Our 109 has a front Rover axle and a rear Salisbury. Both are stock 4.7:1 ratio differentials. Since our 109 will be more of a city truck than a farm truck, we are changing the differentials to 3.54:1.
Among all the parts that came with the Sonoma 109 was a military Rover axle case in very good shape and two good front hubs/swivels. The military case has thicker flanges and a large hollow gusset welded to it for extra strength. I used a wire brush on a drill to remove what little surface rust there was on the case. The only "tool" I had to get inside the gusset was a dryer lint brush. It did clean out some of the light rust and mud, but just couldn't reach every corner.
Since our Salisbury was in good shape and otherwise "happy," Gord'n suggested that we leave it intact and replace it with another Salisbury axle case he had in stock. There wasn't much rust to remove from this one either. Within about 30 minutes, both cases were as clean as they were going to get with a wire brush. One of the big benefits of the 109 being my wife's dream car--I can paint axle cases in the laundry room and not get in trouble!
I used a rust neutralizer on both axles and then brush painted two thick coats of black Rustoleum paint. I just could not justify the cost of sandblasting and powder coating. Anyway, I am happy with the way they turned out.
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