Our large bottles of Eskonke just came in, and it's the same great gel like stuff amzn.to/3TVlgsz Feel torque alone doesn't make for a good or bad threadlocker? Us too! This video mainly covers the AFTER effects of 4 topics: heat/engine temps, target tq, vibration testing, and even oil resistance that didn't require any tq value comparisons. Sure, a torque wrench obtains a lot of the resulting data, but that's also how Loctite tests samples too :D
If you look at the test results for your tests, the ESKONKE brand is the only thread locker that actually created full locking torque with a hand tight fastener. In my opinion this is the only test that matters. The whole point of thread locker is to prevent a loss of life or a catastrophic explosion on mission critical bolts. Airplanes, motorcycles, internal engine parts, suspension parts, seat belt bolts, etc. It is possible to "forget" to torque a bolt properly. If that bolt loosening could cause a loss of life, then it needs a thread locker that works, even if you forget to torque it properly. For example, the Suzuki DR650 motorcycle, for almost 20 years, they didn't use thread locker on internal transmission bolts. There are 2 very small bolts inside the transmission case that fall out, potentially locking up the transmission. The other brands did not work for hand tightened bolts, only Eskonke, and the really cheap $5.00 Amazon stuff that you threw away in the beginning. For life saving bolts, these are the thread lockers that should be employed.
I recently had a rocker keep undoing its self and found only Permatex to use. Failed few times, reapplied it one time at work right before driving home and its been tight ever since. Every other time I let it dry before driving. Cool stuff Guys.
Will the off-brand threadlockers be consistent over time? Thats my rationale to stay with the name brand. Maybe next year the Amazon seller finds a new cheaper supplier and it’s not the same thing
Loctite has one enormous advantage over all other brands. It has the system. Everything is researched, tested and compatible. They have databases, specialised advisers and training. Every product has dedicated degreasers, activators and applicators. We pay for all that of course, but in exchange we get repeatable results every time, a warranty and a peace of mind.
I reached out to a rep for a new process we were doing and finding the correct glue for it, and they sent out two people, some various equipment like automated dispensers, and we spent a few hours testing strength and seeing which one worked best for our application.
Their gap filler and 242 'press fit retainer ' has also proven a life safer. It's nice to know there's cheaper options perhaps but long run is it worth the risk? As an employee I always wonder about the liability.... Just like shopping AliExpress no certificate of liability later. It's all on you!
@@johngriffin618 They're too big for letting potential customers to do some trial and error with their products. It comes with a price, but it's worth it.
@@kisielthe1st lol, but actually all loctites are sweet. They add glucose to the mix so that you will notice if you have some on your hands when you grab a snack.
By far the best thread locker I've ever found is the new guy with an impact gun, guaranteed to never come off again. Cross threaded all the way down, break away torque needed for removal will exceed break away torque of the fastener. 2nd runner up is rust.
I think we can all agree, Science IS very dorky! But yea, those auto-captions do produce some real gems. Reminds me of the early days of online text translation software, but specifically running a phrase back and forth in a language a few times _(span->eng->span->eng etc)._ 🤣
You should have left the disqualified one on your chart with big bold letters warning anyone not to buy it. I know with other things where I'm considering a tool that's not in your chart, I will actually still consider just trying it. Absolutely love the video, for the weekend warriors another good test might have been extremely old loctite versus new loctite. I've got some 15-year-old stuff in a drawer if you want it.
My favorite application of thread locker is when the manufacturer applies it to an auto part in such away that it cannot be threaded in without scraping some off. Old gm distributor cap bolts would snap off a corner of the distributor if you did not clean off that huge glob.
The anaerobic polymer chain is activated with free ions. Non-ferrous materials even have issues due to their stability, even your coated fasteners inhibit the monomer kicking over and curing. If you used an activator on that acrylic block it would have even cured there within minutes.
That JB weld for the oiled bolt is the kind of “Mechanics Best Kept Secret” that guys spend years of wrenching to learn and only bother to share with their closets friends. I LOVE THE WORK YOU GUYS DO! Thank You for doing these real world tests that are EXTREMELY relevant to not just the pro’s but even the average guy doing his own mechanic work.
