Red locktite on freeze plugs?

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ValiantOne

ValiantOne

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Hey All,

I've always used aircraft form a gasket on freeze plugs. It has never let me down.

The machinist that did my block recommended red locktite. I have plenty of that down in the shop too. Anyone here ever use it and prefer it?

He builds some pretty wild dirt track engines. It must work okay!

Thoughts?

Thanks,

CE
 
I can imagine not wanting to blow a core plug out of a circle track car but, like you, my choice would be the Permatex.
 
Permatex. Red loctite is not the right thing to use on a core plug. No such thing as a freeze plug, btw.
 
If anything, wick n' seal or wick n' lock, but I usually put them in dry.
 
If Loctite is used I believe it would be their retaining compound, 609 or 638
 
I had a professional NASCAR engine builder tell me that he epoxied core plugs in. When I removed one of his I did indeed find epoxy holding them in. They went back in the same way.
 
MichaelB. said:
I had a professional NASCAR engine builder tell me that he epoxied core plugs in. When I removed one of his I did indeed find epoxy holding them in. They went back in the same way.
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Interesting. Did they pin them too? I assume not as you'd probably have mentioned it, but thought I'd ask.
 
No pins. Good question though. Siamese 355CI block and standard brass plugs. I asked him twice, and he ferruled his eyebrows and said "did I stutter the 1st time kid?"
 
We used blue loctite on the block line that I worked on....
 
Red and blue locktite are NOT sealers and a sealer is what you want. Use the right thing for the right application. I coat them with a thin bead of Permatex #2, but any good sealer will work.
 
I use ultimate grey Permatex. Never, ever had a problem
 
RustyRatRod said:
Red and blue locktite are NOT sealers and a sealer is what you want. Use the right thing for the right application. I coat them with a thin bead of Permatex #2, but any good sealer will work.
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Rusty just gave the straight poop right here.

Most loctite products are not sealers. That doesn't mean some people don't use them as such.

The biggest thing about core plugs is the are installed straight, and not cocked. The sealer is just a backup.
 
Loctite makes hundreds of products. Adhesives, sealants, and thread-lockers. Maybe 1/3 of them are "red". So until you know the exact Loctite red product being discussed, it is pointless to have this conversation.
 
69_340_GTS said:
Loctite makes hundreds of products. Adhesives, sealants, and thread-lockers. Maybe 1/3 of them are "red". So until you know the exact Loctite red product being discussed, it is pointless to have this conversation.
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Red loctite thread locker is what we are discussing.
 
ValiantOne said:
So the guy that built engines on an assembly line used loctite, but everyone else says no way! Lol. We have some "internet consensus" going on right here!
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Yes, we made 500,000 engines per year... after loctiting and installing the plugs, we air tested the water jacket to check for leaks before sending the block to the assembly line... If they didn't seal, the repair hole would get flooded with rejects, but that rarely happened, if ever...

I'm sure that the blue loctite that we used was recommended for this application.... they have many products for various applications...


However, use whatever you are comfortable with as long as it seals is the goal...
 
krazykuda said:
I posted after you that we used blue Loctite on the block line of the engine factory that I worked in...
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I got ya. I was just answering the post before that, where the guy was trying to narrow down which "red loctite" we were discussing. I found your experience very interesting.
 
ValiantOne said:
I got ya. I was just answering the post before that, where the guy was trying to narrow down which "red loctite" we were discussing. I found your experience very interesting.
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When you work for a manufacturer with high volume, the vendor reps are more than happy to come in and recommend their products and give you some free samples to test.... If they get the business, it's well worth it to them... You get the industry experts helping you with your problems so you get the proper solution...
 
krazykuda said:
When you work for a manufacturer with high volume, the vendor reps are more than happy to come in and recommend their products and give you some free samples to test.... If they get the business, it's well worth it to them... You get the industry experts helping you with your problems so you get the proper solution...
Click to expand...
Up
ValiantOne said:
Hey All,

I've always used aircraft form a gasket on freeze plugs. It has never let me down.

The machinist that did my block recommended red locktite. I have plenty of that down in the shop too. Anyone here ever use it and prefer it?

He builds some pretty wild dirt track engines. It must work okay!

Thoughts?

Thanks,

CE
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Up north in Canuck land they call them Frost plugs
 
sabre67 said:
Up

Up north in Canuck land they call them Frost plugs
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In the foundry they call them core plugs...

They use those holes to remove the core sand after the metal cools....

If they can't get all of the core sand out of the casting or some of it gets 'burned into" the walls, then it may cause hot spots in the areas where it's restricted.... Those holes allow the foundry to remove the sand out of the jackets (shaking and poking at it) so it doesn't hurt cooling ability... The inner cores are used to shape the inside of the casting (water jacket and cylinders)...

At the foundry they have a huge conveyor that moves the blocks and shakes them to loosen the core sand. This is after they remove the core boxes that shape the outside of the block. They get thrown on the conveyor/shaker and transferred to the core sand removal area where someone takes one and pokes in the jackets to help loosen any sand that won't come out by shaking... (that shaker can loosen the fillings in your teeth...)

Then they get machined to accept the cup plug so the water jacket is sealed....
 
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Now that's an awesome bit of information....

So are those plugs used for freezes to keep the block from cracking at all?

Or were they strictly for sand removal?
 
glhx said:
Now that's an awesome bit of information....

So are those plugs used for freezes to keep the block from cracking at all?

Or were they strictly for sand removal?
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Sand removal.... If the block freezes, the water won't push the freeze plugs out...

If you think that your engine/block may freeze during storage, remove/loosen the radiator cap so the water has somewhere to expand and not put pressure on the block and crack it...
 
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