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Anti-seize, grease, oil, Loctite… what’s appropriate to protect nuts and bolts?
Anti-seize, grease, oil, Loctite… what’s appropriate to protect nuts and bolts from rusting and seizing?
Anti-seize is a good choice, but Honda Shop Manuals call for it only on the spark plug threads. Why so limited? Is Honda trying to avoid the pitfall of estimating precise torque reductions in field applications? Some articles on the internet recommend 25-30% reductions, but I’m still in fear of applying either inadequate torque on critical brake and suspension fasteners or excessive torque on bolts into soft aluminum block. For this reason, I only plan to apply anti-seize sparingly on nuts and bolts that already showed corrosions and leave the ones in decent shape alone. What is a safe practice on applying anti-seize to automotive fasteners? Do you apply anti-seize to self-locking nuts on suspension and exhaust pipes?
As of grease and oil, Honda Manuals call for engine oil on the spindle nut threads and grease on the splined areas between intermediate shaft and right driveshaft (but strangely nothing between driveshafts and hubs). Is anti-seize more appropriate on these areas for corrosion prevention and ease of future disassembly? I don’t see these areas in need of lubrication. Is it reasonable to infer that engine oil causes less torque reduction and is thus safer than anti-seize on spindle nuts?
Honda Manuals never calls for Loctite. But some mechanics recommend using blue Loctite on brake caliper and bracket bolts. Is this a good practice?
Re: Anti-seize, grease, oil, Loctite… what’s appropriate to protect nuts and bolts?
I’m asking about these products’ rust prevention and ease of disassembly for mostly fasteners. Their lubricating property is rather a drawback for this purpose due to torque reduction. Do you actually reduce torque specs by 25-35% when applying any of these products to fastener threads?
Anti-seize is the most common and probably the only choice for high temperature applications, but it dries quickly to leave a powdery residue and tends to spread everywhere to be a nuisance. Oil is much cleaner and easier to apply, but it probably evaporates too quickly to maintain long-term protection. That leaves grease in the middle ground for its staying power and reasonably high operating temperature up to 400-500°F. I like 3M Silicone Paste 08946 that applies clear and has a service temperature range of -40°F to +400°F. Here are some specific applications I’m considering:
App#1 Exhaust pipe self-locking nuts (C). These nuts were rusty and difficult to remove. After rounding one head I had to resort to a torch to get it off. Due to high temperature, anti-seize seems the only choice. But would anti-seize play against the self-locking mechanism of these nuts?
App#2 The splined contact areas of outboard joint and hub. They tend to fuse together and be difficult to separate. I don’t understand why Honda Service Manual didn’t call for anything to be applied here while calling for grease between right driveshaft and intermediate shaft. Has it to do with the higher operating temperature of the hub? Would grease melt and drip onto brake disc and pads? Do you think anti-seize seems a better choice than grease to be applied to all the splines?
App#3 Brake caliper and bracket bolts (B). It’s critically important for these bolts to stay put and they are also steel-aluminum contact exposed to a corrosive environment. Some mechanics recommend Blue Loctite. Others recommend anti-seize. Does Loctite make a little more sense in this case?
App#4 The wheel sensor and bolts tend to rust and seize. I lean towards using anti-seize, but grease feels appropriate too. What’s your preference?
Anti-seize, grease, oil, Loctite… what’s appropriate to protect nuts and bolts?
