Taking a Break to Clean

I made a tremendous mess of the garage yesterday. I spent time this morning cleaning up my tools, the original parts I removed, and the garage floor. Part of what made the mess so large was the gear fluid which did not come out of the axle housing until the 3rd member was removed. This spilled all over the carboard I had laid out.

I made sure to keep the drums, axles, and backing plates arranged by side. While it should not matter much, I did not want established wear patterns to be messed up by switching parts to a different side.

I decided to go ahead and pull the seals from the axle I intalled about 6 months ago. One side leaked and this will make it easier to clean inside the axle housing.

I'm hoping to finish cleaning the third member this week and paint the housing. I'll then take it to have the new gears installed. Once the third member is complete, I'll turn my attention to the housing.