Removing Rusty Parts

[Tazbota]

It's already been said but I want to throw in a good word for PB Blaster !! I WAS a mechanic for 16 years and it's the best I was able to find. 1 tip is to spray it on heavy, give it a couple of hours, give a good tap around the area with a hammer and respray, allow it to soak overnight and I think you'll be shocked at the results. You can buy PB Blaster at Wal-Mart and many other retailers/ parts stores.

 

[ScottAR]

PB is the best stuff I've ever tried. Soaking a 1inch axle nut on our 50s model Case disk for a week finally loosened it when I couldn't budge it with a 6 foot cheater.
I hear Kroil is great too but I can never find any.

 

[RobertN]

Just for future reference, PBblaster and hammer taps over time will work. If you cruise the antique tractor pages, a lot of folks get tractors with stuck engines and trannies that have sat for years rusting away. They make them into running parade and show tractors.

One of the biggest things is to clean the area the best you can. Then, use some of the PB Blaster(some folks talk about "Kroil"). Then, give it a couple taps with a hammer. Repeat hammer taps daily, and give it an extra squirt now and then.

I remember one guy talking about doing that for a month to remove a stuck piston. He didn't want to force it or break it.

You might read Roger Welch's books about "Busted Tractors and Rusted Knuckeles". They have lots of ancedotes for stuff like this, and is really fun reading to boot!
"Busted Tractors and Rusty Knuckles: Norwegian Torque Wrench Techniques and Other Fine Points of Tractor Restoration", "Old Tractors Never Die: Roger's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Ageless Iron", "Love, Sex and Tractors".

 

[Dozernut]

I read somewhere that an old mechanic, who rebuilt tractors, used to put rubbing alcohol in the cylinders of stuck engines. He let them sit for three hours and the pistons would come free.

 

[RobertN]

Coca Cola works well. It is acidic, and will do wonders to loosen a set of rusty rings.

The vapor pressure of alcohol is so low, it would take less than three hours for it to evaporate. But, it's affect on the goo and rust may take a bit. I can see where it would loosen up general goo, but don't think it would help with rust. Could be wrong though /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[TimSullivan]

I have used PB Blaster and have had good success with it. A few years ago I was trying to free the piston in a rear brake caliper on a Porsche 914. I worked at it every night for a week. Spray and tap with a little heat did nothing. An old mechanic friend looked at it and told me to find a sub-zero freezer and to put it in there over night. A restaurant in town had one and it got some laughs but the caliper spent the night on ice.

The next morning I picked it up and put compressed air to it and out popped the piston. The cast of the housing and the metal of the piston contract at different rates in the extreme cold.

 

[dgood1]

You can do the same thing with a cheap styrofoam cooler and some dry ice.

 

[TimSullivan]

It was more fun seeing the expressions on the faces of the owner and his wife at the restaurant when I was telling them what I was trying to do. Better yet when they found out that it worked.

 

[JeffRey30747]

My local independent hardware stocks Kroil oil. If yours doesn't and you are looking for it you can buy it direct from Kano labs at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.kanolabs.com>http://www.kanolabs.com</A> or dial up Midway USA (shooting supplies) at 1-800-243-3220. Some shooters use it as a bore cleaner.

 

[tractorlet]

We used WD-40 for quite some time until we came across PB Blaster and it has worked well for us. One of our machinists works part time at Carquest auto parts and introduced us to Sea Foam Deep Creep for breaking rust and several other things. Sea Foam has other products for trannies, etc.

We believe Sea Foam's Deep Creep is even better than PB which we have always liked. Give it a try and it may save a few hours and a few taps.

I have no relatives at, nor stock in, this company although I have invested in many cans of Sea Foam.