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Discovered the WD-40 and zip tie trick for a stuck brake bleeder valve
Picked up a 1978 Honda CB750 from a guy in Phoenix last spring. The brake bleeder valves were totally seized, rounded off even. After two days of PB Blaster and heat gun with zero luck, I tried spraying WD-40 on a zip tie and wrapping it tight around the valve, then tapped it with a hammer. Let it sit for an hour, and it cracked loose with a regular wrench after that. Has anyone else got a weird hack for rusted fasteners that actually worked?
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ryanf663mo ago
Wait, wait. You wrapped a wet zip tie around a bleeder valve, let it dry, and it cracked loose? That doesn't make sense to me. Zip ties are plastic, they don't grip metal like that. And WD-40 isn't a penetrant, it's a water displacer. I've been wrenching on old bikes for 15 years and never heard that one. Are you sure it wasn't just the heat from the hammer taps that did it? I'm calling bullsht on this one, dude.
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lily_stone763mo ago
Tried this once on a stuck caliper bolt, @ryanf66, and yeah it was the heat that saved me.
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