9" ford and toploader questions

First, I have a toploader 4 speed that sat for 25+ years with no oil in it. It's rusted up pretty good inside. What can I use to free it up so I can tear it apart for a rebuild? Was thinking filling it with kerosene and letting it set awhile, but are there any better solutions?
As for the 9", how can I tell if the diff is a traction lock, a Detroit locker, or something else? I was told it was a Detroit with an aftermarket case. Come to find out it is a WAR case (which from what I read is a fairly strong piece) it has Richmond gears, would like to know what the diff is before installing it. Thanks!



-LUKEY-

 

You could fill the tranny with molasses.

 

Yep, fill it up with 7:1 ratio molasses and water (7 parts water to 1 part molasses), let it sit for a few days and check progress.. You could also do the battery charger/washing soda/water/waste metal method too, but might risk embrittlement of the gears if it's a long period of time needed to remove the rust. Either way would work.

 

I wonder how filling it with Evaporust would work ? I soaked some very rusty parts in it overnight and they literally came out like the day they were stamped out of fresh steel. I would have said 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone, but then I thought of the Evaporust.

As for the WAR rear, there is a lot of controversy about how good they are. They do look like the N cases ribbing wise, but some feel the metal composition is not as strong. But if you are using it on the street you will be hard pressed to hurt any 9 incher. If you are racing, that is another matter though.



Don

 

If you can spin the side gears then it's an open rear (which is likely since they fibbed about the case). If one of the side gear splines is in two pieces, then it's a traction lock. If there are no pins for spider gears, it's a detroit locker. It could also be a mini locker, which has pins and a ratcheting mechanism inside.

post pictures...

 

See if the rear has a tag on it or some type of marking from the manufacturer, like Squirrel says, pictures are a big help. As far as the toploader goes, I would seriously consider taking it totally apart for a good inspection.

 

Ah, toploaders. Love em'. Pull that mother apart man. You're going to want to check the synchros and all the gears for chips and wear anyway if it's sat that long. Doesn't need to spin to get it apart. If the gears are rusty by more than just scale I'd replace them; the last thing you want is weak gears in an otherwise stout transmission.

Oh! And something everyone forgets about: Muriatic acid. It's nasty if you get it on you, but dilute it, and it won't hurt good metal, just rust. Makes for a real quick cleaning...

 

You can tell an open diff from a Traction Lok by looking at how the ring gear is attached. If the bolts are shrouded, its a TL, if they aren't its an open carrier. As for the muratic acid, I'd probably lean towards the molasses as its a much more "tame" acid. Muratic can/will eat up metal, rusted or not.

 

I know it's a locked centersection, just wanna know what kind. Here are a few pics


-LUKEY-

 

looks like a 4 pinion open differential? it's hard to see what's inside there, though, there could be something locking the side gears together?. The bolts holding the ring gear on are not shrouded, as mentioned in the post above yours.

 

Post up a pic of the ring gear where it bolts up to the diff.

 

Here are some that were called detriot lockers from the net. A few differences not sure if any are really lockers as they are not mine .

 

Those are lockers. Notice there are no pins for spider gears.

 

A few more pics im guessing a traction lock, but still better than the open carrier I have in it now


-LUKEY-

 

-LUKEY-

 

Yep thats a TL. Looks like something in the 3:55 range.

 

My 300hp 302 won't break it. Just wanted to know what it was. Do I need to use any additive in the lube ?


-LUKEY-

 

friction modifier.