Old lead mechanic warned me about using WD-40 on landing gear bolts

Fellow at my last job, Gary with 30 years at Delta, saw me reach for the WD-40 can on a 737 nose gear job. He grabbed my hand and said 'put that down, use LPS-1 or you'll be redoing this in 6 months.' I shrugged it off because WD-40 was right there. Sure enough, 5 months later the bolts were seizing up and I had to cut two of them out with a torch. Has anyone else run into this where a specific lubricant made a big difference on corrosion?

2 comments

2 Comments

linda_butler281mo ago

Wait, you actually had to cut bolts out with a torch? That's wild, man. I had a similar thing happen with some rusted trailer hitch bolts but I never had to go that far. And yeah @nelson.finley heard you on the marine grease thing, that stuff is gold for anything that sits outside. I still can't believe Gary had the foresight to call that five months in advance though. Some of those old timers really do know their stuff from hard lessons. I guess WD-40 is just for squeaky doors and cleaning bike chains at this point.

nelson.finley1mo ago

Man that Gary sounds like he knew his stuff! I had a similar thing on an old tractor I was fixing up, sprayed some WD-40 on the pivot pins and they were gummed up and squeaking in no time. Switched to a proper marine grease and they've been smooth for years now, guess the water displacement stuff just ain't meant for long term protection.