Loosen stuck nuts/bolts/screws with this one weird trick

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asicer

Final Approach
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asicer
I have a stuck shower drain screw that I need to bust loose. I heard that ATF+acetone is supposedly best at it but I don't have any ATF handy (I drive stick). But then I heard that vegetable oil+acetone also works.

Anyone tried it? Does it matter if the vegetable oil is soy vs corn vs others? I only have olive oil and canola oil in the cupboard right now.

Or should I just go to the store and buy a can of Liquid Wrench?
 
I have heard the same thing, but haven’t tried it. I’d use Kroil or Fluid Film. Liquid Wrench is only good for getting glue from price stickers off things.
 
Pour a can of Coke on them too. It'll free up any corrosion and also give them a new, clean look!
 
JScarry said:
I have heard the same thing, but haven’t tried it. I’d use Kroil or Fluid Film. Liquid Wrench is only good for getting glue from price stickers off things.
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Unfortunately Home Depot doesn't seem to have either Kroil or Fluid Film...
 
Zeldman said:
And no power steering..?? :lol::lol:
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In the Super Seven? No. :p

But thanks. I'll have to check the PS fluid in the commuter beater...

Edit: Electric power steering on the commuter beater!
 
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Haven't heard back from you.
Usually if the hardware is that bad by now I am ez-outing / dremeling / demo-ing the part
 
Try the most important invention for mankind after fire ——- : WD 40
 
You can buy Kroil at NAPA. My brother took my can for his boat and it works well on salt-water corrosion. My A&P recently started using Fluid Film and I picked up a can at ACE hardware. Much cheaper than Kroil and works well on the plane. I’d probably start with that.
 
JScarry said:
You can buy Kroil at NAPA. My brother took my can for his boat and it works well on salt-water corrosion. My A&P recently started using Fluid Film and I picked up a can at ACE hardware. Much cheaper than Kroil and works well on the plane. I’d probably start with that.
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Just checked www.napaonline.com and they didn't have Kroil.
 
Paulie said:
WD-40 is useless for anything. Except displacing water.
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Damn good greasy belly cleaner
Works rather well as a hand cleaner too.

And it does not cause corrosion.
(thought I'd say that prior to some one saying it does.)
 
Every time I hear PB Blaster, I also think its a candy bar. Great, now I am hungry
 
Tom-D said:
Damn good greasy belly cleaner
Works rather well as a hand cleaner too.
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Since I was a teen I've never believed WD-40 or Liquid Wrench did anything real. If someone said they loosened or cleaned nuts/bolts it was 100% in their head and just gave them the extra mental energy they needed to break it loose. Because I've never seen any evidence of either product doing anything real. Other than cleaning Tom's greasy belly.
 
Gerhardt said:
Since I was a teen I've never believed WD-40 or Liquid Wrench did anything real. If someone said they loosened or cleaned nuts/bolts it was 100% in their head and just gave them the extra mental energy they needed to break it loose. Because I've never seen any evidence of either product doing anything real. Other than cleaning Tom's greasy belly.
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It is a light petroleum distillate It will do anything they do.
 
Tom-D said:
It is a light petroleum distillate It will do anything they do.
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I'm just messing with you.

The best thing I've found for quick lubrication is spray-on lithium grease. It works so well that, like the dumb-ass I am, I've caused myself more problems with it than I've solved.

1. I used to be able to hear people coming/going through the garage doors. Not anymore. With two teens in the house a noisy door came in handy at night.

2. I have a discharge chute on my ZTR mower and had the bright idea of lubricating the cable to minimize wear. I didn't think that completely through and didn't know that it relies on the friction in the cable to hold the flap open. Now, I open the flap and it just falls back closed.
 
This one weird trick is my favorite:

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You have not experienced the full capabilities of WD40 til you have used it on a squealing vacuum cleaner.
Shooting it into the inlet.
While it is running.
Apparently there are these things called sparks running around in there.
At least I was smart enough to do it outside.
 
Drill the head off then pull the cover and hope you have enough to grab the screw with vicegrips.
 
asicer said:
Is it better than Liquid Wrench?
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Yes! I have probably tried every magic juice over the years including Liquid Wrench, WD-40, Kroil, etc. None have ever worked for me as well as this stuff. (https://www.ebay.com/itm/11-Oz-Blas...ing-Catalyst-Lubricant-Oil-Spray/263843763409). I used to say that there was no such thing as a magic juice, but having discovered this one I have to say it is an exception to the rule. Spray, let it sit as long as your patience permits, then try. Wait and try again. Repeat as necessary. For really tough situations, try heating the thing that the screw threads into and cooling the screw with an ice cube on its head. That may increase the clearance slightly and let the juice in.
 
Partial success...
  1. Soaked the screws in CLR in hopes it will open up space for the penetrating oil.
  2. Took a shower to wash off CLR
  3. Sprayed PB Blaster. For only $2.47 at Home Depot, why not.
  4. Bought an impact driver from Harbor Freight. The thing was so stiff I thought it was seized. Pondered spraying some PB Blaster into it. Ended up disassembling it and applying silicone grease instead.
  5. 3 hours later, sprayed more PB Blaster.
  6. A few minutes later started pounding on it with impact driver. No effect.
  7. Grabbed socket set. Managed to get one screw out but the other only went 1/6 turn before it got stuck again.
Good enough to clear the hair clog. Now to buy a replacement for the screw that did come out.

1.jpg 2.jpg
 
I use blaster,worked most of the time on my old boat. If not Drexel tool.
 
Perhaps running a bottom tap to clean up the threads and apply some anti-seize on the new screw would prevent future problems.
 
3393RP said:
Perhaps running a bottom tap to clean up the threads and apply some anti-seize on the new screw would prevent future problems.
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Yup, it's on the list. That plus seeing if new screws with shorter threads will work (less material to seize up).
 
asicer said:
Partial success...
  1. Bought an impact driver from Harbor Freight. The thing was so stiff I thought it was seized. Pondered spraying some PB Blaster into it. Ended up disassembling it and applying silicone grease instead.
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Was that a manual impact driver? A long time ago, I had one that you inserted a screwdriver tip, put it in place and whacked it with a hammer a few times. It provide a downward twisting force that reduced stripped screw heads and gave a massive twisting torque. Very few screws could resist that, especially after soaking with liquid wrench. Although sometimes the object the screws are stuck in would collapse if not careful.
 
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