I guess my contention with low/medium strength threadlocker is that I don't need it to be harder to break free than what it was torqued to, I just need it to not loosen. So, ranking blue threadlocker that takes more break free strength as better doesn't really jive with how I think most people are using it. Take for example Loctite, even on the 300 degree heat cycle, 176 in-lbs still exceeds their listed break free strength on their website, which is listed as 106 in-lbs. Even the fact that Loctite's finger tight 3/8" fastener dropped to 32 in-lbs of break free torque after all the vibration is still fine, as it isn't loosening. The other thing to consider with the heat test is that most ovens will exceed the target heat setting for a short time before settling back to target setting. Obviously, there's some overlap there with providing a substance that can prevent a fastener from loosening and not creating too much break free torque, but overall, when I'm using threadlocker it isn't to provide extra strength, it's just to maintain the torque I've set. So, for me, accurate torque value with the threadlocker, along with the fastener not being significantly harder to break free than what I torqued it to is most important. I would have preferred to see the threadlockers do better with the oil test, but I'm not going to use threadlocker on any fastener that coated in oil, so, generally not an issue. So, of the various threadlockers, the Loctite still provides the most beneficial metrics for me personally, accuracy of torque values, consistent resistance to loosening except for liberal oil contamination, and break free values that aren't excessively high. Thanks for the test, really awesome!
Well said. If I want higher break free torque, I will use red instead of blue lol Blue is specifically for when I want to ensure that the bolt only comes loose when I want it to, and also to ensure that it will indeed come loose, because it also functions as an anti sieze, protecting from corrosion and binding.
The curing also depends on ion exchange, that's why some lockers can only cure in the presence of iron, but even an open bottle never hardens/dries out. Most are multi metal acting now, they use funny tricks to also cure in the presence of aluminum or titanium.
Great stuff here! I feel like it's somewhat important to point out that the 243 line you mostly tested targets the surface insensitive range of blue, which is both oil resistant and generally a newer formula than the 242 range, which is what was tested with Permatex (24200, they use the last two digits to differentiate between package sizes) in this video. The Permatex product numbers are slightly tricky like that, but Vibra-Tite really pulls a tricky one with theirs, often taking the standard number everyone uses and doing some simple math with it, like the low strength "222" for most threadlocker brands becomes "111" for Vibra-Tite. I think because "242" got an update and +1 for the number, Vibra-Tite started with "121" and then made "122" as their surface insensitive version.
FYI the lubrication you can get out of a threadlocker or other thread coating is most often not about getting a higher clamping load, but more consistent clamping loads across all bolted joints. Plain bolts can have pretty wildly varying clamping loads, and many applications require a tight, consistent clamping load. There's a particular application that I use a higher grade, pre-applied microcapsule thread locker for this purpose. I need the bolted joints to be within a tight range of clamping load, but I also need them to not back out and to last for 10+ years. Another thread coating, like teflon, would allow me to easily get that tight range of clamp load, but it increases risk of bolts backing out, especially with the light clamping loads we have, so we use a pre-applied thread locker to do both.
Interesting, I never thought about how you could use it to hit specific clamp loads. Thanks for sharing that information! Do you mind sharing what you do?
Rockset is an interesting threadlocker to test. It supposed to function like red, but heat doesn't release it, hot water does. Its used for firearm muzzle devices.
Never tried it but gunsmiths SWEAR by the stuff. The two drawbacks are it's expensive and it has a very short shelf life. 1 year and unlike most thread lockers once it's expired it's rendered useless.
@@rileyneufeld7001 it's $10/oz on the manufacturer's incredibly old-school website but everyone says you only need a drop or two to get it stuck on there real good
@@rileyneufeld7001 I only order rocksett when I know I'll be putting on suppressor QD interfaces because of how fast it expires. Most muzzle devices have large margins for misalignment and are fine with the uneven pressure imparted by crush washers, and gas blocks can be staked over to secure the set screws without the use of high-temp threadlockers.
@@Dprill95 I've only used it on qd mounts for suppressors, the mount hasn't come off with the can again so I think it's working. I honestly didn't know about the short shelf life, so I guess I have a useless bottle now.
Interesting In the shop I keep Lock Tight 243 , 263 and 272 for different jobs But I also have used a Anti sabotage permanent thread locker that we had to use at work We got it in plain White tubes with just Permanent on the outside of the tube After a few days if you wanted to remove the nut , on a 1 1/8" bolt We would have to torch off the nut As even with a 1" impact and heating the nut with the with a torch Or a wrench and 10 foot cheater bar We never could get the nut off the bolt without twisting the bolt to the breaking point
The substrate actually matters with threadlocker. Plain steel has has about twice the holding strength compared to stainless steel or zinc plated bolts. Plain steel nuts and bolts also cure faster.
More reasons why i will simply be refering to this stuff as "magic sauce" from now on. If im putting it on, its either because i was told to or because i have a feeling. Thats it.
