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Red Loctite Blues
I have read on this forum that bolts fastened with red loctite are seriously hard to remove. Sure enough, I used some a while back on the bolts that attach my driveshaft to my differential and now I need to remove them, and no surprise, it's problematic.
I have tried a heat gun at 650F. Is this hot enough? Are there any other things I can try? |
Try some brake spray. I know it works instantly to cleanup bolts that have removed after loctite was used.
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Red be aware!
Red is considered high strength or forever! You only need to heat it to about 300-350F to soften it up. Heat up the fastener/area until you smell the "Loctite" smell and start removing the fastener. Don't use red unless you want the fastener there forever or you will need to heat it. It is not recommended for fasteners under 1/4".
Try the blue # 242 med strength it works the best and you can still remove the fasteners without heat or breakage. I have used it on all critical fasteners and all my motorcross bikes as they are prone to fasteners vibrating loose. Also a dab will do ya! :D |
Thanks! I will try a real torch tomorrow (as opposed to the heat gun), maybe I just wasn't getting enough heat.
I have learned my lesson, only blue from now on! Pardon my ignorance, what is "brake spray"? |
brake cleaner
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Another great product on bolts that are hard to remove for a variety of reasons .....
http://www.pbblaster.com/store/morei...m?Product_ID=1 |
OK. I have PB so maybe I'll try that first, then I'll hit the brake cleaner if that doesn't work.
Thanks again everyone, you guys are the best part about owning a cobra. |
One word of caution on this , which I learned along with a tech at USF on a project . We had to remove a rod clevis from a piston rod on a hydraulic cylinder on Earthquake . My plant had used red loctite during assembly . Heat does allow the removal .... but be aware that once the loctite starts to break free ... KEEP THE HEAT ON UNTIL THE BOLT IS COMPLETELY REMOVED !!! If the loctite sets up again , the only way to get the part off is with a bandsaw or some other unpleasant destructive way .
The tech took the torch away once the clevis started to turn , allowing the loctite to set up and it cost USF a $3500 piston rod as we had to cut the clevis off. |
Thats interesting. Interesting as in how the hell am I going to do this with one pair of hands without blowing myself up....
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What is it with those drive shaft bolts. I had 2 loose after 1000 miles.
Sounds like a common problem, any solutions out there .....Aside from Red Loctite? |
Mr Magoo ... agreed that multiple hands are sometimes required . You can probably get away with heating each bolt to the point the loctite softens and then a little more and then removing them one at a time very quickly before the Loctite has a chance to cool and set up again . My problem was that the rod thread was 3" in diameter and about 4 " long . You`ll be ok , just don`t heat the part and then stop for a beer before trying to back the bolt out . Blue Loctite works just fine if you degrease everything and clean the threads out good .... and it does hold , just not like red .
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Disappointed no one suggested this!
Well, it turns out that Club Cobra members CAN NOT be relied upon to provide all possible methods for removing stubborn bolts:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...lugnut12m.html Of course the media did not make note of the part of the story of most concern to our community. Did he get the lug nut off???? |
Saw that on Fox news this morning. No alcohol involved. Yea sure!
That begs the question - have you got your drive shaft out yet? |
Guys, I did manage to get them off, and no, I did not have to resort to firearms, just heat and my puny body. The wrench I was using was a little short, getting one two or three inches longer helped. I have gotten some feedback that says use blue loctite instead of red, others say that the red loctite worked the way it was supposed to. My lesson learned is that even with heat, it takes considerable force (all you have) to undo these bolts since you are fighting the red loctite and the original torque force as well. As one commenter noted, at least your driveshaft bolts never came undone.
My motor is out now. I can now see why guys like Cashburn say that removable tranny tunnels are nice. I had to take the complete shifter unit out of the tranny to move the motor/tranny far enough forward to get the driveshaft removed. The rear of the car doesnt have enough room for moving the shaft backwards. And then , because the shaft is still attached, you can only drop the tailshaft of the tranny down a little. Then you reach up and around to remove the shifter bolts. A larger hole for the shifter might have made that an easier process. |
Don't throw out the red loctite! It has it's purpose, and one I use it for are worn threads. When a manifold has it's threads worn from pulled studs. I can sometimes clean them up. Sometimes the stud just wobbles in the hole. Red loctite will grab this stud as if the manifold was new, and yes it takes heat to get them out once in place.
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Regardless of the fact that it is tough to get off (that's what it's for!), red loctite IS the proper stuff to use on driveshaft bolts. Believe me, you REALLY don't want them coming loose. Just ask me why I know this to be true......
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Agree that red loctite is great stuff for driveshaft bolts .... and it did what it was supposed to ... but let me throw something else into the mix . Loctite makes several retaining compounds ... RC 35 and 609 are two that come to mind . They are specifically designed to fill clearances up to about 3 thou. , and they do work !! Some years ago when I was running a dirt track car , I had a kingpin that had too much clearance and flopped around . The new kingpin didn`t come in and I wanted to race that weekend , so I coated the old one with the Retaining compound and let it set up overnight ( I wanted to race real bad !) . It lasted for a heat and the main . However ... please understand that I am NOT recommending that anyone else try that ... point is that Loctite has some great stuff out there .
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How about some airtools??
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