I have a '91 YJ
Im in the middle of a frame swap
I started taking the whole front end apart
I knew the axle, sway bar and some of the linkage was pretty rusty and scaly
But the axle is pretty nasty
Before i redo the seals and balljoints etc, . . . . .Should i replace it or wire wheel it clean and repaint ?
I feel like it would make more sense to pick up another housing
The heavily scaled parts appear to be just the cast pieces. Not sure if there cast iron or cast steel but I know cast iron doesn't rust away like steel. The rust just sticks stays on the surface. From what I see in the photos, the scale you see is more just flaking paint. Scale is much thicker chunks.
If it was me, I'd wire wheel it and spray on a rust inhibiting paint(POR15, or my favorite, Rustoleum Rust Converter) and top it off with some chassis paint.
If it's out of the Jeep, take it and have it sandblasted. If your doing all new seals and everything you could even have it powdercoated after. But the Sandblasting will make it look like new, usually is a lot more affordable than people think, and you have it back in a couple of hours clean as the day it was new and ready for powder or paint. If you do decide to paint it instead of powder coating it you will want to use a good self-etching rust preventative primer coat before your satin black paint.
I already had the "rude awakening" when the rear frame rail rusted through and the frame fell on the shackle - then i had to buy a large U-channel sleeve piece from Quadratec, cut out all the rust and weld it in . . . . then the clutch/internal slave went out so i swapped over later model bellhousing and an external slave cylinder, . . . oh and then there was the cracked exhaust manifold and the rusty brake and fuel lines , . . . . . i wont go on, its not my jeep. I just fix it, . . . right now im in the middle of a frame swap.
This jeep was at the base of the twin towers on 911 and in NOLA with katrina, . . its seen its far share of hard times ( as a jeep should )
So when i saw the axle looked all beat up, i thought i may have more issues , . . . . . unfortunately i have to fix this thing often as its my wifes
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