Lock-Tite on Timing Chain Cover, Water Pump and Thermostat Housing?

Hello Everyone,

Tomorrow is the big day were I put everything back together. I noticed during disassembly a couple of the bolts on the Timing Chain Cover were loose and was wondering if I should use Lock-Tite on Timing Chain Cover, Water Pump and Thermostat Housing?

Thanks!

John V.

XJ 4 Liter 1989

No, just make sure they are torqued correctly and for sure not on the water pump or tstat housings. For those I would use copper antiseize....

Thanks RichP,

I've heard of antiseize but not copper antiseize.

What's the copper mean?

Best,

John V.

The copper anti-seize is supposed to be better. It is made with copper and is copper colored. I have used both the regular (silver color) and copper and never had a problem with either. But I guess if I had to choose I'd go copper, just because. If you already have the regular stuff, go ahead and use it.

The silver stuff is aluminum based and the copper is copper based. The shops that I do the snapOn and mitchell systems for around here have all switched to it. They all say the same thing, it lasts longer, gives them less trouble around high heat areas and when used on lug's and lug nuts seems to hold torque better. I switched a while back myself. One shop says it, well, maybe, two shops, still maybe, 5 shops then it is more than likely true. Course you never know, urban legends do have a habit of propagating
It does seem to last longer though judgeing by when I pulled the wheels last week for inspection. The copper stuff was put on last year, same time, annual inpsection. I rotated during the summer in the driveway, still there and I did not need to add to it, it was still there when we pulled the wheels to measure pad and shoe thickness...

One thing I have noticed over years of learning and watching, aluminum does have a reacton when put into contact with steel and iron, copper does not.

I've said it to my two boys, I've said it to neighbourhood kids I've started training, and I'm putting it in my book - NEVER PUT A BOLT IN DRY!

What you put on a bolt depends on what it secures and its environment...

For timing cover bolts, I use LT242.
Thermostat and water pump - LT-PST or Harvey's Teflon Pipe Dope. Either one will work like teflon tape, only better. While you're at it, consider switching the "wet" bolts in the job out for stainless or brass - both won't rust like regular steel bolts, and you won't have to worry about them. I use brass - both for "wet" bolts and for exhaust hardware.

One more time - NEVER PUT A BOLT IN DRY! This includes never-seez on anything in the chassis and the lug bolts...

5-90

When I used to work on Cooling Tower mechanicals, which constantly undergo warm moist conditions, we used aluminum antiseize on black steel fasteners and copper antiseize on hot dip galvanized and stainless steel fasteners. Building specs called for these applications.
B.

I've seen too many thermostat bolts sheared off to ever think about using Loc-Tite on them. Anti-seize all the way. The pros around here have switched to the copper base, too, primarily because it has a higher temperature range. I would switch, but the old silver stuff has worked well for me for many years and I still have most of a huge can of it left, so I'll keep using it 'til it's gone, then switch to copper.

Remember on any of this stuff -- published torque specs are for CLEAN DRY THREADS. When using anti-seize, reduce the published torque by 20% to 25%.