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muriatic acid to clean the bore of a seizure?

Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 5:16 pm
by MikeD
Learned today that I can use muriatic acid to clean the crank on my small yard tractor where the aluminum rod seized to the journal which will save the crank.

Can I use this procedure to clean the GT-750 cylinder bore seizure without damaging the cylinder? Not sure if the barrels are sleeved or not

Re: muriatic acid to clean the bore of a seizure?

Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 7:57 pm
by Vintageman
That could work, but dang that stuff (yellow vapor) will take your breath away and more. If there is a lot of aluminum it can take a long time. It starts to cause the cast liner to rust unless your are quick about it.

I suspect after all that the liner maybe rough and worn. Sometimes if the meltdown was so hot the cast liner gets cherry red hot from friction, softens and wears too. But if you are looking for a low buck fix go for it. I think a sharp pic can be helpful too at getting off Aluminum.

Re: muriatic acid to clean the bore of a seizure?

Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 8:04 pm
by MikeD
it never fully seized, I shut it down when it started to run funky thinking something was up.

Re: muriatic acid to clean the bore of a seizure?

Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 8:23 pm
by tz375
Muriatic acid is what we use on our race motors to remove aluminum.

First up, put on a coat/old clothes etc
Pull on some latex/vinyl gloves and safety glasses/goggles
Pour a small amount of acid into a small clean container (the cap is enough) and apply with a cotton bud/Q tip. It doesn't need a lot of acid and it doesn't take long. I tend to just wipe the affected area with the wet cotton tip until it's gone and then wash it in lots of water. Dry it off and inspect the scores.

Remember to seal the acid container and dump what's left in the cap or small container you used and put it all away somewhere safe.

And to answer the other question, the liners are cast in place and have locating rings at top and bottom to make sure they do not come loose. Unfortunately they are rarely central to where the bore ends up being machined so they can be a little thin at one side where they are non concentric.