Author Topic: loctite 511: worth the price or will an alternative do?  (Read 4344 times)

in4

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loctite 511: worth the price or will an alternative do?
« on: June 02, 2018, 02:05:32 PM »
Any similar alternatives being used  by anyone?

John Saxby

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Re: loctite 511: worth the price or will an alternative do?
« Reply #1 on: June 02, 2018, 04:23:38 PM »
I use Permatex--mostly blue, however, not white.  Also Permatex anti-seize.  Similar product to Loctite.

Here are sample products, prices in Canadian $$:  http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/search-results.html?x1=c.cat-level-1;q1=Automotive;x2=c.cat-level-2;q2=Car+Care;x3=c.cat-level-3;q3=Adhesives+%26+Sealants;x4=c.cat-level-4;q4=Threadlockers+%26+Anti-Seize+Lubrication;x5=brand;q5=Permatex

mickeg

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Re: loctite 511: worth the price or will an alternative do?
« Reply #2 on: June 02, 2018, 05:37:31 PM »
There are several different thread locker materials sold.  I use the generic term Loctite, even though Loctite is a brand name.  (For years I still called all photocopiers a Xerox machine, regardless of manufacturer.)

The color blue (of the substance, not necessarily the packaging) I think is generic for the variety that you can still unscrew the fastener later.  The color does not really matter, but the ability to remove your fastener later is important.  I usually refer to it as blue Loctite.

I use it on all rack bolts, all kickstand bolts, and starting last year when I lost a cleat bolt, all shoe cleat bolts too.  And of course on my Rohloff hub drain screw after Dave commented that a thread locker also helped avoid dissimilar metal corrosion.  It usually already is added to bolts that are threaded into cantilever brake posts, etc., thus I do not bother to add it when it is already there.

But most other bolts, like water bottle cage bolts, seatpost bolts, stem bolts, etc., I use grease instead of a thread locker.

Grease being a lubricant, you do not think of it as something that will keep a bolt from falling out, but it is a viscous fluid, and for that reason it helps reduce loss of bolts and nuts from vibration. 

If you use a torque wrench, using different materials on a clean fastener will change the torque necessary to install it, but since I almost never use a torque wrench, that does not matter to me so I have no advice on that topic.

The number 511, I suspect that number is specific to the packaging for a specific country.  When Thorn has suggested a specific number, several years ago I tried to find it for sale in USA and it was unavailable but other varieties of Loctite were readily available.

PH

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Re: loctite 511: worth the price or will an alternative do?
« Reply #3 on: June 04, 2018, 10:53:07 PM »
Why 511?  It looks expensive, what is it for?
I use 242, as do the bike shops I've asked, it's cheap enough for me to not bother looking for alternatives and a tube goes a long way.

Dave Whittle Thorn Workshop

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Re: loctite 511: worth the price or will an alternative do?
« Reply #4 on: June 05, 2018, 08:51:36 AM »
511 is an oil proof sealant, for what it costs (its expensive) you can buy allot of new drain plugs (which come with it pre-applied) https://www.weicon.co.uk/product/an-301-72/ is a what the factory use so I see no reason you couldn't use that instead.