I usually use blue, but have had blue fail in certain situations. Red is good for it's intended purpose. But it MUST be heated with a torch to release. Don't forget green to secure smooth parts together. Also called sleeve repair...
Red vs Blue Lock-tite
- Thread starter Bonnewagon
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It depends a lot on the application and size of the fasteners. Tiny bolts that don't get torqued very high (say below 22ft/lbs) and are active fasteners in a moderate heat environment (say LS rocker arm bolts) that need a thread sealant (because you ported the rocker stud bosses away) are a good time to use Blue Loctite.
Red thread locking compound is required for high heat or high stress environments like brake caliper mounting brackets (think LS1 front brake conversions... yet the caliper retaining bolts on the slide pins get Blue). I stopped using Red on torque converter bolts after realizing it was overkill (usually torqued below 50ft/lbs and in a moderate heat environment) and went to Blue.
Anti-seize is my preferred libation (especially where dissimilar metals meet) for the purposes of future disassembly. Like Frank's RedHot: I put that sh*t on everything!
The fact of the matter is if you torque a fastener to spec you shouldn't require thread locking compound as the fasteners will stretch and the threads will lock themselves.
The problem lies in that most folks don't invest in a bunch of good torque wrenches, and we cannot rely on the noodle-wristed kids of today to even begin to stretch a bolt with their bare hands.
Red thread locking compound is required for high heat or high stress environments like brake caliper mounting brackets (think LS1 front brake conversions... yet the caliper retaining bolts on the slide pins get Blue). I stopped using Red on torque converter bolts after realizing it was overkill (usually torqued below 50ft/lbs and in a moderate heat environment) and went to Blue.
Anti-seize is my preferred libation (especially where dissimilar metals meet) for the purposes of future disassembly. Like Frank's RedHot: I put that sh*t on everything!
The fact of the matter is if you torque a fastener to spec you shouldn't require thread locking compound as the fasteners will stretch and the threads will lock themselves.
The problem lies in that most folks don't invest in a bunch of good torque wrenches, and we cannot rely on the noodle-wristed kids of today to even begin to stretch a bolt with their bare hands.
Only use blue loctite unless you are forsure never going to take off again. Red loctite technically needs to be heated to once cured, 500 degrees to be removed.
I too use anti-seize on practically everything. In fact I plumbed a drop header on my steam boiler with about 50 fittings using anti-seize. Not a single leak and I can take them apart if needed. So I initially used the anti-seize on the sleeve that goes into the bell housing because it is steel into aluminum. But while adjusting the lock nut on the pivot the sleeve unscrewed so I cleaned that off and used the blue to secure it. Then I knew I would need something to secure the pivot ball. There is no way I could apply the correct heat to that without ruining everything around it so no red is going on that. If the blue does not hold it still I will drill the end for a safety wire before I use the red stuff.
Mark, you should use blue on the pivot ball and it will never come loose, I have blue on my pivot ball. Many many moons ago when I worked on aircraft Loctite was new and I attended a seminar to learn how to use the product. They had films of tests that were done and with the blue it beat our cotter pins. The used multiple frequencies and the blue loctite held. They only had 2 versions of it back then, red and blue and I never saw any drawing that called for the use of the red. The loctite was not sold to the public back then but a few bottles did make it into my tool box at home and I could never figure out how they got there...
We use red if we hate the guy who is probably taking it apart a while later.
In all honesty, blue is more than adequate for our cars.
*edit* other than all our race applications.
In all honesty, blue is more than adequate for our cars.
*edit* other than all our race applications.
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