It helps to be a BITOGER!

[George7941]

I had the inner aluminium wheel seized on to the hub and no amount of pounding the tire with a sledge hammer was going to get it out. I also applied generous amounts of WD40. The truck is a 2004 and these aluminium wheels have never been removed since they were installed at the Freightliner assembly line. The winter salt used on roads creates tremendous corrosion.

I used a procedure that has been recommended on BITOG a number of times. I drove the truck with this one wheel on and two nuts loosely installed and braked hard and I noticed that the wheel had rotated a bit on the hub. It is a hub-piloted wheel. Another five minutes of pounding with the sledge finally got the wheel off.

You can see the corrosion caused by the salt. I installed the wheel after grinding off the corrosion and applying antiseize and also used this nylon wheel protector.

Thanks, BITOG!

 

[stockrex]

Good Job,
I wish they would put some anti-seize on the mating surfaces from factory,

 

[daman]

Anti-seize on the hub to rim, and nylon wheel protectors in between the duals,they corrode and hydro lock if not used and VERY hard to get the lugs off.

 

[cmf]

WD40 doesn't do anything for seized on parts, it's real purpose is anti-corrosion and WD stands for water displacement. Try PB blaster in the future. Or at least some penetrating lubricant.

Good to hear you got it off.

 

[George7941]

My take on WD40 is that it is not much of a lubricant(do not use it to lubricate locks, it actually washes away any existing lubrication) but it is a pretty good penetrant because it is so thin. Isn't WD40 the original penetrating oil?

 

[eljefino]

That's awesome! Glad you didn't have to do donuts in a potholed parking lot.

 

[roadrunner1]

Just remember to use the aluminum never-sieze, not the copper based I used for a while. My shoulder hurts just thinking about it.

 

[cmf]

Originally Posted By: George7941
My take on WD40 is that it is not much of a lubricant(do not use it to lubricate locks, it actually washes away any existing lubrication) but it is a pretty good penetrant because it is so thin. Isn't WD40 the original penetrating oil?


February 2, 2008
Machinist's Workshop V20 number 2, April/May 2007, page 35

Article: “Testing Penetrating oils”
This reports a test of penetrating oils where they measured
the force required to loosen rusty test devices. The
details reported here were validated by the original
article author. He also added some details on the methods.
You must buy the issue if you want to see how they did the
test. The back issue is available for purchase.
The table below extracts the results table The lower the
number of pounds the better. Interesting that a simple mix
of acetone and power steering fluid (PSF) works the best!


Penetrating oil - Average load -Price per fluid ounce
None ...............516 pounds -- 0
WD-40 ..............238 pounds --$0.25
PB Blaster..........214 pounds --$0.35
Liquid Wrench ......127 pounds --$0.21
Kano Kroil .........106 pounds --$0.75
PSF-Acetone mix ....53 pounds ---$0.10 (50/50 mix)

Note from original article author:
1) These are loads required to free the test piece after
8 hours of immersion in penetrating oil. This is
probably not representative of a quick squirt just
before a wrench is applied.

For long soak time really stuck on parts I use Liquid Wrench because it's readily available. PB Blaster is about as good as WD40 according to that test but I find it's much better better for rusted on parts that don't need a long soak time.

I really have yet to find a good use for WD40. It's decent for a lot of things but it seems like there are always items that are better.

I did notice I said "doesn't do anything", sorry that's not what I meant. It definitely does something. I just have found that if a part is stuck on, I spray it with WD40 and leave it overnight, it's still stuck tomorrow. Spray that same part with Liquid Wrench and leave it overnight and it moves the next day.

 

[stockrex]

cmf,
thanks for the post.

 

[Texan4Life]

wow thats a 2004? the rust looks the same as late 80's early 90's vehicles around here. i knew salt was bad, but dayum!

 

[George7941]

The photos seems to have exaggerated the amount of rust. It really isn't as bad as it looks in the photos.

Yypically new cars will go for about eight years before the first paint bubbling from rust occurs. Holes will appear at around twelve to fifteen years of age.This is without Krown or other rust protection.

 

[sr17]

My absolute favorite penetrating and rust protecting oil is Corrosion X - but it can be hard to find.