(crossposted to uk.rec.engines.stationary and uk.rec.models.engineering)
Has anyone among you any experience of cleaning up a stuck Auto-Klean strainer? The offending item has been neglected for a number of years and will not turn. It's not entirely obvious why not, but as the discs are very thin & easily wrecked by excessive force I'm looking for a way round the problem. It may simply be that, as the filter was hidden in a dark inaccessible spot behind the engine, nobody bothered to turn it for years even before the engine was laid up. At the moment the outer edges of the discs are encrusted with a thin layer of what might be just solids filtered from the oil but might possibly be partly rust. difficult to be sure as it's all effectively dyed black! I've been told (not directly by Auto-Klean) that replacement discs & plates are no longer available for this particular size of filter. Has anyone here dismantled one of these and lived to tell the tale?
With the the recent talk of electrolysis I've wondered about trying that in case the 'crud' is partly rust, also wondered about dunking in some steam cleaner descaler (Hydrochloric acid based) which I have. I know I'm clutching at straws but this could easily develop into a
*major* problem. The filter top, to which the discs & plates are attached, is brass, the discs & plates and supports are steel. It should be possible to keep the brass parts out of any liquid used.Cheers Tim