i picked up a N.O.S steering box for my '41 dodge military truck. they covered it with canvas and cosmoline back in the day. I cleaned it all off with wd40 ( what a mess!) and painted it up. Went to fill it with corn head, and found it had it on the inside too! i greased it up anyways, but now im wondering if i should have tried to clean it out? consulting the elders here.
Cosmolene is not really an ideal lubricant. It is more of a rust preventative coating. Guys might disagree, but even new comolene is more sticky than slippery...70+ year old probably adds a whole new dimension in less lubricant. I think I would have cleaned it out.
i guess i figured it would mix up with the oily grease i put in there. it was a thin coating, at least.
I bought a military '47 Chevy 216 in the crate in Alaska. Crazy ditributor, carburetor and the works. Ready to go BUT. covered with Cosmoline. The answer? Kerosene with a low pressure sprayer from the wife's garden. Namely a Hudson Sprayer. It worked. I had a mess under it but I had enough sense to plan for it and had the engine on a stand with a layer of ash on the floor. Messy to clean up? No. Just use a garden hose and wash it into her flower bed. Good soil amendments too. I emerged a hero in this venture but she still isn't one who likes my hobby. That is her problem! Normbc9
I had an old rifle with cosmoline packed in it, had to soak the bolt in degreaser just to get it to fire. Bottom line that stuff is sticky as hell when it is old.
I've had a lot of experience with cosmoline, like others have said it is a metal preservative, not a lubricant. Clean the gear box with mineral spirits and re-lube with new heavy duty grease. Mixing grease brands as well as viscosities is not a good thing my experience has shown. New grease baby!
I seriously doubt that it had cosmoline inside it what it probably was is grease that had gone bad. Yes you should have cleanned it out and put new in.
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