Thread: Anti-seize

the split washer or nyloc nut stops things from coming loose.....antisieze does not replace these

HTH

The friction on the thread and as mentioned by weeds the additional friction of the spring washer or nylock stop the nut undoing. The anti-seize stops the nut and bolt corroding together.

You can even use a small amount of anti seize on wheel nuts for the same reason. It will aid getting the correct tension on the rim face and make it easier to get them off later. This is particularly important on vehicles up to Series 3 where the stud is screwed in from the face and a seized nut can exert more resistance than the riveted over back of the stud, resulting in the stud coming out instead of the nut coming off.

Diana

Yep, agree with the above entirely (IE - split washers and nyloc nuts) ..... however, I have been using vaseline on every nut, bolt, screw that i take off and replace (including wheel nuts). This stuff is relatively cheap and does the same job (even better IMHO) in relation to stopping things from seizing and rusting and i reckon it lasts longer and is more water resistant.

I used to do a lot of mountain bike racing and used vas on all bolts nuts and stuff (not the chain though as it picks up a lot of crap .... only draw back with vas) .... Vas will stop things rusting to, especially if you pack it in the heads of your allen key bolts, phillips head screws and so forth, it makes it heaps easier to get your tools in the head later on ...... Try it man, it works a treat .....

Hucksta

Originally Posted by Hucksta

Yep, agree with the above entirely (IE - split washers and nyloc nuts) ..... however, I have been using vaseline on every nut, bolt, screw that i take off and replace (including wheel nuts). This stuff is relatively cheap and does the same job (even better IMHO) in relation to stopping things from seizing and rusting and i reckon it lasts longer and is more water resistant.

I used to do a lot of mountain bike racing and used vas on all bolts nuts and stuff (not the chain though as it picks up a lot of crap .... only draw back with vas) .... Vas will stop things rusting to, especially if you pack it in the heads of your allen key bolts, phillips head screws and so forth, it makes it heaps easier to get your tools in the head later on ...... Try it man, it works a treat .....

Hucksta

Any form of grease will have a similar effect. The difference with anti-seize is that in addition to the grease, it contains metallic particles which form a barrier between the nut and the thread, preventing the two identical metals from making contact (stopping the possibility of pressure welding in small spots), and this layer of different metal cannot wash away, as any grease will eventually do. In most cases any form of grease will do a good job, although vaseline is less water washable than most, but proper antiseize will last longer and is to be preferred for bolts that are likely to be undisturbed for a long time, such as body bolts or shackle pins. Even if the surfaces rust behind the antiseize, it provides a layer of weakness that is much more likely to remain in place than a layer of grease.

Another good material is Stockholm Tar - several years ago I disassembled a windmill tower almost 100 years old - all the bolts came undone easily although the galvanising on the structure had largely corroded away, and the smell clearly identified what was used. It has the advantage that exposed to the air it sets hard, acting as a nut lock, although this takes months.

John

I use anti-seize frequently, especially on high temperature fittings such as manifolds and exhausts, and on splines.

I once used it on a tow ball thread, but the nut undid itself three times, so in the end I cleaned it off and used grease and had no more problems. In hindsight it was probably caused by a blunt spring washer needing replacing.

I use a nickle based anti sieze on all the bedknife screws on the cylinder mowers 13 on each head, biggest mower has 7 heads all up 299 screws in all in works shed which are changed probably 2 to 3 times a year each depending on usage.

Ive been doing it for years as did everyone at my previous job as well and the difference between if there is N/S on them and not is night and day and the difference between it taking the whole day to change knives or it taking about 2hrs on the 7 unit machine.

Brilliant stuff, highly recomend it, the loctite one in the black tube is the easiest to use if you want to sqweeze it into a bolt hole but the brush is good to paint it on surfaces but with the tube you can do both, with the tub you only have the brush.

I was using grease on my Graders cutting edge bolts.Stopped using it as I was constantly loosing the bolts.Much harder to undo as the dirt impregnates the threads but they dont fall out.No nylocks or spring washers used.
They are done up tight as,4ft bar plus hit the bolt with a hammer whilst tightening.
As you can imagine alot of pressure is put on the bolts when the grader is working.
Andrew

as mentioned antisieze just stops them from corroding together or if they do it provides a determinal layer of weaker material that usually gives up its bond easily.

the bolt is held in place by the pressure on the threads or a secondary locking device be it lock washer, spring washer, lock tab, lock wire, split pin, double nutting, distorted thread, nyloc, peening or even a tack weld (yes Ive seen it specified on stuff thats not supposed to ever come apart but needs to be quickly removed if it has to)

The best thing i think of it is that it also serves as a thread lubricant making it easy to get a good torque setting on it.