MTFCA Forum

I just stirred the 50 / 50 mix of Acetone and ATF; I will check on the contents Monday or Tuesday to see if they're any easier to disassemble.

Bill

by Monday/Tuesday, it's going to be 100% ATF.

While it probably feels good to soak it, no more will get in than if you were to occasionally squirt some on. And keep the solution TIGHTLY covered with little airspace in the container...a canning jar works well...

FWIW - the only reason the arms need to move is if the tierod bushings are tilted and the tierod binds. I find that in about 1/2 the cars I work on, but not all the cars I work on. You may be needlessly trying to remove the arms?

My own experience with the 50-50 ATF/acetone mix, I could not see that it was any improvement over "Knock-R-loose" or "Liquid Wrench" if even as good. The acetone evaporates so rapidly it's problematic whether it has much effect. ATF doesn't seem to be very impressive as a penetrant. Perhaps a kerosene/ acetone mix would be better? I don't believe acetone is chemically reactive with rust, so what, exactly does it do, other than to reduce the viscosity of the ATF ?

Maybe Scott is being conservative about how fast the acetone will evaporate out of the mix. It may not take until Monday. The ATF will also sink to the bottom pretty quickly.

I keep the mix in a capped squeeze bottle to retard the evaporation and so I can shake it up before I squirt it on. So much acetone has disappeared from this batch that I'll need to add more before I use any more of the mix.

The whole idea behind the Acetone/ATF mix is to have the Acetone dilute the ATF and wick into all the small places where a thicker penetrant will not go. Then have the Acetone evaporate leaving the ATF behind. Soaking will not do much to free up parts. Frequent application of the mix will do much more.

This mix will NOT affect rust to any great degree. It will lubricate in areas that no other oil will reach. Project Farm on YouTube did a comparison and Liquid Wrench actually won.

My theory about the acetone is that acetone is a material that is a airomatic { might be the wrong word] such as pb blaster or other penetrants that have minty fumes. this carries into the rust and caries the oil with it. The best penetrating oil is pure peppermint oil Try it some time.