Loctite, where to use or avoid

[marhar]

Where have you used loctite on your equipment and you are glad you did? Where have you used it and wished you did not use it? Have you ever used red and realized it was a huge mistake?

I have used blue on the tail wheel of my rotary cutter and on the stabilizer chain on the side that connects to the tractor. I have never used red.

 

[ruffdog]

I have used purple, blue, and red thread locker. I have also used many grades of the green retaining compound.

 

[ericm979]

I use LocTite 545 on NPT hydraulic fittings. It works a lot better than teflon pipe dope.

 

[GeneV]

I've never used it on the tractor, but I use the medium strength type a lot at work. I find the red vs blue specs differ per brand. For some brands, red is medium and blue is the one you'll need a heat gun to unscrew afterward. For others, it's vice versa.

 

[5030]

I use LocTite 545 on NPT hydraulic fittings. It works a lot better than teflon pipe dope.

You need to try Detroit Diesel Anaerobic sealant. Better than anything on hydraulic fittings and gas pipe.

 

[oosik]

I used Blue Loktite on all 56 wheel nuts on my M6040. I've used Blue - here/there - on many of my implements. Never had the need for any other type.

OH - I also used Blue on the nuts that hold the FEL onto the tractor.

 

[tomplum]

The key too is to use it properly. Clean, prime what you have to etc. Vibratite is a great alternative to Locktite for some applications.

 

[5030]

I see there are quite a few Chinese sellers on amazon selling 'Loctite'. I'd be very careful buying that stuff. If it don't say Henkel on the bottle or tube, it's fake.

 

[LD1]

I hate ever seeing the stuff on anything other than a hex-head.

Allen wrenches, phillips, torx, flat head, etc etc......all way too easy to mangle. Pick a different fastner or skip the loctite.

BHCS and FHCS's are the WORST because of there small hex key size for a given bolt

 

[oosik]

Soooo...... I checked my LockTite bottle. It says Henkel on it. That's supposedly the "good stuff". Better be - pretty expensive as I remember.

 

[marhar]

Has anybody ever used red and wished they did not? A mechanic told me I might as well weld a bolt on if I were going to use red; I have never used it.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Red on the bolts which hold the loader mounts to the frame. They were backing out once every fifty to one-hundred hours. Not no more.

Hopefully I’ll never need to take the mounts off for any purpose. I sure can‘t think of any reason I would need to. I browsed through the Service Manual before I did it, and couldn’t see anything, which would require their removal. If I had seen something, I would have use blue.

My Dad used to use dark KARO syrup, if he absolutely wanted things to stay forever. Said that it caused ferrous metals to rust together. I never took anything apart that he did it to. So, I can’t say for certain one way or the other. But, nothing he did it to ever came back apart.

 

[marhar]

Red on the bolts which hold the loader mounts to the frame. They were backing out once every fifty to one-hundred hours. Not no more.

Hopefully I’ll never need to take the mounts off for any purpose. I sure can‘t think of any reason I would need to. I browsed through the Service Manual before I did it, and couldn’t see anything, which would require their removal. If I had seen something, I would have use blue.

My Dad used to use dark KARO syrup, if he absolutely wanted things to stay forever. Said that it caused ferrous metals to rust together. I never took anything apart that he did it to. So, I can’t say for certain one way or the other. But, nothing he did it to ever came back apart.

One of the old timers told me to park my tractor and implements outside from time to time so they would rust together as you described; I thought he was pulling my leg.

 

[brokeasajoke]

Loctite 242 or 243 for me.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Has anybody ever used red and wished they did not? A mechanic told me I might as well weld a bolt on if I were going to use red; I have never used it.

You need to heat it up to get red loose. Which assumes you can heat things without damage. But with a little heat it pops loose.

I cut the tip off of a tube of the green penetrating grade with my old Leatherman. It penetrated into the hinge, and it wouldn’t move.

Two hours in a 350 oven, and a run through the dishwasher, and it was fine again.

If the oven hadn’t worked I would have sent it back to Leatherman to see if they would cover it under the warranty.

 

[tomplum]

One qualifier in using Loctite red would be whether or not you could safely heat the part if you need to extract the fastener. Another might be your darned if you you do and darned if you don't. IE I've locked small engine sumps with it that were problematic. Because if it ever fails, it isn't needing to come apart ever. There are varying strengths of red available as well.

 

[5030]

Soooo...... I checked my LockTite bottle. It says Henkel on it. That's supposedly the "good stuff". Better be - pretty expensive as I remember.

The Amazon sellers (offshore) are a lot less expensive that the real McCoy (Henkel) but I question the chemical makeup of their stuff. All I use is Henkel and it is rather expensive. I regularly use both blue and red versions depending on the application. Last 250 ml bottle of blue I purchased was over 100 bucks at MSC.

 

[tomplum]

There is a lot more out there than the 242 that you grab from the hardware store. Gels, pens, tapes, sticks, liquids. One thing I really like is the VC3 as it is both removeable and reusable. It isn't a typical red in strength, but works well for mild vibration issues. Vibra-TITE

 

[ruffdog]

Regret using Loctite? No. I normally use it because it is either recommended in the assy instructions, service manual, or because the fastener keeps loosening. Yes, it makes it a bit more difficult disassembling parts, especially when studs and bolts break. As other's have said, some heat helps it come apart.