I seem to remember when Project Farm did this very thing.... EDIT/UPDATE (after watching): I concede, your testing was indeed more different, making BOTH testing videos required watching! : )
Hey, at 12:30 you said that LOCTITE 243 is supposed to be oil resistant. This is true, but only for most factory oil coasted fasteners, and not all of them (see Product page). 243 is not made for being used in an oily enviorment and is only resistance against minor oil contaminations (see TDS). Since you have coated the Bolts with a good amount of oil it makes sense that LOCTITE 243 has problems with it.
Yeah, I would have liked to have seen a more reasonable oil contamination test. I'd never ever bother to use a threadlocker on a fastener that has oil pooling on it. What would be beneficial to see is what threadlockers can resist a minor coating of oil or grease that has been wiped off with a rag and generally wiped reasonably dry.
I wouldn't have thought of this as a subject for a video....but it was well worth making a video out of! Surprises all the way around, I hope you end up making a few more videos in this category....
Should look into old "expired" bottles of Loctite, as well as ones stored in hot/cold extremes (like a garage/vehicle). Does any of that really lead to it not performing as well?
Curious about the backyard thread-lockers. A buddy of mine swears by superglue, JB weld, electrical and plumbers tape for locking threads. Upvote for attention, would love to see it!
When I got my PA state safety inspection license it was at local Vo Tech auto shop. There was signs up that said Little bolts < 3/8 to use anti seize on them. Larger bolts use Loctite. It will actually act as an anti seize since it doenst allow corrosion to intrude into the threads.
Yeah I've actually switched from using anti-seize in general to almost always using blue thread locker or something more intense like orange or red when necessary. I try to make sure there is some on the threads closest to any environmental exposure so it creates a vapor barrier. Seems to work well to prevent rust to me and less risk of a loose fastener. There are still some bolts I prefer to use anti-seize on, but even then I often have the fancy Nickel stuff.
So basically, if i walked into a big box store, I'd buy JB Weld threadlocker for threads with oil exposure, Loctite for applications with heat, and either for an application with vibration, like a vehicle chassis. Probably avoid Permatex threadlocked because it's an inferior product.
Unfortunately this data isn't as relevant for practical use. I don't need the strongest blue thread locker. If you have ever done work in the field, a stronger thread locker only makes your life much, much worse. The point of blue thread locker is to keep the bolt from coming loose, not weld it in. However, the part about torque accuracy is much more relevant.
Whoever is behind this channel has impressive foresight. Integrity isn’t inexistent, yet rare. The foresight into a niche market, integrity, finding success, is rare.
Crazy timing. I was just thinking about buying Some loctite. I told my wife to pick up some this morning, but she said she had already left The store. So now I guess I'll order some ESKONKE
My last purchase was Permatex. That will also be my LAST purchase of Permatex. My Permatex blue and red gels are headed to the trash. I thought I was just imagining that it didn't hold as well as the Loctite I had been using for years. Thank you for this video!!
Just because it wasn't as good as another product doesn't mean it isn't worth using. I recently used the red gel on a couple bolts holding a driveshaft to a rear pinion. I was interrupted before I tightened them down and the loctite had already cured. I still had to heat the area with a mapp torch to get them loose. Not as good as the next product, but definitely effective.
@@RK-kn1ud I understand what you are saying. But my original comment said I had noticed a didn't hold as well as my usual choice. The fact is, it didn't hold at all. Some of these products work better on certain metals than on others. I was using it on brass Chicago screws. The Permatex never fully cured. Some of these require at least one of the metals to be ferrous. My normal Loctite cures with any metal according to its label.
i love the permatex gel for small fastener (m2.5 and m3) has enough torque that it doesn't loosen in RC car racing but is still possible to unscrew easily
If you are a gear head or ORV enthusiast.... DO NOT BUY Locktite.... One of the owners is actively working to have ORV Trails closed in Colorado. He's recently bought a huge plot of land that boarders State and local trails... and now his activism is to alienate many of those that gave him the ability to buy this land. I highly suggest Stuck Nutz
I operate machinery in very corrosive, high vibration environments. I was trained to always use threadlocker on wheel bolts and antisieze on every other bolt. Several years ago, I resorted to using rtv on all bolts. The antifreeze wears off over time. The threadlocker makes bolts too difficult to remove without breaking them. The rtv seems to seal out moisture and corrosives while simultaneously resisting bolt loosening from vibration. I have never had an issue since I started using rtv sealant instead. It is a perfect replacement for my application.
I hade a problem with red locktite gel about 5 years ago on a mustang we put aluminum hubs in it from summit and the locktite was required for the wheel studs they thread in instead of press because of the aluminum hubs and after a week we were switching the rims around and it was a mess the lug nuts wouldn't come off because the wheel studs dint lock in turned out the locktite never set up it was just like it was when we put it on a week later. We ended up having to re do everything we used it on we used the regular red liquid and it set up and solved the problem. I'm assuming it was bad but I have never used that gel stuff again we did set some bolts aside and 2 months later it still was only half dry but may have to try that Amazon brand. Thanks for the video love watching your guys videos have a good one!!!!!!
