LC based penetrating oil

[JoggingGuy]

I have to replace all the struts on my wife's car next month, so I was poking around looking at the condition of the parts I could see. I popped the covers off the top of the strut mounts and found that the nut was rusted quite badly to the strut rod on both sides.

I remembered reading about how a combination of LC (70%) and ATF (30%) could be used as a penetrating oil in the Molakule report on the LC website, so I mixed up a small quantity in a jar lid. I put some of the mixture on the assembly with a Q-tip and let it sit overnight.

The next day, the rust was dissolved and just ran off when I dripped some more of the solution on there. After I cleaned the mess up with some paper towels, I tried breaking the nuts loose with a small rachet as an experiment. They both broke loose easily, which makes me very happy because I have no air tools

I'm going to mix up a batch of this in a squeeze bottle for use next month since it works so well

 

[MolaKule]

That's been my experience as well.

I needed a good penetrating oil one day for an exhaust system upgrade (clamps, hangers, etc) and wola, worked like a champ!

 

[T-Keith]

I've tried applying it directly with pretty good success. I'd like to try the ATF mix as soon as I can find a half decent squirter. Are they all plastic now?

 

[peterr]

Molakule

I recall in searching out previous posts that mention was made of this brew being useful as a rust inhibitor. Is it something I could spray on the underbody of my car in the spring as with thin oil rustproofing? Or would it harm anything? I have a a couple of quarts of ATF that I keep around for my GF's tranny and my Power Steering just in case, but its not like I really need two.

BTW, does it have to be Syn? I have both a Quaker State conventional and Mobil1 Syn ATF at home.

quote:

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Originally posted by MolaKule:
That's been my experience as well.

I needed a good penetrating oil one day for an exhaust system upgrade (clamps, hangers, etc) and wola, worked like a champ!

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[427Z06]

Thanks for the reminder. I remember this being mentioned too but was to lazy to search. I have a current need for a low cost penetrating oil that actually works. Thanks again.

 

[MolaKule]

It doesn't have to be Synthetic ATF but the very thin esters in synthetic ATF do help.

 

[JoggingGuy]

quote:

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Originally posted by MolaKule:
It doesn't have to be Synthetic ATF but the very thin esters in synthetic ATF do help.

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The first bit I mixed up was with ATF+3, but the cheap SuperTech power steering fluid I tried seemed to work just as well.

 

[MolaKule]

The brew could be used as a short-term rust inhibitor, but it doesn't have the tack to be qualified as a long term solution. I tend to think of underbody rust inhibitors as having a certain amount of "goo" or tack.

Is this the kind of RI you were thinking about?

 

[427Z06]

Mola,

Any ideal synthetic ATF for this penetrating oil mixture? Thanks in advance.

 

[peterr]

MolaKule

Yes, I was thinking about the application as a light oil rust inhibitor every 6 months or so, so the persitence of some of the wax, goo or plastic products is not necessary. Here in Central Canada there are two commercial operations that do this type of thing and I think they both recommend twice a year application of a very light oil. The independent testing done that I have seen shows superior results from this than from the waxy or tarry goooey or polymer-y types of things.

The process used by Krown (the chain that independent testers ranked as best) involves drilling holes to get the penetrating oil inside body panels. I am concerend about water also getting in. So if I had a DIY process that I could tailor to my needs that would be cool.

quote:

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Originally posted by MolaKule:
The brew could be used as a short-term rust inhibitor, but it doesn't have the tack to be qualified as a long term solution. I tend to think of underbody rust inhibitors as having a certain amount of "goo" or tack.

Is this the kind of RI you were thinking about?

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[MolaKule]

quote:

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Any ideal synthetic ATF for this penetrating oil mixture? Thanks in advance.

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At the time, the only thing I had was Amsoil ATF but Mobil 1 or RP or Redline should work as well.