I try stuff so you don't have to

Been a while since I did one of these...5 years? Been a while since I posted on Usenet. But, here goes!

Fluid Film. I bought some of this stuff because it is illegal in Mass to spray your car with hydraulic oil, although that has never stopped me before. But I did buy some and sprayed the Scion to hopefully keep it from rusting out. One drawback: it's made from "Woll Lanolin" which I assume is sheep dip. It smells like a rendering plant I used to pass on the way to work. It takes a few MONTHS before the smell goes away.

It is also billed as a lubricant and penetrant, and the description says it soaks into the rust scales to the base metal and STOPS the rusting of the base metal. OK, but it will take 12-14 years to see if it works...

But I bought a couple more cans at a Mazda dealer because they were half price and the front crossmember on my 89 Mazda was starting to rust. We'll see. I also sprayed around the car on any bolts, etc I think I might have to remove, and other places where the paint had worn away and rust was starting.

While I was under the car I noticed the shift linkage, which is a metal rod ala VW was rusting at the U joint, so I sprayed it. I went inside, had a snack and a cup of coffee, and about half an hour later went out to go to the store. The shifter was a bit stiffer than it had been before. The shifter in this car was REALLY sloppy, but now not as much. Still not tight, but it doesn't rattle in 4th gear anymore... ;)

So, I'm thinking...there must have been some bushings in there....hmmmm...

What does wool lanolin do to rubber....? After a wekk the shifter was still nice and smooth, so I called the company. On their website the FAQ says it will swell rubber, but nothing more. So I asked if it deteriorates rubber, and the girl (very nice, BTW) said, no, it will make it swell, but not deteriorate it.

COOL!

I jack up the rear of the car and put the ramps under it.

My rear bushings have been bad since I bought the car in 2006, and you cannot buy the bushings. You have to buy all the links, at a total of about $900. A smooth firm ride on a 24 year old car with 218,880 miles is NOT a concern, but it would be nice.

I sprayed all the bushings and let the car sit for about an hour, then took it out for a test drive. Now, it didn't ride like a new car, but a LOT of the slop in ther rear suspension is GONE! If they repair cracks in the asphalt in your area by spraying tar into them, you know the tar swells and makes the road really bumpy. I took it down one of these and while not smooth as silk, I barely noticed going over the cracks like I did before. And on a smooth road the car is a real pleasure to drive. Also, on the highway, anything above 60 MPH felt dicey, loose and not very safe. Now 70 MPH is no problem.

This is just a test, and we'll see what happens in the coming months, but as long as it doesn't deteriorate the rubber I don't see it being a problem!

Reply to
Hachiroku ハチロク
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That's pretty much the idea of 'sealant additives".

Degrades the seal material so it swells, which works for at least some amount of time. Here's the first search result:

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One might argue that 'aging' is cured by restoring lost volatile components of the polymer seal. I don't think that's right, but then again I'm not selling sealer.

Reply to
AMuzi

The problem is that there are hundreds of very different products with completely unrelated chemistry, which people collectively call "rubber." They all behave differently, fail differently, and react to solvents differently.

For some viscoelastic materials, vinyl for instance, they can fail due to loss of plasticizer making them brittle and adding plasticizer to them can soften them and help.

For others, urethanes for instance, they mostly fail by the long chain molecules breaking apart into smaller ones and turning into goo, and there is nothing to be done about it.

For natural latex rubber, it mostly fails by becoming brittle, but that brittle is caused by oxidation and crosslinking, not loss of some plasticizing agent.

This is why you should be very wary of all these magic products that somehow are treatments for all "rubber" materials. Some might be very good on one material and terrible on another, and you don't know until it's too late.

Sadly, BMW has discontinued gummipflege, which worked very well on the window and door gasket materials used by that manufacturer (but did no good for their air hoses).

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

Gummi Pflege is made by Einszett ("1Z") and I just bought some last fall on the recommendation of some BMW guys. I used to wipe silicone into my door seals but they spoke so highly of the stuff that I figured I ought to give it a try. I haven't noticed any ill effects yet, although I can't think that I've actually had the car in a freezing rain to see if it works as well as silicone to keep door seals from freezing shut.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

you bought some but you have no idea if it works. iow, another completely useless post from the king of useless posts.

