KDSS valve rust- WARNING (2 Viewers)

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You guys like LPS3 better than fluid film? I use fluid film on my 40 a lot. It seems to creep into tight areas well. But I don't have long term experience with it yet.
 
Seeing that the 2019 have the galvanized/anodized hex bolts, is this still a concern? (Sorry for stupid question.)
 
Seeing that the 2019 have the galvanized/anodized hex bolts, is this still a concern? (Sorry for stupid question.)

The issue is more the body of the valve and the bare metal at the bottom. It is very bad about corroding profusely, and at some point the material/coating of the screws won’t matter as the cancer spreads.
 
I'm no expert, but I'd think that regardless of what the bolts are, if the body is iron, as it appears to be on mine and all the ones posted in this thread, its a matter of time before the rusting of the valve body compromises the threads.

Ever try to remove a screw from the tub of a weber gas grill? Impossible. I've always had to drill them out. Any time you have different metals threaded in each other, corrosion and abrasion will take a toll over time.

Easy enough to spray something to stave off the corrosion. With a 2019 I'd guess you'd have no rust to brush off.
 
You guys like LPS3 better than fluid film? I use fluid film on my 40 a lot. It seems to creep into tight areas well. But I don't have long term experience with it yet.
Yes, and you answered your own question. It's a matter of how often do you want to reapply the product. It's been a couple of years since I sprayed the frame welds and now I just touch up areas in the spring after a good winter of slush blasting. I have had 1 or 2 cans around for the the past 30 years and I can't remember when I bought the second can. I am not very good at math but I started using LPS 3 on aircraft before that. The Fluid Film fumigation looks nice for a while I suppose.

I have found that applying LPS 3 with a 1" paint brush and a small cup/plastic jar looks well for touch up when you are under there greasing the drive line or have the spare out.

-Edit- A lot of Magnesium Chloride is used on our roads in this area so I do have to deal with frame weld rust and cast iron parts like the KDSS vlv and cast pipe fittings outside of the frame under left driver seat.
 
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Got my LPS3 delivered yesterday, finished it up today. Still had to use a breaker bar on one of the hex, but the PB Blaster helped and it was not too hard. Anti seize on the hex threads and retightened them. Leaned hard on the hex key, did not use a torque wrench. Hopefully they're tight enough. Then LPS3 on the whole body. Even one of the drips dried. That impressed me.
 
Got my LPS3 delivered yesterday, finished it up today. Still had to use a breaker bar on one of the hex, but the PB Blaster helped and it was not too hard. Anti seize on the hex threads and retightened them. Leaned hard on the hex key, did not use a torque wrench. Hopefully they're tight enough. Then LPS3 on the whole body. Even one of the drips dried. That impressed me.

You leaned hard while tightening? They only need 9ft-lb and too much torque is often a major factor in being so hard to loosen. I’d reset the torque while they are still so freshly lubricated, personally.
 
Flat on my back in the garage. I don't think I could get much torque on a 3.5 inch hex key, but I will recheck it.

Update: Done!
 
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Probably looking for a 200 series soon. Reading this thread is a great heads up for pre purchase inspection.

My questions: Once the screws are exercised, are they returned to some specific depth or torque spec? I see it mentioned that their function is very important if a lift/suspension component replacement is done. But what about someone keeping their LC stock? Do they come into play during a routine alignment? Trying to assess what an owner actually needs to do with these aside from keeping them from getting locked up.
 
If you go back in the discussion: you'll see a sectional diagram of the valve. They just need to go back into the seats and the torque spec is mentioned some where. I've tried to get the screws loose on my old valve body by welding a longer allen wrench into the screw on the work bench: no luck. Weld broke probably because of my poor welding skills.
 
Probably looking for a 200 series soon. Reading this thread is a great heads up for pre purchase inspection.

My questions: Once the screws are exercised, are they returned to some specific depth or torque spec? I see it mentioned that their function is very important if a lift/suspension component replacement is done. But what about someone keeping their LC stock? Do they come into play during a routine alignment? Trying to assess what an owner actually needs to do with these aside from keeping them from getting locked up.
They don't come into play for routine alignment. If you're keeping stock, just keep them greased. Even if they seize I would leave them and not fight with them (just keep them greased so they don't get worse) until the time comes you need to.
 
Even if I didn’t have plans for a lift I’d want to know I could move them when needed. Technically not for an alignment but any time the front struts come out having them loose will make things easier.

120in-lb is the correct torque.
 
My 2018 had a nice patina of rust on the valve body already. Cleaned and coated with grease. I also cleaned and moved the bleed nipple above the valve just to keep it in working condition. The question came to my mind as to how would one replace the bleed nipple if required?
 
My 2018 had a nice patina of rust on the valve body already. Cleaned and coated with grease. I also cleaned and moved the bleed nipple above the valve just to keep it in working condition. The question came to my mind as to how would one replace the bleed nipple if required?
You'd likely need the dealer-specific special service tool (SST).

If your valve isn't very rusty, use a hex wrench and break it loose 1-2 turns (definitely no more than 3!), coat the entire bottom of the KDSS body and the screws with good marine grease, then re-tighten. I'm in Chicago where the asphalt highways are practically white with salt in the winter and my KDSS valves have held up better than anything on my undercarriage, which gets a liberal fluid film coating every November.
 
You'd likely need the dealer-specific special service tool (SST).

If your valve isn't very rusty, use a hex wrench and break it loose 1-2 turns (definitely no more than 3!), coat the entire bottom of the KDSS body and the screws with good marine grease, then re-tighten. I'm in Chicago where the asphalt highways are practically white with salt in the winter and my KDSS valves have held up better than anything on my undercarriage, which gets a liberal fluid film coating every November.

Good advice. My 2018 has 8 mm hexhead bolts instead of the Allen heads, and I plan to doing what you have suggested every year from now on. @bjowett may have valuable suggestions for an aftermarket air-over-hydraulic pump that might work for servicing the KDSS system, and I will wait for his kind input on this matter.
 
Wait wait wait... don’t open the bleed nipples unless you want to pay the dealer to repair it! Only the two balance screws on the bottom can be opened 3 turns or less without losing system pressure.

Unless I have the wrong idea about what bleed nipple we are talking about.
 
Wait wait wait... don’t open the bleed nipples unless you want to pay the dealer to repair it! Only the two balance screws on the bottom can be opened 3 turns or less without losing system pressure.

Unless I have the wrong idea about what bleed nipple we are talking about.

I appreciate the warning. I cracked the bleed nipple just a hair to ensure it could be moved, that is all. I got into this habit a long time ago with the brake caliper bleed nipples after breaking one due to the wonderful salting up here in Western NY. (That is also why I was able to bleed the AHC on my older 100 after 15 years of winter service.)
 
FWIW unless you have a KDSS failure or open the screws too far, you should never need to open the bleeder nipple. If the nipple has to be opened, you're in big KDSS repair land anyway, just replace the entire KDSS cylinder and paint it at that point
 
FWIW unless you have a KDSS failure or open the screws too far, you should never need to open the bleeder nipple. If the nipple has to be opened, you're in big KDSS repair land anyway, just replace the entire KDSS cylinder and paint it at that point

You mean this is one bleeder nipple is the one that is best to let rust close permanently?
 
You mean this is one bleeder nipple is the one that is best to let rust close permanently?
It seems best to keep it from rusting in the first place, but you are taking a risk of causing problems in moving it at all, to keep a screw moving that really isn’t needed unless you need a major repair. At which point you’d probably just replace he whole valve body anyway.
Or at least that’s how I interpreted his comment.
 

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