I'm curious how Loctite's Glue Stick Blue Threadlocker compares to the liquid stuff as I've been using the glue stick as it's easier to apply and doesn't drip everywhere,
I'd like to see you test the Harbor Freight thread lockers too, they're what I tend to go for due to price and unlikely to be fake (while I think a lot of Amazon "loctite" is fake)
Fun Fact: Loctite used to own Permatex - they owned it from the 1970s and then after a lot of typical corporate dancing, Loctite got spun out to Henkel in 1997. I still think of them as a single unit, even though they've been separate companies for over 25 years. Used to be 242 instead of 243 blue - and 271 red, and 640 sleeve retainer. They were THE standard (for the reasons shown) Great to get an update. I must admit, I have a gluestick version of 271 that I really like on high strength jobs.
I was just looking at options to buy some thread-locker when this came up. Thank you for a complete analyses of the options. This helped me quite a bit.
I wish harbor freights brand would have been included in this. I pick a bottle up every time I'm in there buying tools and its around $2 for a bottle I believe for the blue stuff. I've been using it as a mechanic for many years. Never had an issue with it.
Can yall test the red and green stuff. I want to see the penetrating stuff to see how actually helpful it is. I only want to see the red stuff to see people suffer.
If you can get it, I would love to see Liqui Moly thread locker. It's a German brand that I use. And please get the ultra cheap stuff from Temu. Oh, and the Loctite sticks, the glue stick like Loctite stuff is so good to use on smaller bolts.
about 20+ years ago i replaced the transmission in my wifes truck. i was young and didnt know any better and didnt use thread locker on the converter bolts. needless to say they backed out and my father in-law tighten them back up using clear fingernail polish. needless to say the bolts are still in place today. im sure it wont match thread lockers status but it would be nice to see where it does fall on the chart
Yes! My stepdad is a 30 yr retired Aviation mechanic, and he used clear nail polish in a pinch on my project car as a kid, would love to see this in the list as well.
I’ve been using the Permatex Gel on my dirt bike and street bike amongst other things. I like it for ease of use and it’s not messy. I haven’t had any issues with bolts/nuts coming loose either despite its mediocre performance here. Great video once again!!
The purchasing guy at work just bought the crew sets of Loctite PN 576507, stick applicators. I would like to see some testing on these "lipstick" type applicators vs traditional liquid or gel bottles. At least compare the 248 lipstick to 243. The lipsticks are better to carry in a tool bag than liquid bottles that spill or leak.
I really just wish it was a rule they had to put each color of thread locker in a matching color bottle! I generally keep a lot of blue, some orange, and some red around. Tend to use blue on a ton of fasteners these days more for rust prevention than anything else. Use the higher grade stuff on super critical fasteners like flywheel bolts, but prefer orange for the easier loosening.
It doesn’t work on plastic or polymers only metal and aluminum. Great video . Did you mention it has an expiration date on loctite. It’s important to check for current dates
ok so boiler and chiller worker here. you can put on these and wet assemble or put on bolt and let cure then dry assemble. that changes the holding power. as i'm working with 360 degree F these are a bit low temp for my usage.
That Permatex gel is great for tiny fasteners on R/C models, just enough to resist coming loose with vibration, and you can still take things apart when needed.
Thanks for the effort in this. Trying out orange and green colored threadlockers to see how they compare to standard colors, perhaps other myths (CA glue, epoxy, soldering, staking) would be interesting.
If you continue testing threadlockers, I'd really like to see the wicking variants, what Loctite makes in green, which I know is a lower strength even though they're called medium/high; though with the greens specifically, I'd like to also see the acrylic test again, just to see how far down they do wick before they start curing, if it's a similar pattern as a dotted/striped blue or if they fill more of the threads. You should also look through Henkel's own chart, blue has some pastes (2422, 2046), a semisolid stick (248), and a tape (249); I'm sure competitors have their own variants of these, probably some specialty products thrown in too. While looking through Henkel's chart, there's also quite a range in viscosity of the liquid products, 246 has the highest outside of the thixotropic liquids (242, 243), though there's no viscosity number for the pastes. Other things to note, blue has an 'ultra high temperature' variant (2422), red has a high lubricity variant (2047), and the 'mil-spec' blue is designed to be removable rather than locking (242) [I assume similar to a nylon lock nut, and/or a thread protector compound?], and the standard blue (243) and red (263) are actually the 'primerless and oil resistant' products; there's also a low strength locker made specifically for plastic fasteners (425). I think a lot of people here would be interested in seeing 249, and likely the pastes and stick as well, just considering application and product retention is simpler with bolts that're harder to get in place. Then on the opposite end of the spectrum, are there any plans to test antiseizes? If you do could you also include a note not to use antiseize on modern spark plugs (unneeded as modern plugs are plated with trivalent chromate or nickel), not to use it as a lubricant (such as how some people mention to use copper antiseize on brake caliper slides, proper lubricants literally exist for this reason), and how it should really only be used as a corrosion preventative (but this, like most supplementary products, depends on temperatures the parts will likely see, for example wheel area and especially brake area bolts get insanely hot, where the grease component can boil off and you can end up with a worse seizing situation).
