Which do you like better: WD-40 or PB Blaster?

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

I once went into the auto-parts and told the guy I needed some kind of real good knocker-loose; he handed me a can of "KnockerLoose"-brand penetrant and I about fell over; that was some good stuff at the time, but I haven't seen it in years.

Liquid-Wrench also used to be about the best available.


Since, science has provided us with many specialty penetrants; some work wonders on one type of problem, where others will get the job done in a different situation.


WD-40 has obviously been watered-down; it also will no longer "start" an engine.



Simply due to availibility, I often use PB-Blaster; usually what I do is for several days prior to the project, I will give the bolt/nut/whatever a little squirt as often as I remember to.


Just recently, I replaced my 25-year-old shocks; for several weeks, I had been spraying the threads with PB; those old rusty bolts loosened easily; same with a turbo on a 1989 Cummins that I recently removed.

I can't compare it to the Kroil or the other stuff, as none of that is available in my little mudlick town.

When you use heat, the different rates of expansion cause the nut/plug/bolt to "break" the seal it has via rust.
Just heat to dull glow, let it cool...doesn't have to be cool to touch or anything, but the expansion and contraction will break the item free.

Once this principle is understood and given some thought, then one begins to have a lot less trouble getting stuck stuff loose.

The shock of the differing rates of expansion/contraction is what makes heat work when breaking loose frozen components.


Though I haven't seen one in years, there used to be a tool that black-smiths/torch-men used to concentrate the heat on a bolt-head or whatever.

The tool was a simple copper rod with a handle much like the coil-spring handle of a chipping hammer.

You either put the copper rod in the forge, or simply held it's tip on the bolt-head (or nut), while heating the copper with a torch (or forge).

If possible, the business end was kept higher than the cooler end, such that the heat would travel up the copper and transfer to the bolt.

Once the bolt/nut was a dull red, it was allowed to cool.

When it got cool enough to not burn the oil, penetrant was applied.


The expansion/contraction "broke" the connection and allowed the parts to move again.








If everyone was as generous with anti-sieze as I am, then this conversation would be useless.

 

[icanfixall]

Midnight... Kroil can be bought thru their online store. Kano Lags is the place... You buy one can... They give you another can... If you don't like it send back the full can and keep the used can. Nobody sends anything back. That stuff has magical powers. Used with heat nothing is impossible to get apart.. Even gaulded nuts and bolts will come apart but not as easy as normal. It just works. I know of one gauld it really doesn't help much with. Thats stainless to stainless without any antisieze. When those threads melt together it time for a grinder or air arc... Nothing else wil work on those kinds of messes.

 

[LA350]

WD=Water Displacing

Pb blaster is my go to penetrant. Funny when I was at my tire shop, who does big rigs, they had cans of PB Blaster everywhere.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

Funny when I was at my tire shop, they had cans of PB Blaster everywhere.

Alas, if we even leave half-a-can un-attended it will end up tossed behind some character's seat, as soon as our back is turned.

The same goes for vise-grips, 9/16-wrenches, and such.

Once, during " 'backer strippin' weather", we even had one of those suit-case-handled Ready-Heaters to dis-appear.

That thing howled like a jet-airplane; it was a very cold damp sleety day and we had it going full-force; we were covered up with customers; we were so busy that no one really noticed anything un-usual, until we began to realize that the constant roar of the Ready-Heater was gone; naturally, we just assumed it had ran out of fuel, UNTIL someone decided to re-fuel it; we never saw it again.


Of course, when you live in the most poverty-stricken state, in the most poverty-stricken county of that state, such occurances are just part of every day.

 

[leftcoastjeff]

Kroil

Kroil is the only thing to use on the worst jobs, like the outdrive on a boat that sits IN salt water for a year at a time, that's really stuck!

I've been using Kroil for years and I've never had anything work as well, short of the hot wrench

Try it, like it or not it smells good.

The rust remover (X-rust) is the chit too, put it on,wait, rinse,dry, ready for paint! if you don't paint, you can see the rust comming back.

Kano labs has a lot of great products and no I do not own stock in the Co.

LCjeff

 

[riotwarrior]

personally...I have tried PB, WD, Liquid Wrench, and a variety of the so called soak or creeping oils and from my experience none not one has ever had any impact on removing the bolts.

HEAT and lots of it, and Shock as in Physical shock are the two main persuaders I have had the most success with.

Soaked manifold bolts, u-bolts, just about everything, heck I took and soaked for over a month of daily spraying of some bolts I just had to not break and no matter...they broke...had no heat or access to heat then sadly or I would have easily removed the needed parts with no damage to the bolts.

Brute force and ignorance prevails when finness and elegance fails..
Finness and elegance prevails where brute force and ignorance fails...

For all else..hot wrench and blow the bolts off!!!!