WD40 - Penetrating oil ?

Is WD40 a good penetrating oil to use on a stubborn sheet metal screw that is located inside an electric walloven ? I am wondering what the odor will be when I eventually light this oven off once again ? Will the WD40 eventually evaporate? I hope that it will before being heated by the oven.

Problem is also that the screw is located at the top inside surface of the oven; so, the WD40 is not going to be sucked upward, is it ?

I have the whole oven now out of the wall cabinet. Thinking that I might be able to rotate the oven 180 degrees vertically, and then squirt some WD40.

The screw is a cross-tip Phillips and somewhat stripped now, and is one of two screws that secure the Broil element to the oven ceiling. UGH !

All this effort to remove the broil (top) element in a (1974 era) Whirlpool single oven and I am now at a standstill.

de ~ Vince ~ :Long Island:

.
Reply to
Vince
Loading thread data ...

You may be able to grip the head of the screw with vise-grips and free it. Another good option is to use a Dremel tool with a "cutoff wheel" and cut a slot across the mangled screwhead that can then be used with a straight blade screw driver. This can even work on a countersunk screw that cannot be grabbed with vice-grips.

Reply to
Mys Terry

Go ahead and use the WD-40. wont hurt a thing. And will not create to much of a smell if you burn it off.

Reply to
tinacci336

Get you some PB Blaster. WD40 sucks the bag. It's just yuppified kerosene.

Reply to
Steve Barker LT

screw

what the

Will

being

surface of

?

that I

then

and is

ceiling.

era)

wd40 is not penetrating oil. try kroil

formatting link

Reply to
Kathy

I'll bet real penetrating oil would flow upward but I also bet you'd be smelling it for a while afterward.

Recently an aircraft mechanic showed me how he gets phillips head screws out. First off he said he never uses a chrome tipped screwdriver. He uses the hardened tip kind - black on the end. Then when a screw head started to strip he would put valve grinding compound on the tip of the screw driver to make it grip. I have had great luck with this technique, especially with 'somewhat stripped' heads.

Tom

V>

Reply to
Tom McQuinn

Reply to
Don Young

sheet metal screw in an interior oven panel probably wouldnt take the impact too well......

Get a pair of vise grips and remove the screw....go back with a larger screw.......

Use rubbing alcohol to remove any traces of penetrating oil.......

Reply to
cornytheclown

I agree . Not sure what WD 40 is good for around most houses. Think I have only bought one can in 40 years. The Kroil oil is the best penetrating oil I have used . Spray it on and give it plenty of time. If you have the time, spray it on and wait over night. If still have time, spray it again and wait another day.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

FYI ... WD 40 = "Water Displacing" formula "40". It is not an oil of any kind. It is not intended to be a lubricant, as many people think.

Reply to
Frank K.

Sears sells a product called Grip Doctor in a 3.5 oz. bottle. Very much like the valve grinding compound you mention, it's made the difference for me a few times since I bought it.

Reply to
clifto

Seconded. I've had almost no luck with Kroil.

Reply to
clifto

If you're not able to take the time to go out and buy real penetrating oil, I've had good luck using WD40. The difference is that I first wet the joint with WD40, then give it a drop or two of light oil. This works particularly well on hinges, for example. The WD40 carries the oil with itself into the joint, and when it evaporates the oil is left behind.

The suggestion about adding a grit to the screwdriver tip works well. You also might consider making a 1-time investment in a "drive" type of screwdriver. It's a heavy duty version of the old Yankee screwdriver. You insert an appropriate screwdriver tip, then tap the end with a hammer. The screwdriver converts the tap into a rotary motion to break the screw free.

Finally, you might consider using a rotary cutter in a Dremel or even a hacksaw blade to crosscut the Phillips screw head and use a parallel (no bevel) flat blade driver as a last resort. Heck, you might even just drill the darned thing out and use a bigger screw to replace it, but don't tell anyone I suggested such a simple solution.

Mark

Reply to
Mark and Gloria Hagwood

It is not a heavy duty Yankee screwdriver, it is called an impact screwdriver. And you can use one on sheetmetal work, you would just put a hole in it.

The last is the real way to handle such a problem.

Reply to
George E. Cawthon

Bunk.

It is a light petroleum distillate, approximately kerosene-like in weight. Learn what "oleum" means. Oil.

It says "Lubricates" right on the can.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

OKay, here is an update:

First of all, thank you for reponses. I knew some of the points mentioned and was reminded about those. I learned some new ideas/tricks as well.

The stubborn/partially stripped out screwhead is used to secure the top Broil heating element to the oven's ceiling. Thus, use of a vise grip was not immediately possible due to interferance with the bracket for the element.

I gained access to the Broil heating element's terminals by opening up the rear cover to the walloven. Although no physical signs of damage, an ohmmeter check shows infinite resistance (open circuit).

So, I used a hack saw to cut the mounting element near the stubborn screw, thereby being able to now remove the heating element from the oven. Left with an L shaped piece of remaining mounting bracket, I used a pliers to twist and remove another section of the mounting bracket. Then a vise grip on the screwhead finally enabled removal of the screw from the walloven.

Unfortunately, the appliance parts distributor, normally open until 12 noontime, was closed, yesterday. I hopefully will find a replacement element on Monday and get this annoying project completed.

Thanks again for your infos.

de ~ Vince ~ Long Island, NY

Reply to
Vince

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.