Locktite on suspension components?

[bucktownturtle]

So I was in death valley last weekend driving over about 30 miles of corrugated dirt/rock road and I heard a weird noise. I stopped and got under the truck and noticed the rear sway bar was not in the right spot. The drivers side bracket on the axle was completely loose and the passenger side was on its way out as well. I know I torqued these to specifications a few months ago as I did the lift back in September. I lost a bolt and had to borrow one to get everything back together. Does anyone use locktite on suspension components to make sure the vibrations on these corrugated roads doesn't loosen bolts?

 

[bucktownturtle]

Couple pics for fun

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View attachment 1956687

 

[trdcorolla]

Yikes. I didn't use any thread lock when I refurb'd my swaybars. I used all new hardware, did you reuse old hardware and use something like pb blaster and didn't clean/dry the bolts before reinstalling?

 

[4Beast]

Sounds like a good question. The related question is probably, Is there any downside to using some blue locktite on suspension components?

 

[geanes]

I don't have an issue with Loctite on any "threaded" components like bolts (use is it on all the bolts on my mountain and road bikes). However, do NOT use the RED Loctite. That one is permanent. Use the BLUE only. A trailer I just bought had the Timbren Axle-less suspension installed and the builder used RED Loctite. I have to swap out the suspension and let me tell you.....trying to break free any bolt that has been red Loctited is a a supreme effort. If the bolts weren't Grade 8. I'd have likely snapped every single one of them.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

I don't have an issue with Loctite on any "threaded" components like bolts (use is it on all the bolts on my mountain and road bikes). However, do NOT use the RED Loctite. That one is permanent. Use the BLUE only. A trailer I just bought had the Timbren Axle-less suspension installed and the builder used RED Loctite. I have to swap out the suspension and let me tell you.....trying to break free any bolt that has been red Loctited is a a supreme effort. If the bolts weren't Grade 8. I'd have likely snapped every single one of them.

Trick to red is heat How to Remove Red Threadlocker - Henkel Adhesive Technologies Blog

So I was in death valley last weekend driving over about 30 miles of corrugated dirt/rock road and I heard a weird noise. I stopped and got under the truck and noticed the rear sway bar was not in the right spot. The drivers side bracket on the axle was completely loose and the passenger side was on its way out as well. I know I torqued these to specifications a few months ago as I did the lift back in September. I lost a bolt and had to borrow one to get everything back together. Does anyone use locktite on suspension components to make sure the vibrations on these corrugated roads doesn't loosen bolts?

I'm bored so I'll open up a can of worms...
Threadlocker isn't going to hurt anything, but the way to go would be to get new hardware. One thing to note is that a torque spec is given for wet or dry (it's not always specified, but general practice is to assume dry unless manual says to install wet)... the threadlocker will act as a lubricant, and will mean that your applied torque on a nut with threadlocker will result in a higher clamping force (or maybe even yield) than an identical setup, with a dry bolt. Most of the bolts and nuts in the suspension system have a retaining feature, that is generally only good for one install. As an example for a nut with a retiaing feature, the torque specified in the manual is typically the torque required to overcome the "run on torque" (the torque needed to turn the nut down the threads) added to the torque required to get the clamping force with the bolt. So, if you reuse a nut with a retaining feature, even if you torque it correctly, you may be overloading the bolt, stretching the bolt to yield, and impacting the thread shapes so that the fastener can back out over time. If you want to get really complicated, yielding the bolt makes it more susceptible to stress induced corrosion as it opens up the grains, and it also impacts the fatigue life of the bolt.

Bolt Torque Calculator: Loads & Preloads Data and Calculator

Calculate required bolt torque.

www.engineeringtoolbox.com

 

[geanes]

Trick to red is heat How to Remove Red Threadlocker - Henkel Adhesive Technologies Blog

Bolt Torque Calculator: Loads & Preloads Data and Calculator

Calculate required bolt torque.

www.engineeringtoolbox.com

Oh, I know that I had to heat the bolts an ungodly amount and use a 3 foot prybar to get the bolts to come loose. I think they were torqued down by an 800 pound gorilla with a desire to use as much red Loctite as possible. They did eventually break loose. Couldn't imagine trying to break them free without heat though.