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Atf and acetone mix

grandpa Love

grandpa Love

Well-known Member
Seen it recommended on here many times.
Mix ATF and acetone 50/50 and pour it
in a stuck motor. Well..... This ain't
50/50 mix, but it's as I suspected, it
separates. So the ATF settles to the
bottom and is actually the only thing
doing anything. Not sure it actually
eats rust?
cvphoto141712.jpg

Not a great picture and not much
acetone. Only sat for a couple hours
after a vigorous shaking. Acetone also
evaporates fairly quickly..... Waste of
money?
 
That is one of those things that used to be,but is no longer so.All ATF is now synthetic based,and acetone won't mix with it.When ATF was all oil based,it would work as a mix.What was true 30 years ago is no longer true today.Like hot patches on inner tubes,they worked great on rubber tubes,if you try a hot patch on a modern tube it will just char the tube.
 

It has never been promoted to "eat rust". Yes, it will separate. Just shake it up when you use it. Doesn't matter that the acetone evaporates sometime after application. It's job is done at that point. The acetone merely helps the mixture creep into a joint because of less surface tension (or something like that).
 
Dont know about this todays stuff excuse, but it seperated back in the 80s too. Dad swore by it, but you had to mix and use it pretty fast. The concept, at least to him, was the acetone thinned the ATF enough to let it creep into places to break loose stuck parts, etc. About the only thing I ever found a use for ATF for, aside from putting it in an automatic transmission, is adding it to diesel to clean injectors, and once in an engine to help clean the oilly gunk left behind from a failed headgasket.
 
Well as for me i will stick with my Zep , yes it is expensive but it works vary well and a little shot goes a long way , If ya find something that is a little stubborn then a slight warming of the part and a couple dabs usually works well and when that fails then turn that item into a LIQUID and that always works.
 
ATF is also good to free up sticky valves. We had a livestock truck with a Ford 292 Y-block V8
that needed a quart of ATF in the gas tank every month or two. In between treatments it ran very well.
 
I mixed up some of that several years ago and poured into the stuck cylinders of a Mercury and also a Ford flathead. Well the oil is still in there hopefully working it's way down but those engines are still stuck tight as can be. Its been a few years. So does it not work or are these just extremely hard engines to break loose?
 
(quoted from post at 14:04:53 11/29/22) I don't care how much you shake it, it INSTANTLY separates the moment you stop shaking.

By the time you get the lid off and start pouring, all you get is straight acetone.
Click to expand...

Not my experience at all. Exaggerating a bit???
 
No concoction is 100% effective. Some cylinders are just rusted up so badly that the only way to get them apart is with brute force. Hammer and a hardwood block, up to a hydraulic press, even so far as cutting holes in the pistons with a torch if the block is that irreplaceable.
 
(quoted from post at 11:04:53 11/29/22) I don't care how much you shake it, it INSTANTLY separates the moment you stop shaking.

By the time you get the lid off and start pouring, all you get is straight acetone.
Click to expand...



I tried it once. It stayed mixed plenty long enough for me to get it where I wanted it. I used a squirt oil can. I outsmarted the physics, LOL.
 
I've got a Wally-World squirt bottle, and ever so often I dump in the remains of a brake fluid can, some ATF, the remaining liquid in a can of PB Blaster after I punch a hole in the top, etc. When I need some of the goop I just shake it up and spray iton. Seems to loosen rust pretty well.
 
Barney .... plus heat too of course. In any order you choose .....snake oil, force and heat. The only two that really do much are force and heat in my opinion. Oil works great if you wanna feel good about it and are convinced it works, as long as force and heat are there at the same time.
 
Ive used that mix on four different tractors in the last year and a half and it worked on three of the four. Had to pull the head off the fourth one to help break loose the piston that was stuck.
 
If you have the block out just turn it up and fill the cylinder with water and walk away till the water is gone. Piston will punch right out. We do it all the time with JD blocks with great success. .
 
My wifes grandpa from Oakland Neb was the best stationary mechanic around. He has dug engines up that were buried in the dirt. On the really stuck ones he would put water down the cylinder and put compressed air into the cylinder for how ever long it took. He said water stuck them and water will un stick them.
 
I popped this one loose using a 50/50 mix. I took the rockerarm shaft loose, made sure all the valves were closed and added pressure to the mix via my air hose and compression tester adapter. I had it loose in just over an hour, and running the next day.


cvphoto141747.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 15:02:10 11/29/22) If you have the block out just turn it up and fill the cylinder with water and walk away till the water is gone. Piston will punch right out. We do it all the time with JD blocks with great success. .
Click to expand...
I've had this Mercury flathead sitting on an engine stand in the shed for at least 3 years now with ATF+acetone sitting in the cylinders with the heads off. Not a hint of movement there. Might be time to add some more acetone as I'm sure its evaporated by now.
 
GP
I've never had to deal with a stuck motor caused by rust.
Have you tried using a cylinder hone to remove some rust?

Amazon sells flap sanders.
40 Pcs 1/4 Shank Abrasive Flap Wheel Sander, SHITIME Aluminum Oxide Cylindrical Shape Sanding Wheel for Removing and Polishing(80 Grit)

The sanding wheel set contains 8 sizes of flap wheel: 16mm, 20mm, 25mm, 30mm, 40mm, 50mm, 60mm, 80mm.Different sizes meet your various needs.

I bought a 1/4 extension to use flap sanders to clean up the inside of hydraulic cylinders.

Have you tried flap sanders?
 
I've mixed it and put it in a squirt oiler. You're right - the acetone seems to evaporate quickly. If I have something that is giving me trouble, I mix up a fresh batch for that particular ''emergency''. Another thing that I do - I dope it with ATV/acetone then squirt it with brake cleaner. I'm convinced that the brake cleaner helps the mixture penetrate into the problem area.
 
(quoted from post at 16:23:22 11/29/22) I popped this one loose using a 50/50 mix. I took the rockerarm shaft loose, made sure all the valves were closed and added pressure to the mix via my air hose and compression tester adapter. I had it loose in just over an hour, and running the next day.


<img src=https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto141747.jpg>
Click to expand...


That sounds like an easy low stress low potential damage method!!
 
(quoted from post at 12:26:04 12/04/22) I found that out early on. I use 50-50 diesel fuel and ATF. Works great.
Click to expand...


You may as well use just one or the other. There is not enough difference between the two for one to make the other work any better.
 
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