Help with seized parts

[Scott__M]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and am hoping someone might be able to lend a hand...

I have a couple of ooold Crouse Hinds explosion proof lights that I am trying to refurbish...problem is they are seized up pretty tight.

I have tried all the "basics" on getting them apart...I have:

-applied penetrating oil (not WD-40)
-tapped with a hammer
-used a torch to heat up the outer parts
-waved a dead chicken over a picture of Bea Arthur

I'm now looking for tips on freeing up stuck cast aluminum. I have done a lot of reading and it seems that two pieces of aluminum will essentially bond together due to the formation of aluminum oxide...

I have read that ammonia can dissolve aluminum oxide so my next attempt will be to soak the parts in ammonia and hope for the best.

If anyone has any other ideas...I'm open to hearing them.

Thanks in advance for anything you can send my way.

Scott

 

[CJM8515]

Heat it up, melt a candle over the affected area. Betcha it comes apart.

 

[kbs2244]

You are talking where two large peices meet?
Not screws into the AL?

I never heard of the ammonia idea.
Let us know if it works.

 

[plott hound]

stuck aluminum is a ***** to get apart.try throwing it in the freezer and thawing it out repeatedly and see if that breaks it lose.

 

[AndrewV]

Freezer, rappid rise in heat.
Viniger bath, then penatrating oil.

Several things you can do, but a pia regardless.

 

[Dagny]

aluminum if exposed to the elements is bad it's not aluminum anymore just white powder any kind of threads forget it.

 

[G_P]

Is the glass still in them? If so any rapid heating and cooling may shatter it.

 

[TheEquineFencer]

Somewhere I remember something about soaking the aluminum in something that rust and eats the steel really fast if it the screws holding it together. I wish I could remember what it was. Maybe it was Alum.

 

[toolslut6.0]

Get some lock tight brand freeze spray. Heat up the part with the torch. Then shock it with the freeze spray. Should come loose.

 

[Radio Flyer]

Loctite "freeze and release"

used it on fuel injectors, but I have no experience with aluminum.

 

[TheEquineFencer]

Petty much everyone has been there, that gut wrenching moment when you snap off a bolt, or even worse, a tap into your crankcases or some other expensive and hard to replace part. I always had a bear of a time removing things like taps and bolts, maybe I'm just a little ham fisted or maybe I just don't have (and won't pay) for the right tools. Well luckily a little science solves all our problems.

You can dissolve ferrous metals out of non-ferrous metals (such as aluminum, bronze, etc.) with alum (potassium aluminum sulfate). It's a sour tasting pickling spice sold at grocery stores (try your local food co-op) that helps crisp pickled vegetables.

Submerge the offending part into a pyrex dish (you don't want to do this in a steel pot!!!) full of a solution of 4tbsp alum to 1 cup water (as much as you need to completely cover the bolt hole), I then placed the pyrex dish into a pot full of nearly boiling water and let it go. Heat is ESSENTIAL, or the alum won't dissolve. You'll see the steel part start to bubble a little bit (it's letting off pure oxygen) as the alum goes to town.

This isn't the fastest process in the world, it took me about 12 hours before enough of the tap dissolved to get it out. You could probably drill out the center of a bolt to help remove the bulk of the metal and then use the alum to dissolve away the rest leaving perfectly preserved threads. You can also either let it go until the part is completely dissolved, or you can speed things up by breaking little bits off with a sharp pick every hour or so.

The real draw is that there's relatively minimal labor involved, it's really cheap (~$3 per application), totally safe and odorless (let the solution get cold and the alum will form into big crystals you can just save or throw away), and really hard to mess up. Plus if your threads aren't already ruined up, they will be perfectly preserved!

Hope this helps someone out!
(copied from another website)