I'm cleaning my new housings to prep for install and the chrome sleeve appears to have some protective coating giving it a dull appearance. Is this suppose to come off during the cleaning process or does it come off during normal operation of the engine? Sorry for the noob question.

 

if it is a new OEM housing then the surface has been peened and treated for porosity, you can use solvents to degrease it but do not attempt to polish the surface.

the polished surface is actually bad for oil retention and what you will often find in older worn in engines. this is not actually a good thing for lubrication of the seals. when resurfacing the housings i leave them with a semi rough finish for oil retention purposes.

 

Does it really even needed to be cleaned off then? It doesn't seem to want to be removed. Its new OEM.

 

degreasing it just is to remove any possible material left behind from machining. just apply brake/carb cleaner to a rag and wipe the surface down. install the housing as is otherwise, the semi rough surface is perfectly normal and actually preferrable.

 

Ok, I basically had been doing what you recommended and picture you saw is after cleaning. So I guess its good to go. Thanks.

 

no problem