Reply to
jim beam

I was pointing out to the OP that it was still available, that it wasn't a BMW product, and was giving him the manufacturer name in case he wants to find a source for it since he seemed to like it.

You may find that useless, but I was trying to help Scott, not to entertain you.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

Well, the stuff I bought worked for a while, but now the bushings are beginning to get back to 'normal' again.

I can't buy just bushings, so what can I do to replace them. The car has

221000 miles on it, not worth $999 for all new suspension parts, which is the only way to get the bushings. But it runs well and the engine is strong, still gets 31 MPG. Would be nice to have a smooth suspension...
Reply to
Hachiroku ハチロク

so the next question is whether the frame has rust, and how much would it cost to replace the vehicle?

and what about all the urethane suspension kits you can get on ebay?

Reply to
jim beam

The car has very, very little rust. It came from Florida and I oiled it as soon as I got my hands on it, and every other year since. It runs quite well, and if roads are smooth as glass it's a joy to drive.

The biggest issue is that I stopped changing the oil. I don't have to.

I have to add a quart every three days. It's not burning it (except for a small amount of valve seal blow-by on starting) and it's not leaking. I have rel=paced the valve cover gasket and that slowed it down. I'm thinking oil pan gasket...

The only other somewhat problem is the R-12 AC isn;t working.

Knew I shoulda bought that 60LB can for $80 when I had the chance!

Reply to
Hachiroku ハチロク

Thanks for this. I have a complete set of polyurethane bushings for the Supra and have to do the HG before I get them in. I got a complete set for the cost of one control arm (you can't get the bushings for the front lower control arms...you have to buy the whole thing...)

Reply to
Hachiroku ハチロク

No, he didn't. Rubber bushings were only available from Toyota at a very high price. Polys weren't a lot easier to find for this year (88) but I was able to order them through AutoZone for 1/4 the price of OEM bushings.

But I didn't realize about the squeaking. I can't STAND a car that squeaks, for ANY reason, so I will try rubbing the bushings with graphite before installing them.

Yes, he did. Thanks.

Reply to
Hachiroku ハチロク

if it's not burning and it's not leaking, you really have something amazing - you should drive it over to fermi-lab p.d.q. - you might have a black hole or a spacetime wormhole going on!

I

you used to be able to, at considerable expense, buy "recycled" r12. check into whether you still can. but i'm sure that it'll be even more expensive today. conversion to 134 isn't that expensive. especially not if you do it yourself. the money you save on diy should more than pay for a vacuum pump.

Reply to
jim beam

polyurethane squeak. if the bushings you're getting are rubber, you won't need to worry about it.

graphite might work, but i'd use silicone. dow molykote 44 [or 33?] works very well.

Reply to
jim beam

It (graphite) does; I don't know how much is actually required but I liberally applied it so that the moving surface of the bushing turned from red (color of the material) to a uniform "lead" pencil color. I had it, it was inexpensive, and if it *didn't* work removing the control arms on the subject car was a 30 minute job, so I had nothing to lose by the experiment. I didn't have to take it apart ever again though - I drove the snot out of that car for years afterward in all kinds of weather with nary a creak.

Haven't tried Molykote, but whatever grease PST shipped with their bushing kits back in the day (circa 1997ish) didn't work worth a rodent's rosy red. Everything tightened up nicely and in normal driving you wouldn't notice anything unusual, but I did cuss a little under my breath going over speed bumps and driveway aprons.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

That's what I was thinking. Just change it over.

Reply to
Hachiroku ハチロク

Thanks, both for the suggestions.

As of right now, I need to do the head gasket. And mice got in it, and I cannot get the smell out. :( I have half the interior out, and was going to at some point take the whole interior out and do what little rust work has to be done. So, I'm halfway there...

The suspension will wiat for a while, I guess.

Reply to
Hachiroku ハチロク

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