Cleaning, priming and painting the inside of a box frame:
Close inspection of a box frame reveals that it is not uniform in size, in fact often it closes down making the task of internally cleaning it difficult. First open the drain slots on the bottom of the frame in the box areas using a cold chisel of the right size. This is important for letting the media escape and for the paint to adequately drip out. My solution was to use a media-blasting gun with about 24 inches of vinyl tubing, held in place with a hose clamp, as an extension. The tubing size was selected to fit over the outside of the gun nozzle. Surprisingly (maybe not so), the vinyl does not get “eaten” by the media. The flexible tubing and use of several entry holes will allow you to get into all areas of the frame including the cross piece near the rear axle. The tubing has a natural bend to it. Use this feature to blast at least four directions (four passes) to cover the 360 degrees. I actually went in 45 degree increments rather than 90 degree increments. Take your time because there is no feedback on how well you are doing. When finished blasting, thoroughly clean the inside with an air gun with a long snout (with this step, I found a mouse nest in the cross member). The painting is similar, except I used an undercoating spray gun with the vinyl tubing and the wands that came with the undercoating gun for the primer and finish coat. Note, this is a messy job – best done outside. Media, the need for adequate ventilation and drips really do make a messy job.

P.S. This technique also works for those hard-to-reach places on other parts of the body – like the door posts. But do watch your face and hands – the media and paint fly everywhere!

 

Reinstalling the torsion bar castle nut cotter pin:
This was fun!?! To remove the cotter pin, just use muscle. Either just sheer it off (3/4 inch drive ratchet with the appropriate socket), or cut it out with side cutters. Reinstallation requires finesse. Before reinstalling the castle nut, BE SURE you know the exact position of the hole the cotter pin is going in. Then reinstall the castle nut and stop when the torque requirement is reached (the service manual is not clear on the value). Look at the openings and then tighten the nut (if necessary) until a top (and bottom) opening is aligned with the cotter pin hole. Sounds easy, but you cannot see inside of the torsion bar nut surround. Therefore the knowing the exact position of the hole before the nut is reinstalled is critical. Now for the difficult step. A cotter pin will not fit unless… I have no idea how the factory installed the cotter pin unless they also pre-bent it in the shape of a quarter moon as I did. Then IF the hole is aligned correctly, and the curve is right, the curved cotter pin can be “fished” thru the hole with long nose pliers, and then bent to secure it. More choice words for this one also.