Acetone to atf mixing ratio

[marc silva]

Does anyone have the mixing ratio of acetone to ATF I think it was to loosen rusty bolts? It was in a recent copy of the Restorer but I am not at home to look it up. Thanks

[RockHillWill]

I cannot speak to what others are doing, but 50-50 has worked very well for me.

[marc silva]

Originally Posted by marc silva

Does anyone have the mixing ratio of acetone to ATF I think it was to loosen rusty bolts? It was in a recent copy of the Restorer but I am not at home to look it up. Thanks

Thanks. Do you think that it will work on some head studs? They look pretty rusted up and I have had to drill some out before but I really don't like doing that if I don't have to. I am re-building an engine and am in no hurry so I have time to let it soak in.

[Ron/IA]

I too, have used the 50-50 ratio. One thing is the acetone will evaporate out of the ATF; so you need to replenish it.

One thing that helps is to take some plumbers putty and make a little dam around each stud. It keeps the solution concentrated around the stud. Then just keep adding if needed.

[LopezCarguy]

50/50 works just fine...does work better than anything else I've tried including PB Blaster...Dick

[Tiny]

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50/50 works great. Make the well like Ron said and just let it soak. Forget about it for a week or two. Just keep replenishing the mix so it always wet. Don't get impatient. Time is your friend.
Good luck

[Brian in Wheeling]

When I recently tried this I mixed by eyeball, about 50/50 Acetone and some old, unused ATF I had in a quart bottle. Shook it up and it looked milky pinkish. When set back down, the two began to separate! Is this normal to have to shake up before you use it? I stored it in a glass bottle with a screw top, so no evaporation. I've had good luck with a product called Kano Kroil and have been using it for over a decade.

Brian W.

[fiddlybits]

I find the a much better ratio is 1:1.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I also mix it 50/50 and have to shake it up before each use.
Another method has been used with success, and that is to heat the stud and as it cools melt some wax against it, so it will wick down into the threads.

[ford3]

after soaking the bolt hit the head of it several times to send a shock down the bolt to loosen the rust , on head nuts take 2 hammers, good sizes ball peens, hold one hammer agaist the nut as a back up while you smack the other side, do that all the way the nut, what this does is distort the nut a little and breaks the rust bond between the nut and stud, use the 50-50 mix and smack the nuts several times a day if you have time

[BudP]

I have used 50-50 acetone-ATP on head studs, manifold studs and water pump studs. Works better than Kroil in my experience. Haven't broken a stud yet (knock on wood). I heat the stud, apply the mixture, put a block of wood on top of the stud, whack the wood, try to turn the stud in either direction, and repeat the process the next day, the next day, etc., until I get a little movement. Once I get movement, I "own" that stud. Good thing I'm not getting paid for my time!

[marc hildebrant]

Note: "Ed's Red" is a mixture of equal parts acetone, kerosene, ATF, and paint thinner.

Used to clean gun parts and helps with stuck bolts.

Marc

[nhusa]

I use a 75:75 mixture - It is significantly better than 1:1 or 50-50

But the 25-25-25-25 mixture sounds interesting


Seriously -
In practice any oil based fluid mixture with a low surface tension will work because it will attempt to force it's way into any creavice it can find. Mixing a bit more acetone with the ATF might help in some cases because it wil stay wetter longer and the surface tension may be a bit lower.

The kerosene, acetone, paint thinner mix reminds me of how kerosene will seemingly soak into the surface of cast iron and it takes a bit longer to evaporate than acetone etc. Heat can certainly help because it lowers the viscosity of the oil and the expansion - contraction will help open the space up a bit.

Additionally the keeping ot wet tricks using Plumbers putty etc. make a lot of sense!

[Ron W]

I've heard that 3 to 3 also works well! Ron W

[nhusa]

Originally Posted by Ron W

I've heard that 3 to 3 also works well! Ron W

Ron that's a skimpy mixture - That's why I prefer 75 -75

[Ron W]

It's for use on small bolts and you don't have too much left over . Ron W

[nhusa]

Oh now I understand.

When I get stuck, I wait until I am in big trouble before admitting it so I need a lot of stuff.

[BillLee/Chandler, TX]

Everybody is a

[fiddlybits]

Do you guys have a 15/17" wrench and a glass headed ball pean hammer for precision adjustments also?

(Thanks for the chuckles)


Now, seriously.... in this day and age of equality.... the mix must contain an equal amount of ATF and acetone. We must have equality and PC, don'tchaknow...

I have also found that ATF and MEK works just as well. (MEK available by the gallon at ACE Hardware)

[karasmer]

The object is to get the liquid between the two sufaces, I heard that kroil oil is 50 times thinner than WD-40, now what would be the thinnest as far as viscosity be, plain water is very thick. I use any kind of spray lube laying around with some heat from a map torch and usually always have success removing any rusted parts, still looking for the thinnest liquid on earth though?