Best penetrating oil for stuck nuts & bolts

Recently an article was passed along to me from Machinist Workshop Magazine.
They tested some commercially available penetrating oils on a group of nuts & bolts they had scientifically rusted to a uniform degree in a salt water solution.

The fasteners were treated with a variety of commercially available penetrants and the measured torque required to loosen them was recorded.

The break out torque required for:
Nothing = 516 ft. lbs.
WD-40 = 238 ft. lbs.
PB Blaster = 214 ft. lbs.
Liquid Wrench = 127 ft. lbs.
Kano Kroil = 106 ft. lbs.
50/50 blend of ATF and Acetone = 50 ft. lbs.

edit:
It was pointed out that this was a topic a few months ago, so I read through that thread and did notice someone also recommended GM 1052627 heat valve/EGR lube and I have personally used a similar Mopar EGR product for years that works very well but it is definitly more costly then used ATF and Acetone.

And a final note on shop safety and penetrating fluids:
I was spraying some exhaust bolts on an engine that wasn't running but was warm, when the penetrant hit the bolts it evaporated a bit. The fumes drifted my way and even though I was wearing safety glasses I got some residue in one eye. Flushed the eye for about 20 mins, it remained blurry and irritated so I headed to the emergency room.
Brought the can along and the doctor about feel over when he read all the solvents that were in it, long story short, 3 hour eye flush on some hospital machine to get the ph normal in my eye socket.

 

I read this one on here a couple months ago and the acetone and ATF definatly work best! Previously I used Kroil and it also worked real well.

 

seems I never have acetone around when I need it........but I ALWAYS keep kroil on hand

 

SO-K is a good penetrant also but not always found easy and a new brand Hillco lube is something we use at work alot.

 

This mix works well, trouble is finding a sprayer that can handle the acetone...it does a good job of disolving the seals. Those tin cans with a spout on the top work best but dont spray. Caution !! Acetone is exremely FLAMMABLE !! vapors travel and any spark can set it off. Acetone is what is in your acetelyne torch bottle!!

 

I've been using PB Blaster. It's readily available. I can get it at Walmart at a decent price. Need to be patient and let it work. I will spray it on the bolts and let it sit overnite if possible. Has not let me down. I haven't used Kroil but have heard good things about it. I may give the acetone mix a try and see how it works.

 

Kroil has worked great for me.

 

Here we go again !!! LOL

 

Hadn't noticed it was a topic before, I did go back and add that and a couple of other thoughts to my initial posting.

 

How about the new product from WD-40?

 

up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up STOP THIS

 

OK, maybe redundant. but its good information. seems when i'm work'n on old cars the rust never ends!!! I use a spray bottle with ace/trans. time and recoat it does work the best

 

that'd be acetone. . .

 

10 -15 % increase in fuel milage with 3 oz of acetone per 10 gallons in you gasoline will improve your milage. use no more than 2 oz in 10 gallons for a diesel.Bill aka Tnomoldw
You despise winter? Me too. That's why I live where we really don't have winter. I remember in '74 some white stuff fell from the sky. I called 911. They said it was snow and not to worry. It was Robert E. "Bob" Fitzgerald and his colleagues who implemented the first 911 system in Haleyville (Ala.) in 1968.

 

x2 on the pb blaster.

 

And yours or someone's ole lady is soaking there finger nails in acetone double:eek

 

Does the acetone added to gas in tank cause any problems in fuel system? Just had an OT car burn up fron ethanol detoriated fuel lines.

 

a lot of times I use candle wax on exhaust bolts and it works really well. put a bit of heat to the stuck bolt and then rub the old candle on it. the hot wax will chase the threads and stays in place. all the rust and crud gets carried out with the wax. Give it a try it may suprise you, at how well it works.

 

We used some "deep creep" recently at the shop. It worked awsome.

 

At work we use parts cleaner and atf mix.

 

I have never read an article I just use liquid wrench because I do.

 

Pb blaster

 

liqiud wrench works for me.....most of my friends use it also...

 

Plus gas is pretty good (if available in the USA)

or Morris's not so easy to get hold of these days, or simply brush some diesel oil on the thread and leave overnight, smelly but effective and cheap, some old timers used to mix paraffin (kerosene?) and diesel specifically to use as penetrating oil.

 

Just for the helluv it, I mixed up some ATF/Acetone. Had a little exhaust work to do on a OT involving the converter flange. Usually use Liquid Wrench or PB, but since there's been alot of talk on here (several threads) lately about this magic juice, I thought it was a good time to give it a shot. FWIW, the flange was factory installed on a '99, & never ephed with. Gave it a good squirt the night before, also had the hot wrench as a back-up, just in case. When I got to it the next morning, the bolts did come loose fairly easy. I'd say it worked pretty good, I'll probably keep some mixed up. YMMV of course.

 

Kroil, used it for years, no mixing, no high flammability issues.....just works.

 

I just had occasion to compare PB Blaster and the acetone/ATF mix on some outer tie-rod ends on a non-HAMB vehicle just East Coast enough to have some minor corrosion.

Neither tie rod end would budge with typical 12in Stillson wrench, etc. force (the vehicle concerned, a C5 Audi S6 with the tie rods well up in the fenders, doesn't lend itself to hanging oneself from the wrench or a three-foot pipe cheater.)

Soaked one side in PB Blaster, the other in ATF/acetone, went for lunch.

Both came loose afterward, but the ATF/acetone side was noticeably easier to break free and, after a little rocking and a couple more squirts, it came out mostly by hand.

The other side got about the same manipulation but it required wrenching pretty much all the way out.

Not a conclusive test but good enough results that I'll keep some handy.

 

I've tried many a concoction and ATF and Acetone works about the best for me so far.....

 

It's best with one olive and no ice...

I suppose MEK would sub for the acetone.

 

wonder how well the ATF/acetone mix would work as a carb/injector cleaner? I have one injector on my '91 'burb acting up. so far I've run 3 cans of Berryman AND 1 can of sea foam with great improvement...but still needs a little more cleaning it seems.