Penetrating Oil : Rusty Bolts on Rear Suspension Trailing Arm Brackets
 

Hi All,

Hopefully a few members will have had experience of dropping the trailing arms in order to refresh or renew Rear Suspension parts and will have been faced with rusty bolts as per the attached photos.

I am planning have most of the rear suspension serviced in a few weeks and want to get feedback from people who have faced or done this when the rust seems bad and there is a need to apply penetrating Oil in advance.

So the question is what is the best Penetrating Oil / Product you have used to remove similar bolts and how have you applied it in advance, spray once a few days in advance or every couple of days over say a week. Also is it possible to gain access to spray around the captive nuts on the non visible side of the trailing arm bracket.

This is feeling like mission impossible but I know the Bolts are of a very high quality steel and assume the captive nuts are likewise to the rust that it visible it just excessive surface rust (I hope).

Experiences and advice welcome as I am sure many more members are about to face this kind of maintenance in the relatively near future.Attachment 75005

Attachment 75006

Attachment 75007

A good wire brush first and I've always used plus gas with great results and decent impact sockets good luck.

And for those who don't recognise the part and location this may assist.

I've gone for a spray every few hours or at least twice a day but I'm never sure if penetrating oil has ever worked.

either the bolts come undone easily or they are still as seized as seized can be

macafee2

Hi Mike,

I'd suggest Plus Gas over WD40.

And if you can attack with a small toohbrush size wire brush beforehand that always helps.... or even a big wirebrush if you can get in there.

Probably overkill but a spray every few days too, if you have the time before the tool kit comes out, and assuming you have "easy" access to the offending parts.

Good luck!

John


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As already suggested wire brush first then spray every day for about a a week, just soak them, as for the best penetrating oil its down to you, I've had good experience with 3 in 1 penetrating oil and it smells nice (lemons) I've also used a home made concoction of cellulose thinners mixed with automatic gearbox oil , in a 50/50 mix in a spray bottle, which was excellent, if none of these work then you could resort to gentle heat using one of the mini gas torches heating the area around the bolt , don't know how successful this will be as you are not heating the area directly because of the plate, then next step is to concentrate heat on the bolt and go through a couple of heat cycles then use penetrating oil on it if you have the time, remember slow and steady.

I always use wd40 and tf2 spray it daily for a week before trying to undo the bolts, once loosened, keep spraying! As soon as the bolt becomes tight - spray some more then re tighten before loosening again.

Repeat the process each time the bolt becomes tight.

Another vote for Plusgas, 6 point socket and patience ;)
Used it for years with very good results.
A good wire brush and then two or three days of soaking in Plusgas has always worked for me.

Failing that, heating the said nut or bolt is the way........if you can get access.

Pleased to say the Plus Gas did the trick with all the bolts that had been sprayed the week before. I'm definitely ensuring that I always have a ton of it to hand for the future. Recommend to fellow members.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Glad it worked for you.... always satisfying to get the job done!
Cheers
John