Anti Sieze - Which do & which don't...

[KA1J]

So once again here I am again, putting the engine together & about to torque everything in sight. I'm using anti-sieze on the head bolts as was suggested but I've also read it's important to use blue locktite on these bikes to keep nuts from vibrating loose.

I know when you use stainless nuts & bolts you use anti-sieze to well, not sieze these bolts but which other bolts/nuts get it??? Exhaust? YICS tightening bolts? intake manifold Allen bolts? Side plate screws, Carb screws or do they get blue locktite.

I understand the wish to keep parts from vibrating loose but putting locktite on threads doesn't make they any easier o remove down the road.

Any rule of thumb here?

[Ken Talbot]

Personally, the only places I would use blue loctite would be the screws that fasten the butterflies to the throttle shaft in the carbs, and the exhaust studs where they fasten into the heads. From the factory, the butterfly screws are peened over to be absolutely certain they don't come loose and get swallowed. Having the exhaust studs locked into the head is not as critical.

Everywere else, I use anti-seize, especially where a a steel fastener goes into aluminum. I have never had a problem with parts vibrating loose and falling off.

YMMV...

[KA1J]

Personally, the only places I would use blue loctite would be the screws that fasten the butterflies to the throttle shaft in the carbs, and the exhaust studs where they fasten into the heads. From the factory, the butterfly screws are peened over to be absolutely certain they don't come loose and get swallowed. Having the exhaust studs locked into the head is not as critical.

Everywere else, I use anti-seize, especially where a a steel fastener goes into aluminum. I have never had a problem with parts vibrating loose and falling off.

YMMV...

I have no experience with locktite but years of practice using antisieze on spark plugs, I know I've never blown out a spark plug. I've often heard how important the blue locktite is to keep things tight & it's supposed to keep rattles from happening. Might be true, I sure don't want surprises 300 miles from home but I know how much of a hassle it is to undo corroded junctions & I see locktite as having something of that effect.

I always follow torquing protocols with my cars & that keeps things tight but bikes seem to pass much more vibration & hearing the advice to use locktite as well as antisieze sounds like it might be a good idea in some areas. I just don't know. Things are so much easier when they're black & white...

Tomorrow I'm torquing the head, putting the intake manifolds on and hopefully getting the cams in. I wonder if I should use anything on the nuts holding the cam caps & the sprocket bolts or is proper torque all that is needed?

[Aches n Pains]

I use anti-seize on almost everything from the motorcycles to the tractor. Saves a world of pain. Never had anything break/loosen because of the anti-seize.

Aches n Pains

[TADracer]

Thread lockers are not needed on 99.9% of the fasteners on these bikes and anti-sieze is a great lubricant for torqueing bolts.

I had a long-time drag racer tell me years ago that when torqueing, its not so much that you use the exact torque as that your fasteners and inside threads are clean and you use a good pattern and torque all the bolts evenly. I do this regurlarly and have never had anything come loose.

Concerning anti-sieze on stainless screws, I never use it there, especially on the 6mm capscrews. Most of these torque to only less than 10 pound-feet which is not much more than hand tight. I am more concerned here with getting a correct torque so as to not tear out the delicate aluminum threads.

[KA1J]

Thanks for the thoughts, I'll keep using the antisieze & return the locktite.

[DGXSER]

I would agree that the antisieze is soemthign that could not hurt on about anything. Whoever told you you needed blue locktite to keep all things from rattling loose probably only ever owned a certain "American" made motorcycle. The onyl items on these bikes I have experienced coming loose with use is the exhaust nuts Ken mentioned, and maybe the stock cam chain tensioner bolt.

Otherwise, I have not had anything shake loose on these machines.

[crazy steve]

... Whoever told you you needed blue locktite to keep all things from rattling loose probably only ever owned a certain "American" made motorcycle. The onyl items on these bikes I have experienced coming loose with use is the exhaust nuts Ken mentioned, and maybe the stock cam chain tensioner bolt...

Yeah, if you own a V-twin, blue Locktite is a required 'tool'...

With that said, I still use it on almost every bolt; it's too-cheap insurance not to. BUT, using it on threads that go into aluminum (especially with stainless bolts) is not a good idea, you want anti-seize. So I put the locktite on the underside of the bolt heads, not on the threads. This still 'locks' the bolts, and has the added benefit of 'sealing' the bolt head to whatever it's holding on and prevents moisture from getting at the threads and causing corrosion. A nice two-fer... just make sure you wipe any excess off before it dries.

I'll note that locktite won't take exhaust heat, so it's a waste of time there. Those you need to torque properly to prevent loosening.

[brcree]

anti

KaiJ....just wanted to chime in here on the anti seize.......when I worked on F-16 jet engines in the USAF, we would use Pepto Bismol on all the HOT section bolts....cheep.....and if they-ed use it on a $20,000,000 engine, I guess we could too! and it works.