Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I am installing a new gearbox o my Ariens 924050. I am replacing the original Aluminum box after close to 30 years. To my question ~ I cannot budge the fan (impeller) from the original worm shaft. A brand new o ne is under $100. Should i just install a new one and give up on getting the original of the shaft? I have tried pb blaster and a torch without luck. Ideas, suggestions?

An improvement over PBlaster or Liquid Wrench for a lot less money: Mix equal parts acetone and ATF (the plain old red stuff). Apply with a chip brush. Besides working better than the spray cans, it's much cheaper and you can soak parts in it.

The downside is the acetone evaporates fast so it doesn't store well, but if you mix it in a clean salsa jar and mark the level on the outside you can add just acetone next time to bring it back to the same level.

BillH, how does your rust buster formula work once applied? Doesn't the acetone evaporate quickly?

Sure, but they all do. If you look at the MSDS for any of the commercial products, you'll see that penetrating oil is nothing but a light oil that has been mixed with a solvent which will help it penetrate. Acetone is a great solvent, and ATF is a high detergent oil. Machinists have been using this mixture for years.

BTW, reading the MSDS will also explain why WD-40 is not a good lubricant.