Good Penetrating Fluid For Bolts For Rusty Suspension Parts?

[EddieC]

Ya, this is probably as debatable as "what brand of engine oil is best?"

WD-40, PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench and even Silicone spray all have worked well for me. This is simply what's available locally here. I did experiment with the ATF/Acetone 50/50 and worked very well as well.

Several years ago I bought a gallon of PB Blaster but my wife complained everytime I used it about the smell. It DOES smell pretty nasty. I like Liquid Wrench because it foams up and seems to get better coverage. Last time I was as Summit Racing I picked up a gallon of WD-40 so that will probably last a lifetime

We don't really get severe corrosion around here, except for exhaust manifold bolts. Broken bolts are going to require drilling them or welding something to them.

Years ago I was removing the transmission on my 99 Silverado NBS. Someone must have stripped the oil drain pan bolt at the shop. Vice grips, screw extractor and everything else failed. I tried an entire afternoon. I finally got tired and dragged out my welding leads and crawled underneath and STICK welded a big 3/4" nut...out came the bolt. I wasn't even asking it if it wanted to come out by then, LoL.

And if you really wanted to see which one did better there's this scientific test:

I wasn't looking for "best", just effective.
Not using acetone around rubber and over the driveway.
I have Liquid Wrench on the shelf that I never used yet so it's worth a shot.

 

[EddieC]

Sorry, Redundant on my part

 

[j91z28d1]

acetone evaporates so quickly, I never found it to be as bad as they make it sound. to me it's basically a little worse than 100% alcohol. I doubt it's hurting anything on your car unless you removed the part and soaked in it for hours. I mean it's just finger nail polish removal. women get it on their skin all the time.

Petroleum base stuff in theory would be worse on rubber that's not designed for it. since it doesn't evaporate but I've never had any rubber fall apart from soaking it in penetrating fluid

 

[EddieC]

acetone evaporates so quickly, I never found it to be as bad as they make it sound. to me it's basically a little worse than 100% alcohol. I doubt it's hurting anything on your car unless you removed the part and soaked in it for hours. I mean it's just finger nail polish removal. women get it on their skin all the time.

Petroleum base stuff in theory would be worse on rubber that's not designed for it. since it doesn't evaporate but I've never had any rubber fall apart from soaking it in penetrating fluid

And women get cancer all the time. The fumes are a bit too suspect for me.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

I used Liquid Wrench for years. For the past 10 years, I have used PB Blaster, and for me, it works the best. As with all of these products, it does take some time for them to do their magic. Be patient.

 

[EddieC]

To close it out, I used Liquid Wrench in the morning and the magic happened by mid-afternoon without much strain.
Sixteen years of salty winters. Lucked out.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[petethepug]

On a different note, for keeping rust out and off clean metal surfaces cosmoline is another military grade wonder.

The stuff is still in the body cavities of my ‘90 Corrado g60. It’s no longer sold but a company bearing its name sells a substitute for it. LPS-3 is another good one almost identical to cosmoline. Neither are penetrants like Kroil, PB, etc though.

LPS 3 Premier Rust Inhibitor | Aircraft Spruce

LPS 3 Premier Rust Inhibitor LPS 3 Premier Rust Inhibitor is a specially formulated long-term corrosion inhibitor protecting metal parts in inside storage for up to two years.

www.aircraftspruce.com

 

[2591tdj]

I am looking for suggestions for effective penetrating fluids to used on rusty suspension bolts.
The bolts go through bushings (rubber?) so compatibility would be useful but that bushed parts can be replaced if necessary to get the bolts out.

Project Farm on YouTube has a video where he tests multiple penetrating fluids. For me, when it’s really stuck I go with smelly PB Blaster.