As several folks here have discovered, the KDSS cast housings are prone to rust (this is possibly the understatement of the year). The valves - which need to be opened in order to level a vehicle while installing a suspension upgrade - are conveniently located in the place most vulnerable to road salt and corrosion. These valves are often rusted and considered "frozen" even on newer models that aren't in the "rust-belt" of the country.
Some Mud members have had them replaced under warranty and others are considering selling their vehicles because they don't want to replace this expensive item ($2K sounds familiar) just to get a lift.
My KDSS main housing looks like it was dragged out of the bottom of the ocean. It's the only item on my rig that looks this bad (thank goodness). I should have removed the cover before taking this photo, but you can see that it is in awful condition. The rust was covering the 5mm hex bolt heads to the point where I didn't even see them at first!
(BTW - what is that connector for?)
After breaking off the heads of a few bleeder valves on brakes, I resigned myself to the fact that this would be a longer process - waiting days and even weeks before I really took a stab at loosening them.
I hit the screws with PB blaster once a day for a few days - thinking I would let that stuff really penetrate. It seemed clear that nothing was happening so I researched better penetrants. That's when I discovered KROIL.
I sprayed Aero-Kroil on there and could actually see it loosening rust almost right away. After a few sprays, I used a stiff wire brush and a dental pick (neither are shown in the picture) to get in the grooves around the screw-heads. With a few more sprays of KROIL I could now see the outline of the heads and some of the rust was coming off. I waited a day and tried to loosen them with my 5mm socket - but they wouldn't budge and I could feel one starting to strip.
A little discouraged, I sprayed more KROIL and then inserted the 5mm allen wrench in the screw heads and tapped gently with a hammer. I tapped a bit on the edge of the screw heads as well (all around).
I waited a few more days....
Today I sprayed a little Kroil and used another wire brush to remove more rust. The screw heads started looking cleaner and really well defined. I tapped the screw heads again with the wrench/hammer inside the screw head and around the outside of the screw head. Now when I sprayed I could actually see the Kroil making little bubbles around the head of the screw. (or that was my imagination).
I waited another 1/2 hour and then took my 5mm socket and gingerly applied pressure....I felt a little "crack" as it released and I almost pee'd in my pants with excitement. The second went just as easy!
Now I loosened them 3 turns, cleaned the threads a bit, applied grease and tightened and loosened them again. YAHOO! - now I can get a lift!
Some Mud members have had them replaced under warranty and others are considering selling their vehicles because they don't want to replace this expensive item ($2K sounds familiar) just to get a lift.
My KDSS main housing looks like it was dragged out of the bottom of the ocean. It's the only item on my rig that looks this bad (thank goodness). I should have removed the cover before taking this photo, but you can see that it is in awful condition. The rust was covering the 5mm hex bolt heads to the point where I didn't even see them at first!
(BTW - what is that connector for?)
After breaking off the heads of a few bleeder valves on brakes, I resigned myself to the fact that this would be a longer process - waiting days and even weeks before I really took a stab at loosening them.
I hit the screws with PB blaster once a day for a few days - thinking I would let that stuff really penetrate. It seemed clear that nothing was happening so I researched better penetrants. That's when I discovered KROIL.
I sprayed Aero-Kroil on there and could actually see it loosening rust almost right away. After a few sprays, I used a stiff wire brush and a dental pick (neither are shown in the picture) to get in the grooves around the screw-heads. With a few more sprays of KROIL I could now see the outline of the heads and some of the rust was coming off. I waited a day and tried to loosen them with my 5mm socket - but they wouldn't budge and I could feel one starting to strip.
A little discouraged, I sprayed more KROIL and then inserted the 5mm allen wrench in the screw heads and tapped gently with a hammer. I tapped a bit on the edge of the screw heads as well (all around).
I waited a few more days....
Today I sprayed a little Kroil and used another wire brush to remove more rust. The screw heads started looking cleaner and really well defined. I tapped the screw heads again with the wrench/hammer inside the screw head and around the outside of the screw head. Now when I sprayed I could actually see the Kroil making little bubbles around the head of the screw. (or that was my imagination).
I waited another 1/2 hour and then took my 5mm socket and gingerly applied pressure....I felt a little "crack" as it released and I almost pee'd in my pants with excitement. The second went just as easy!
Now I loosened them 3 turns, cleaned the threads a bit, applied grease and tightened and loosened them again. YAHOO! - now I can get a lift!
