Penetrating fluids?

tonyaandralph · Nov 17, 2009

I have an IH 2444 with a wide front end on it. I would like to move the front end wheels closer together. It is nothing more than two cylinders that slide in and out of the front end frame. The problen is the took out the bolt that holds them in place and they won't budge in or out. I used a small torch with a sledge hammer. Also put a pipe wrench on it with a cheater bar. I got nowhere, it didn't move at all. What kind of lubricant could I put on it to free it up.

glennster · Nov 17, 2009

spray em up good with pb blaster, kroil,or liquid wrench and let em soak, spray em for a couple days. i got my m loose by parking between two trees, chain one endof the axle to one tree and hook up a come along to the other side to the other tree and pull em apart. some guys will use a tractor to pull em apart, i didnt have the gumption to try that. may need a little banging on the axle tubes too.

Old Ford Mechanic · Nov 17, 2009

If i were to use a lubricant or penetrant it would Kroil made by Kano lab. However most of the time when you get axles stuck like you've described a lot of heat and BIG PERSUADER will be required.Heat it up red hot and get after it with the hammer.If it does'nt move let it cool down and try again with hammer.Several attemps may be needed before it will move.If you can get it apart clean it up will a wire brush on a side grinder and coat it with a good anti-seize compound before reinstalling.Turning it the pipewrench might help also but, don't get hurt with the cheater pipe.

730d se · Nov 17, 2009

I have used good old water to loosen those rusted parts. It does not have the smell or the marketing to make you think it is a wrench in a can, and to top it off, it is much cheaper.
Some of the canned stuff is OK, but it has tricks such as effervescence (bubbles) to make it appear to be creeping in to a tight joint, when in fact it may only be wetting the outside area.

SARG · Nov 18, 2009

I just read a post elsewhere yesterday about this subject. It was a study on the actual benefits or effectiveness of the popular penetrating fluids.

The next to best was the liquid wrench ( rated almost twice as effective as the PB Blaster. The kroil was rated a little better but much more expensive )) and the very best was a home made solution of a 50-50 mix of ATF and Acetone.

hay · Nov 18, 2009

Be very careful with Acetone. DO NOT BREATHE the fumes or it will make you very lightheaded and sick. For a penetrating fluid I use either Pure undiluted antifreeze OR a mix of ATF, Kerosine and light weight oil. Either of these will do a very good job of penetrating and freeing up stuck parts. Acetone is some really bad stuff to be around.

SARG · Nov 18, 2009

Here's the information mentioned before..........

Penetrating oil ..... Average load*

None ............ ......... 516 pounds
WD-40 ............ ...... 238 pounds
PB Blaster ............ . 214 pounds
Liquid Wrench ..... 127 pounds
Kano Kroil ............ 106 pounds
ATF-Acetone mix....53 pounds

*The ATF-Acetone mix was a "home brew" mix of
50 - 50 automatic transmission fluid and acetone.*

*Note the "home brew" was better than any commercial product in this one
particular test. Our local machinist group mixed up a batch and we all
now use it with equally good results. Note also that "Liquid Wrench" is
about as good as "Kroil" for about 20% of the price. *

JDB · Nov 18, 2009

Womens nail polish remover is acetone

cd1 · Nov 18, 2009

since you might make sure that the axle is not bent a little and holding them in. make sure all your bolts a loose and a sledge hammer is about the way to go there. its going to give the shock you need to bust them loose. penetrating oil has its place but it works a heck of a lot better when you have atleast some movement... i wouldn't waste my time with the torch, maybe if you have a big heating tip for it

Cameron Smith · Nov 21, 2009

I had to replace a tie rod end on a tractor that refused to slide out of its tube. Tried every penetrating oil around-nothing! Heated it cherry red and pulled with a comealong while hitting it with a hammer-no deal! We finally slit the tube lengthwise with a cutoff wheel and it came free. After cleaning out the rust, we coated the new rod with never seize compound, ran a bead of weld along the cut, and put it back together. It"s held fine for 3 years now on a 65 horse diesel with a loader.

tonyaandralph · Nov 29, 2009

Thanks for all the help. I used a couple ideas. I chained it between 2 stumps, heated it up, and while keeping tension on it with a comealong hit it with a sledge hammer.

Took about 2 hours to get the left side out. The right side wasn't stuck, just removed the bolts holding it and it slid out.

Photos here,

http://picasaweb.google.com/tonyaandralph0/Tractor#

Thanks again,
Ralph

cd1 · Nov 30, 2009

that looks alright, quite the color choice, it really stands out. but in your album with the tractor it shows your using a come-a-long for the top link for the hitch and also to hold the tractor on the trailer. neither are good ideas. a come along is not designed to hold a load to a trailer and that one you have is not nearly strong enough. also using it on the top link is a good way to end up with a trailer crushing you when the hitch rocks the whole way up onto the back of the tractor. i didnt want to say anything and someone get mad but i'd rather you be mad than dead

tonyaandralph · Nov 30, 2009

(quoted from post at 09:08:58 11/30/09) that looks alright, quite the color choice, it really stands out. but in your album with the tractor it shows your using a come-a-long for the top link for the hitch and also to hold the tractor on the trailer. neither are good ideas. a come along is not designed to hold a load to a trailer and that one you have is not nearly strong enough. also using it on the top link is a good way to end up with a trailer crushing you when the hitch rocks the whole way up onto the back of the tractor. i didnt want to say anything and someone get mad but i'd rather you be mad than dead

No problem, I was just seeing if I ever had to move it if I could. Since then I have a hitch that I could use that keeps it away from me. Thanks for looking.

Penetrating fluids?

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