Distributor Stew Anyone?

[leo]

I've read so many good things lately about using vinegar in a crock pot to cook the rust and grease off small metal parts that I'm thinking about throwing several of my old distributor cores into a crock pot and seeing how they come out. They are stripped of all the internal parts. My question is will boiling them in vinegar do any damage to the cast iron? Anyone out there try this?

[silversink]

Maybe test it on an old manifold piece or maybe an old wheel-cyl.

[machine girl]

I think the neighbors would complain if we started boiling vinegar in the shop(must really smell?)

[Brian T]

You do not need to boil it , just warmed up , you will have to degrease them first.

[leo]

I don't know at what temperature vinegar boils but I know that my crock pot will get water to boil even on a low setting.

[V8COOPMAN]

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A typical distilled white vinegar containing 5% acetic acid (and 95% water) will boil at about 100.6 degrees Celsius (213 F). DD

[Marshall57]

I have been into remote control airplanes for years, and a trick to cleaning the aluminum engines was to put antifreeze into a crock pot and to cook them from a few hours to over night.
It didn't hurt them and degreased them and even loosened the burnt on stuff to the point where you could clean everything with water and a tooth brush.
I don't know how it would work on other parts but might be worth a try.

[Joe K]

I myself favor the "electrolytic method" of rust removal. I use lye (used to be available but not so much now due to the drug connection) in a weak solution as my electrolyte.

There has been some going back and forth on the board between all the different methods - you can see all this discussion if you search "rust removal" on the forum.

Hey, everyone has their fave. Molasses even - which I can't understand how it could work - but it apparently does.

I will say if you use vinegar, use something that will "neutralize" the acid afterwards. Maybe dust with baking soda or even lawn lime? And then rinse off in distilled water? (no ions to contribute to electrolytic action which either acidic or basic chemistry is wont to allow.)

Good luck with this. My mind goes back to my first distributor housing cleaned using a wire wheel on the outside, and (imperfectly) a small cup brush wheel on the inside.

Now I have a glass bead cabinet...bought on sale at Harbor Freight.

Life is good when you have "toys."

Joe K

[Growley bear]

I have had very good results cleaning rust from wheels, distributor housings, steering gear boxes and nuts and bolts with cold vinegar.
I recently tried a very rusty cylinder head for a four day cold vinegar soak and when I removed it to check progress I was not happy. Upon brushing part of the gasket surface with my stainless bristle brush I noticed that the metal surface seemed soft and left scratches as if it was hard clay. I pressure washed it and it can be saved but the moral of the story is that I will check my parts in vinegar much more closely and frequently. I soaked the head cold in a large covered plastic pan completely submerged and noticed a slow bubbling action during the process. Maybe a warning that the cast iron didn't like the vinegar? I have read that a by product of this process is hydrogen gas. I don't know how to test for that short of an explosion. I was always cautious with this process but am even more careful these days.

Chet

[Rex_A_Lott]

Moderation is the key to this method! I ruined a good Holley carburetor because I left it in there too long.
Goog Luck.

[mrraford]

My Momma would have turned this into a dill pickle recipe by now.
Those cast iron cucumbers just need a little flavoring.

[leo]

Question for Marshall57. Does heating antifreeze to boiling give off any dangerous gas either to inhale or explode? I have to ask because there are many types of antifreeze and I have no idea of what they are blended of......

[Wick]

The smell of hot vinegar in my Neighborhood = Someone is Steaming Crabs!