I'd like to have seen you add Locktite Stick blue medium strength threadlocker. I suffer from Intention Tremors which basically means my hands shake almost uncontrollably whenever I try to do something with them like putting an expensive threadlocker on a tiny bolt. I work on small engines like you find in grass trimmers and lawn mowers. Small and tiny bolts and nuts seeing in excess of 10,000 rpm are the norm. I was thrilled when I saw that Locktite developed a stick version of Locktite. I'm not getting a rash of come-backs because of loosened bolts ever since I switched to the Stick, but you never know. I'm especially interested to see how the Stick affects torque results. I'm one of those weird guys that actually uses a torque wrench on most fasteners, even spark plugs. I repair a lot of broken studs and stripped out bolt holes that other "mechanics" have broken.
Worked in a factory building boats for years. Our engineers always stressed all you need is a drop or two of thread locker. As one of the mechanics that worked anything from fresh off the line to boats that had been in the field for years I can confirm with out a doubt that that is true.
Vibra-tite would be an interesting comparison. In addition to a direct Loctite competitor, they also have an shock/vibration resistant version that doesn't fracture when torqued. Loctite may have another blue formation that's more oil resistant. They have a ton of different formulas.
Retaining compound tests would be amazing! Testing them with various press fits/loose fits using precision bearings in aluminum/steel holes is something i absolutely need to see. Theres 0 testing or data on this other than datasheets!! Would be cool to see the 638 vs 648 vs 538 of all the various brands, though it may be an expensive process
Ive always been taught to use loctite a drop large enough to cover 3-4 threads about 2-3 threads from the bottom. Ive never had an issue with that amount being too little or too much, seems just right.
would love to see one done on all the different Loctite version if you have never seen the catalogue of Loctite and its many versions check it out and i mean on just the low strength(blue) version, theres something for every situation you could think of.
I've been using Inbus threadlocker myself, if there's a followup I'd be curious to see it. Works well enough for me, that said I use it on electronics mainly. Laptops, coffee makers, Ipads, TVs that sort of thing because I repair them which involves taking them apart, screws into soft material will never stay tight without help after a few goes so threadlocker becomes needed. Especially on devices that get moved a lot. But the strength requirement is super low so it's not too big a deal. But still curious how good the stuff I use is objectively beyond "good enough for my application"
I quit using loctite when the red failed on a mixer (I replaced with red from Harbor Fraud and it's still holding). Permatex was my next attempt for things I wanted to depend on and (I still keep a little of the gel). I tried Vibra-tite on a recommendation of a friend (I needed the purple) and have bought several kinds since. I really like the supposedly removable brush on but it also clearly holds to the thread area you apply it to which appeared many in your test did not. I don't know that it would compare to the surprise response from Eskonke though so may have to pick up a little to compare.
What i got out of this is to absolutely make sure your boots are clean of oil before using loctite . If unable to clean your bolts of oil then use the jb weld
I have used "contact cement" or rubber glue (comes in tire plug/patch kits), it dries kinda gummy, great at resisting vibrations but still easy enough to remove (i use it for thumb screws) so you still have to be able to remove it by hand withiut tools
Those Vampo torque wrenches are really cheap, but they work very well. I bought a small 1/4" manual cick type torque wrench by Vampo about a year ago for my mobile mechanic business and it works very well, and is very accurate as well. I had my reservations at first, but was pleasantly surprised. Despite its very cheap price, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it's performance. People think you need a really nice and really expensive torque wrench to get accurate torque values, but thats just not true. You actually proved that in one of your videos no too long ago.
Fun fact: Loctite says to use loctite brand primer brfore using thread locker for best results on the back of the bottle. It used to anyway, haven't read one in years.
I found the Realth Brand years ago on the Zon and been using ever since.Bigger bottle and it works for what I need it for...Patio and regular furniture assembly.I use the M271
