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WD40 or oil

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by trekrider, Nov 15, 2008.

  1. trekrider

    trekrider Member

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    Need an opinions from the cycle experts, talking a guy today and he said that when he preps his bike for the winter he sprays WD40 in each cylinder instead of using oil.
    What do you think?? i
     
  2. Hack

    Hack Member

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    I always use a little bit of oil, and never use WD-40. The WD stands for water displacement and won't give the protection and coating of the cylinders that oil will. There was a thread a while back about WD-40 and its ineffectual use as a cable lubricant.

    WD-$0 is evil

    Hope this helps.
     
  3. trekrider

    trekrider Member

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    just as I thought, always nice to get an experts opinion.
    is it ok to spray wd-40 on the chrome to prevent rust during storage?
     
  4. Pacocase

    Pacocase Member

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    That is fine. Judging by your name, you are also a cyclist like me, and I've done that to my bicycles for years and years. WD-40 and my bikes are best friends. I even use it to clean the frame. It just doesn't belong in an engine or inside a cable jacket. :)
     
  5. trekrider

    trekrider Member

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    You bet you I ride my bicycle more then most people ride their cycles,
    4000-5000 miles a year, keeps me thin and fit, although not enough hills in Central Pa.
    Pacocase, have you ridden the Seagull century??
     
  6. bigfitz52

    bigfitz52 Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    "WD40 is evil" was my thread, and posted because people kept bringing it up as a cable lube, which is scary bad. I just bought a big new can of WD40, to spray down my Norton and Yamahas for winter storage. That's what it's for and the only thing it's good for. Check out how sticky it is in the spring when you go to wash the bike off.
     
  7. bigfitz52

    bigfitz52 Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Sorry missed your original question; the answer to that is also no. Use "fogging oil" (available at any auto parts this time of year) or a couple teaspoons of motor oil in the cylinders. WD40 on the outside.
     
  8. Zookie400

    Zookie400 Active Member

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    wd-40 will NOT keep the cylinders lubed. when i was young and stupid (17) i lost a perfectly good ford 351W to that crap. i sprayed the cylinders, wrapped the engine in plastic. unwrapped it a month later to install it into the freshly restored bronco, and all of the cylinders were so badly rusted i needed to overbore it...AGAIN.

    fogging oil will work :)
     
  9. flash1259

    flash1259 Member

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  10. RickCoMatic

    RickCoMatic Well-Known Member

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    Load-up a Pull-Lever Oil Can with Marvel Mystery Oil.
    Give each Hole 3 or 4 Shots
    Turn-over the Engine a few times to coat everything, nice.
    Say, Goodnight.
     
  11. Zookie400

    Zookie400 Active Member

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    there is actually nothing mysterious about marvel......its benzene, mineral spirits, and naptha. its not a rust inhibitor, and it will eventually run off/evaporate from the cylinder walls and leave you with rust.

    its actually a terrible lubricant as well for high pressure situations. a test was done about a year ago to see what diesel fuel additives were legit, and wich ones were snake oil. also tested was 2-stroke oil and marvel (commonly used by the public as additives). the mmo scored worse (much worse) on the HFRR test than untreated diesel. of the 19 additives tested the mmo came in 17th (10-19 scored worse than straight diesel).
     
  12. bigfitz52

    bigfitz52 Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Fogging oil is available EVERYWHERE this time of year, I got mine at NAPA, but ANY auto parts store will have it. Or just use motor oil.
     
  13. Robert

    Robert Active Member

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    If fogging oil is available, use it.
    If there isn't any, Marvel is better than nothing but is not the ideal.
    WD-40 will work for about a week and evaporate off. Use it when you need to protect exposed metal for a brief period only! I use it for engine parts that will be reassembled in the next day or so.
     
  14. roverguy

    roverguy Member

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    Fogging oil is the best, any marine store, or West Marine on line carries it.
     
  15. Artie(RT)

    Artie(RT) Member

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    This is a good thread...never have given much thought to WD-40...don't use it much except for things like squeaky door hinges and such...and it does clean tar off lower parts of a auto...but it was interesting to learn how not to use it.

    And I had never heard of fogging oil...I need to file that one away in the back of my brain.
     
  16. RickCoMatic

    RickCoMatic Well-Known Member

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    I put a little WD-40 on after I shave ... before heading-out to the company Holiday Party.

    Chicks love it!
     
  17. Polock

    Polock Well-Known Member

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    i guess my briggs & stratton lawnmower must have a stainless cylinder
    it's lived under the back porch all winter for about eight years now
     
  18. asphaltgecko

    asphaltgecko Member

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    its just mind boggling how many people thing wd40 is a lubricant...gezzzz
     
  19. bigfitz52

    bigfitz52 Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    WD40 thinks WD40 is a lubricant and keeps trying to convince the rest of the world. Thankfully, WE know better. And I was going to say wouldn't it be cool if Briggs and Stratton made motorcycles; they'd be indestructible although slow and weigh a ton, but Harley-Davidson beat them to it, except for the indestructible part...
     
  20. Pacocase

    Pacocase Member

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    I grew up in Huntington WV and i used to ride the Huntington and Charleston Regatta centuries. Plenty of hills there. I used to put a few thousand miles a year on a bicycle, but lately I've been content to ride 30 miles around with some friends and back. I haven't done a century in probably 6 or 7 years.

    Unfortunately, since I started riding these bikes with engines on them, I tend to put more miles on them. :(
     

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