ready to go to the machine shop to press out/in new bushes, hone for king pins. They appear to have originally been painted. Much of it has peeled off.

Do folks strip and repaint these while they’re out? Would seem reasonable to protect against rust but they get so greasy I’m not sure how needed it would be. Plus you’d really have to clean them well, in order for paint to stick.

To those who have rebuilt front ends, what did you do in this regard? Repaint The stub axles or leave alone?

Thanks,

Nelson
‘66 Plus 4 RHD 2-seater

Why not ? It's not as if it takes a lot of effort. A wire bush, a bit of masking tape, slap on the chassis black and Bobs your uncle

Nice work! You’ve convinced me!

I clean them with solvent, media blast them clean and then use a dye penetrant testing kit to check for any cracks, then send them away for powder coating.

Might be a bit of an overkill, but sixties Plus 4 stub axles used to have a bit of a reputation for bending or cracking stub axles.

Arwyn

Sounds like a good idea. Like many I suppose, my shop is not yet equipped with a parts washer, or media blasting cabinet. I washed mine in a bucket, then scrubbed them best I could, and got in the corners with a little scribe-like cleaning tool. 95% of gunk is off but not all, nor the peeling paint. I could put stripper on them, then scrub again and then probably ready for paint. Am going to start with the machine shop and bushing swap and honing and go from there. I would paint after that rather than before.

Not sure I need a parts washer or one of those 30L ultrasonic cleaners. Am thinking it’ll be better for cleaning. But I probably need both because it wreaks havoc on your sink. Is a media blasting cabinet something folks use a lot?

Frustrating update - i decided to get them powder coated before messing with bushings. after many weeks, they finally get to my parts and now tell me there’s too much grease coming out of my stub axles to powder coat. They soaked in simple green, and some other cocktails, still greasy. I am going to take them back and try to clean myself. What do you all suggest? I was thinking of trying paraffin oil or gasoline. Or perhaps finding a place with an ultrasonic cleaner. Ideas? Or is powder coating a bridge too far and I should just paint the darn things?

Heat them up with a plumbers torch
You only need to heat the kingpin section
Clean with a bottle brush and a solvent like brake cleaner and repeat until the stubaxles are clean