Thumbs-Up for PB Blaster

Drbrown

Well-known member
A 33 year old vehicle with 51,000 original miles .... original exhaust system parts. The front connection of the muffler had rotted away. Wanting to save as much of the exhaust system as possible, I disassembled the complete system, not including removal of the exhaust manifold.

To start, after reading forum posts about good experiences with PB Blaster, I sprayed about three coats of the PB to the clamps, pipes and muffler joints. Came back next morning and applied one more spray of PB. The clamps "squawked" a lot but did unbolt. Used a Saws-All to cut away the body of the muffler. At the two muffler pipe stub connections I used the Saws-All to cut a shallow grove along the top of the stub pipe and then used a small chisel to peel-away the rusted-on stub. Except for the clamps I was able to clean-up and reuse the pipes.

I realize there are competitive products but the PB sure worked for me.
 
PB Blaster sure smells funny though. I tried a can of Liquid Wrench just for something different. I replaced intake manifold carb studs recently, thought they were going to be trouble but they spun out as easy as can be after soaking overnight. PB Blaster is good stuff though. I like to soak whatever the part is and then smack it a few times with a hammer. Repeat. The idea is to shock those rust bonds into breaking and allow for better or quicker penetration. It does seem like even the good stuff needs some time to do its magic. Wait at least overnight and reapply before expecting results on badly corroded stuff.
 
I have used it to free stuck engines with great success. Bought a flood car one time and after blowing all the water out of cylinders engine was locked tight. Sprayed PB in the cylinders and let it sit a week. Hit the key and it spun free with no problem.
 
tools of the trade i guess......

PB Blaster is good stuff. The local salesman for PB came around years ago and tryed to sell us PB. Said put your hand out and i will spray some PB in your palm if you can keep it there i will give you a case of PB. If you cant you buy a case! needless to say you cant keep it in your hand , your body temp causes it to crawl into every crack in your hand and try to go up your arm!! I think of this everytime i use it, a little heat and some time and it will work very well for you......
 

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Wear rubber gloves when using it. Just used it to free some wishbone pins from an axle. One came right out after two days of soaking. The other needed a little help from a hand held torch and several soakings with PB.
 
I've heard good things about PB blaster but never found any locally to try. Had good luck with the GM product, Carbon-X. Right now I'm using Deep Creep which I think is made by the people that make Seafoam?. Currently soaking the manifold to pipe bolts on the 53 Merc in hopes of a break free disassembly soon.
Best old time penetrating oil I found was "Whiz Loosen-all" in a drip can you could just drip on the target. The cans I have are antiques now so I'm guessing the product is history as well.
 
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I've used a lot of that PB. And lately I've bought some Kroil. And I like soaking some things in the ATF/acetone.

But here's what I want to know. Has anybody ever seen where any of that stuff actually creeped down into really rusted or seized threads? I'll have to state that I haven't. Lately I had a common brake adjuster, the spindle with the star wheel. Totally stuck, I let it sit immersed in a jar for three weeks. Nothing.
 
My favorite is Kroil. I use whatever I can find in a pinch! Have heard that Acetone/ ATF is best in lab tests.
 
I mixed up a 50/50 batch of the Acetone & ATF, it wouldn't mix at all, except when shaken up and then only for just a second. Wonder if maybe there is a difference whether Dexron or type F is used?

Come to think of it "Ed's Red" is a similar recipe, but mixes up OK. Seems to me it has something to do with polar and non-polar solvents (whatever that means!)

Ed's Red is 1 part each of ATF, Acetone, Kerosene, and Stoddard Solvent. Was designed as a modern replacement for an old Frankfort Arsenal firearm cleaning/preservative recipe by Hatcher. Whale oil is getting tough to find, so ATF was the substitute. A small amount of lanolin is incorporated in as well but probably not necessary for penetrating oil purpose.
 
I too like PB Blaster and we use Aero Kroil on the airplanes. However, Consumer Reports did a study awhile back and recommends the cheapest as best. Liquid Wrench.
 
PB Blaster works well but the smell is nasty. I accidentently dinged a full can of it once and, after the can emptied is contents in every direction, the smell permeated the entire garage for weeks on end. Thought I would never hear the end of it from the missus.
 
And just in case folks don't know, you can buy a gallon for like 20 bucks at homedepot.

I bought the gallon can bundled with a metal can spray bottle at Home Depot. Before I had finished the initial fill of the spray bottle the sprayer gave up the ghost. I emailed the company and they sent a replacement spray head right away. Good stuff and great customer service IMO.
 
I too like PB Blaster and we use Aero Kroil on the airplanes. However, Consumer Reports did a study awhile back and recommends the cheapest as best. Liquid Wrench.


Liquid Wrench seems to be good stuff but I wouldn't take Consumer Report's word for it. They may do OK testing toasters and damp dish rags, but anything else, forget it!
 
I remember having a small metal (squeeze) can of Liquid Wrench left over from my Dad's days. It worked good but I used it up and I haven't seen it being sold in my vicinity.

By-the-gallon ??? What are you guys working on ? Although I don't un-seize motors I couldn't use a half gallon in my life time.
 
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