frozen fittings/shafts/bolts

[Carm]

Just a SWAG, is it steam expansion that provides the force?

[steamin10]

Juice: Are these alloy parts die cast by any chance?

Die castings mascaraed as aluminum castings, and have a nasty habit of die-electric corrosion, (electrically influenced corrosion to active metals). It is the zinc that blows up, seizing bolts and steel parts. You mention the use of Kroil and those premium canned penetrants that are the cream of the crop in my book, bar none. And I have been defeated at times by this situation.

I never thought of the water treatment, and I find it interesting you claim such a solution. In todays world there are many zinc-combined diecast materials, because they are cheap to produce, and can be tailored for many jobs. Many do not weather well, but are superior to plastics in most cases for their use. Lawn equipment and low grade gear boxes for that use are loaded with these type of materials.

I will have to add your suggestions to my region of repair tricks, thanks for the info.

[juiceclone]

Well just used it again ... SS fitting in a cast alloy hydraulic assy for an outboard motor that the dealer tried and said could not ever be removed...course he wanted to sell a new assy... The heat>water cycle 3 times and it moved a bit. Two more cycles and it came out without any damage to anything else. Temp was not so high as to damage the plastic motor a few inches away or cause a problem with the hyd fluid still trapped inside. Now I'm sure it's the water more than the heat as they had tried heating and lube with no success.

[spro]

Congrats on your success. This process was tried enough that is isn't some fluke. I wonder how and being simple, have few clues. Oil generally floats on water and the corrosion which held it tight was some form of electrolytic oxidation. That oxidation had an affinity for water. I'm only supposing that the H and O2 molecules released during heat after penetrating the oxidation put it in the mode to grow more and exploded in the process.

[ronm]

The old trick for freeing up a track-bound crawler tractor is to run it up & down a shallow stream bed, with water deep enough to get into the pins & bushings. If you're lucky enough to have a nice creek running right where you need it...
My D2 Cat had been sitting in the same spot for about 10 years, right next to a horse corral no less, so there was some nice corrosive manure involved...it was bound up solid. There was no creek close, but the owner did have a garden hose for the horse water, so we started soaking the tracks & beating w/big hammers & bars...took about 2 hr., but we got it free enough to winch on my trailer.
The old timers' theory on this is that water made the rust, so it will dissolve it...I'll leave the details to the chemists on that, but it seems to work...oddly enough, a bound-up set of tracks usually means they are in pretty good shape...worn-out ones won't seize up from sitting.

For those not familiar with them, crawler tracks are hardened pins against hardened bushings, no no dissimilar metals involved...

[refinery mike]

I would not have believed it. but three times can not just be a fluke. Thanks for the follow up. amazing!