WD-40 was made to lubricate and displace water, according to Scotty Kilmer. You know the old adage: If it’s stuck and not supposed to be – WD-40. If it’s not stuck, and it should be – duct tape. WD-40 is also great for diagnosing problems with your vehicle.
Why WD-40 and not starting fluid, brake fluid, or carb cleaner?
The letters in WD-40 stand for “water displacement.” That means that it pushes water away from wherever you spray it. It’s also not very flammable, whereas starting fluid, brake fluid, and carburetor cleaner are flammable.
Scotty Kilmer shows several uses for WD-40 in his video. But there are many more uses for it. Continue reading for ways to use WD-40 to save yourself some money on diagnostics, maintenance, and repairs.
As a Lubricant
Use WD-40 to loosen stuck bolts and eliminate squeaky pulleys. Be sure to avoid getting it on the serpentine belts and drive belts, though. It will make your belts slide around the pulleys instead of turning them.
It also:
- Loosens valve stems
- Protects cast-iron brake drums and makes them easier to remove when the hammer by itself doesn’t do the trick
- Lubricates squeaky car door hinges
- Lubricates throttle cables
- Hones cylinder walls during engine building
As a Conditioner
Spray WD-40 on hose ends to keep them from corroding. You can also spray the rubber suspension parts, such as those on the top of the strut tower, to help keep the rubber from cracking and dry rotting. It also helps to stop the squeaking coming from those bushings.
You can also use WD-40 to:
- Shine black rubber parts on the outside of your vehicle
- Clean and shine the chrome on your vehicle
- Keep battery terminals clean
- Protect aluminum rims
- Keep keyholes from sticking
As a Cleaner
You can also use WD-40 to shine things up, including:
- Splash guards
- Your vehicle’s engine
- Oxidation from aluminum parts
- Road salt from car door and trunk locks
- Tar from your vehicle’s chassis
- As a Diagnostic Tool
- Vacuum Leaks
You can also use WD-40 as a diagnostic tool to find squeaks that drive you nuts and to find air leaks. If your engine is running rough and you hear a vacuum leak, but can’t find it, spray WD-40 on vacuum lines, vacuum ports, and gaskets to find the leak.
When air seeps through the intake manifold gasket, it causes the vehicle to run lean. If you get a code showing a lean condition, spray around the intake manifold to see if it’s caused by the intake gasket leaking.
If you get a code that shows a specific cylinder is running lean, that can help point you to the location of the intake manifold gasket leak.
When you spray the vacuum leak, whether it is from a vacuum hose or a gasket, the engine will smooth out and you will know that you found the leak.
Squeaky Suspension Parts
If you have a squeak under the vehicle and you can’t seem to find it, spray one busing at a time. If the squeak stops for a day or two, you’ve found the problem bushing. You can save money by replacing only the bushing that squeaks.
Don’t spray all of them at once, or you’ll never know which one is driving you up the wall. You can also spray struts, strut towers and springs if they squeak and you are not ready to replace them yet.
You will have to eventually replace them, but you can stop the noise for a short while until you can get your vehicle in for repairs or repair it yourself.
Additional Uses for WD-40
WD-40 isn’t just for mechanics or people who are obsessive about keeping brake dust off rims and tar off paint. Use it to clean crayon marks and other marks off vinyl upholstery or removing grease from cloth upholstery.
Be ready to steam clean your cloth seats if you use WD-40 on them, as it will leave a greasy residue. Test it on a hidden corner, as it could also stain some materials.
If you’ve ever tried to get annoying stickers off your car windows or bumpers and are tired of looking at the glue they leave behind, try spraying the stuck-on glue with WD-40, then scraping it.
If you washed your car’s engine and it runs rough because you got water on some of the electronics, spray the electronics with WD-40 to disperse the water. If you have a model with the old-style distributor cap, you can clean water from the inside of the cap with WD-40.
Some people run snow chains during the winter. Use WD-40 to keep the chains from rusting and to keep them from kinking when you put them on and take them off.
WD-40 will also shine your vehicle’s tires, but a word of warning about that: It will make the tires feel slippery on the road. If you do this, just use it to clean the white walls — take care to keep it out of the tread.
You can also use WD-40 to:
- Lubricate trailer hitch balls
- Lubricate hand-crank windows
- Clean the steering wheel and shifter knob
- Loosens rusted nuts, bolts, oxygen sensors, frees rusty doors
- Protects the rubber gaskets for the sunroof and doors
During Repairs
When making repairs, you can spray WD-40 into the inside of fuel lines to help them slide together.
When honing cylinder walls, use WD-40 to keep them from getting scratches. Use it as a helper for installing rubber exhaust hangers on your vehicle’s exhaust system. And, if the brake light switch under the brake pedal sticks, you can lubricate that so your brake lights don’t stay on.
Visit Vehicle History
To learn more about various models before you buy them, read reviews and customer comments, and learn more about maintaining and repairing your vehicle, visit Vehicle History.
