Tearing an Apex down?

[nate007]

I"ve trailered my Apex on open trailers, and am now dealing with all teh corrosion issues that go with many miles on salty roads.
Has anybody torn their sleds down enough to be drilling the rivets out, and if so, is there a specific rivet to replace them with, and is a hand riveter enough, or is an air gun required?
I want to polish or powdercoat almost everything i can, so I'll need to remove the bulkhead, motor, tunnel, etc..

 

[jkenosh]

i havent but am thinking of doing the same thing, i talked to my friends at cb performance and the say its about a 8 hour job to get the motor out and back in so im not taking it that far, i spray em down with wd-40 after every trip on the open trailer and that seems to help alittle.

 

[nate007]

Yeah, I've done the same thing, but I've just trailered, too much, and could'nt keep up with it.
I'm not worried about the time to do it. It' only took me about 3 hours to get everything including the Delta box off. Basically all I have sitting there now is the motor and suspension.
I'd also like to see what can be done to remove the scale and corrosion from the motors' surfaces, and what can be done without tearing the motor down??

 

[jkenosh]

i hate the corosion too, i thinking of making a one of those flaps that go across the back of the truck to keep the apray down, i had back surgery so no rididng for me this year so i got lots of time to tinker with em to get em perfect for next year

 

[Yamadog]

I can tell you guys that even with an enclosed trailer you still get that corrosion. It depends on where you sled if you have a lot of road crossings you get the salt exposure and it only takes a little create that look in the enginge compartment. Last year I had a motor built and it looked like a crate motor when I put it in and by March it was already pitting. I always travel in a 24' enclosed. My tunnels are the same way polish in the off season and crap by January.

 

[**sj**]

thats why I spray the sled down after every trip!

 

[maxdlx]

Nate
I have an air rivetor if you need it. Paul

 

[nate007]

I wasn't sure if they had to be a special rivet, but i thought I'd see what everybody else was doing before I started drilling!

 

[welterracer]

That sounds like ALOT of work.. But i too hate corrosion..

Brian

 

[ecopter]

You might want to check the seal on your enclosed trailer. I'm the king of trailering since I live near St. Louis, Mo., and I never have a lick of corrosion on my sleds. I'd estimate my 2002 trailer has around 40,000 miles.

Jon

 

[ScottyD]

i have always sprayed armour all on my sled engines, smokes like crazy for a minute, but stops the corrosion, do it a couple of times a season, spray the motor, pipes when its warm

 

[darv]

get one of the books that the tech get inside it list all the reverts some are special

 

[sobfrogg]

Hey Nate,

The Yami rivits are tough. Well worth using when putting your sled back together.
McMaster Carr has a similar rivit. way cheeper .... I let you know how they hold up
For polishing stuff check out Caswell. they have way more the the Eastwood co.
With your new shop, if you have the space set up your own powdercoating. I do mine its easy The oven can be tricky when you want to do larger or longer stuff like rails or a tunnel.

PM me if you need any sugestions

 

[nate007]

I started ripping the sled down, and now just have the motor sitting in the frame with the full suspension still intact. I'm embarrased to say, my sled look like it's 10 years old!!! I'm having a hard time deciding on where to stop on the polishing and coating! I can see where I would easilly put more time and effort into this thing than the sled would ever be worth, but I suppose its all for the sickness we call sledding!
Id like to get some feedback on what to do with the motor. That seems like it looks the worst. Should I tear it down just to polish and coat evverything, or does somebody know of something I can put on it to remove the corrosion, and maybe use a high temp paint? I'm not looking to make a show stopper, but just keep it looking decent for a number of years..

 

[ahicks]

Nate, I'm from the Wd-40 school too. Mine are literally soaked down at the end of the season. Somethng I've noticed over the years is that this process will actually make the majority of the existing corrosion disappear on aluminum surfaces.
That's been my experience anyway. If you have it indoors, I'd suggest soaking what you are looking at down with the WD and walking away from it for a month or so, then see where you are at. FWIW