Best stuff for breaking loose bolts

This info should be stickied or something. Cool little study, going to have to try this ATF/Acetone mix.

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Rusty bolts? Make your own super rust penetrant!
Suggested by John Brown
So you deal with a lot of rusty nuts? Go down to the hardware store and buy some acetone, a quart of Dexron Mercon and a refillable spray bottle. In the spray bottle mix the ATF and acetone in a 1:1 mixture.

Spray away and get your nuts loose!

Independent testing of penetrating oils using a single steel bar with 1/2”x20 nuts torqued to 50 ft/lbs and treated with a 10% salt water solution that was allowed to rust. Listed are the chemicals and required removal torque.

-None ………………… 516 pounds

-WD-40 ……………… 238 pounds

-PB Blaster …………. 214 pounds

-Liquid Wrench ….. 127 pounds

-Kano Kroil ………… 106 pounds

-ATF-Acetone mix….53 pounds

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http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/tech-tips/55/

I'm definitely going to have to try that mix out. PB Blaster doesn't seem to do much most of the time. I've gotten in the habit of anti-seizing everything now, stinkin rust.

I wonder how long they let them sit before trying to break the bolts loose. PB Blaster worked A HELL OF A LOT better for me than Liquid Wrench. WD-40 should just be sold as a lubricant, it's worthless for breaking anything rusty free. I didn't know about the Acetone/ATF mix. I'll have to try that next time I've got a rusty bolt. Wish I had known about that last fall.

Hrrrmmm....wonder what the concoction smells like? PBBlaster smells like A$$ :)

Thanks for sharing!!!

Bob.

Good leverage always does the trick. :D

I was going to say, I've only had one nut I couldn't get off with PB Blaster. Doesn't mean I wouldn't have liked help on the other bolts/nuts though, haha.

I typically use the cheap penetrating oil. If that doesn't work I use a bigger wrench/breaker bar. If that doesn't work I get the torch out. If that doesn't work I get a cutter out.

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Originally Posted by Atrosity

Good leverage always does the trick. :D

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Or snaps the head off. :D

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Originally Posted by Maximal

I typically use the cheap penetrating oil. If that doesn't work I use a bigger wrench/breaker bar. If that doesn't work I get the torch out. If that doesn't work I get a cutter out.

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Yep, been there done than. Nothing like rust welded bolts holding the LCA to the subframe.

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Originally Posted by Polygon

Or snaps the head off. :D

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Probably the reason why my wheel stud is snapped. :lol:

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Originally Posted by Polygon

Yep, been there done than. Nothing like rust welded bolts holding the LCA to the subframe.

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That's why I include new bolts with my control arms...every car I've ever isntalled control arms on have had the stock bolts rusted into the bushigs. A saws-all between the bushing and the bracket is the easiest way to get them off.

Ya, I'm really surprised by these results. I thought I had tried everything out there and always seem to have the best results with PB blaster by a LONG way.

Some times I'll heat a nut then spray the penetrating oil on it. When it starts cooling it seems to penetrate much faster. If it doesn't come off after that I'll heat again quickly and try to get it off before the heat transfers to the stud.

Heat :D

yep! providing the nut/bolt isn't surounded in plastic or anything flamable, heat (if you have the use of it) is the best option, cherry red and take it off!

I worked at a nuclear motor service center when I was younger. The nuts and bolts were huge on these things so a stuck bolt was a pita. We would try and heat the nut as quickly as possible trying to avoid the stud or bolt then try to take the nut or bolt off before the heat transfers to the stud or bolt. Sometimes we would only get a few turns using a toque multiplier before it would start seizing again so out came the liquid nitrogen to cool it all down then start heating again. It sucked!

I have been using the acetone-AFT mixture for a year now. It dissolves rust. It's awesome for breaking rusty bolts loose, but the side effect is that it'll completely eat things that are really rusty, which sometimes sucks, because it'll rust the 6 points off of a nut and the middle of the nut will stay there. However, this is easily dealt with using vice grips.

Not when the one nut I've ever had stick because of rust was on the rear-precat to DP flange... I had to chisel that shit off :(

thats real helpfull LD

We have this industrial lubricant called Kwikee Penetrant. It's made up of ATF, moly and mineral spirits. I'll have to try the mixture suggested in this thread and see how it compares.

I have a bottle of this mixed up in my garage. I have not seen a noticeable difference but it is what I reach for first. However, if you think PB stinks (which it does) this stuff really rots ass!!!! Like super dead moose ass, it's terrible. I am guessing from the ATF which smells like dead hooker ass anyway.

I have not tried a long soak though, usually only an hour or so.

PB Blaster always does the trick for me.

-Chris

I, like many others will try this. Great info.

I normally use MAPP with an adjustable nozzle to heat the nut to be broken lose. Works great for me.

Now this is information we can all use.

PB Blaster also makes a good cleaner. Spray a little on a paper towel and it clean about anything on a surface. If you've ever tried to clean crud off the inside of the engine compartment and could not get it clean try the PB Blaster trick. It works. Might be a good idea to clean afterwords with windex or a household cleaner to remove any residue.

WD40 is good for sticky stuff and tar removal.

-Chris

Just an addenda to the rust-buster stuff-

If you're able to put heat on the problem safely, I have found that, say, in the instance of a nut rusted on a stud, if you heat the stud, rather than the nut, you can melt paraffin (wax) onto the stud, then wait for it to cool.

Heating the bolt-head or the back-side of the bolt will work, too.

The nut will spin off with minimal effort.

Edit:

I always keep a few crayons in my toolbox just for this.

I used to work in a shop and they supplied Winzor products along with a bunch of other stuff. Winzor TFM 750 is a heavy duty penetrate, it has worked great for me, I'll never use PB again. Also Aerokroil is some really good shit too.

That said... I like heat the best.

kroil is some evil shit... if you get it on your fingernail your farked... so be careful.

pb blaster is usually enough, but hands down kroil is the bomb.

that is good to know, but kroil/pb are in spray cans. and a quart of atf & acetone isnt free but you can certainly get alot for cheap.

You could always put a mixture in one of these if you wanna spray it... I use it for brake clean, just fill it up then use an air chuck and put some compressed air in it :) I never thought about using penetrating oil in it before... hmm

http://www.afrema.com/ProductsImages...20SPRAYERS.jpg

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Originally Posted by Maximal

That's why I include new bolts with my control arms...every car I've ever isntalled control arms on have had the stock bolts rusted into the bushigs. A saws-all between the bushing and the bracket is the easiest way to get them off.

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I bet i could get mine off with out a saws-all :p....Then again my car has 74k on it, always garaged and never actually driven in snow and not much rain ever either :D

I wonder how flammable that mixture is... I use Zep 45, and have been very happy with it's performance, but I also quite often use heat to wick it in. I wonder if the acetone/ATF mix would flame on under those conditions?

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