How to get heavy built up dried grease off PTO shaft ?

[brin]

A neighbor gave me a PTO shaft and it is in great shape but has built up and caked on dried grease on both ends of the couplers and the grease zirks will not even take grease..I have tried some of the degreasers on it but this stuff is stubborn..I hesitate to use a torch on it...fumes and maybe fire...any ideas will be appreciated...Thanks

 

[ihuntbear]

i just soak mine in degreaser,then wire brush the bad spots

 

[RobertBrown]

Got a 41/2" angle grinder? Put a wire cup brush on it and put the shaft in a vice and get to brushing. Shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes, unless it's a really long shaft. If it leaves some grease in the recess, use a wire wheel in the same angle grinder.
Don't forget the eye protection!

 

[Soundguy]

soak the ends in solvent for a couple days.. then scrape / brush them, then power wash. can do similar with the telescoping shaft.. then regrease.

soundguy

 

[brin]

soak the ends in solvent for a couple days.. then scrape / brush them, then power wash. can do similar with the telescoping shaft.. then regrease.

soundguy

What kind of solvent do you recommend soundguy ? Mineral spirits ? I have tried the spray on degreasers and they are not working...Thanks

 

[gwdixon]

Try heating with a hair dryer or paint removing gun and use a putty knife to scrape off the top layer. The underneath layer is usually softer.

A 4000 psi power washer can do wonders as well. But they are a bit pricey unless you have a lot of equipment.

A steam power washer can be rented for a day if there are several things that need a good cleaning.

The Zerks can usually be cleared by removing them and hooking them to grease gun (air powered preferred). Once again a heat gun is your friend.

 

[77bronco]

Put it in a bucket of diesel or a gas diesel mix for a few days. If you use gasoline, don't keep it indoors. (Too flammable to be inside)
You could also try boiling water, but that would take a lot of time vs. soaking in gas or diesel.
At work we use xylene to get pitch off tools, but that is probably a very expensive solution to your problem.

 

[sweettractors]

We have used Easy Off oven cleaner to clean off difficult areas like you have. Ken Sweet

 

[EGo_SmAsH]

The best (quickest) way would be to use steam. If you cant do that use degreaser and the hottest water you can. If you have a power washer, soak the shaft with degreaser and then hit it with the power washer connected to hot water.

 

[JerryK]

Take it to a quarter car wash [ well, I still call them that ], perferably late at night so the mess you leave will not bring the owner screaming as he cuss's you out, and blast it off in one of the stalls......... Take it home and blast it dry with compressed air and grease the ^%$#^%$ out of it...