Preemptive use of anti-sieze?

[george gonzalez]

Okay, we live in an area that uses a lot of salt on the roads. I watch the TouTube videos of guys down south that can loosen their suspension bolts with a three fingers on a 6-inch long wrench. I’ve done the same, removing exhaust bolts on a ex-Texas car with no problems at all. In any real Minnesota Car, removing ANY bolt underneath usually requires a breaker-bar, impact wrench, sprays, heat, or cutting or grinding off the bolt. Just yesterday on our 15yr old Odyssey van, I had to grind off the bolts going through several suspension bushings as the bolts were firmly rusted into the bushings. A breaker bar got the bolt to turn, but it also broke loose the inner bushing liner from the rubber, making the bolt impossible to turn separately from the liner. So I had to grind and then SawzAll the bolts out. A real pain.

Which makes me think, would it be a good idea to, when the car is only a few years old, to spend a day removing one bolt at a time and anti-seizing the heck out of them? What is a really good anti-seize compound?

Thanks,

George

Topic

[college man]

I would not go taking the fasteners apart to put antisieze on them.
If your in there doing work by all means. You can spray things with
wd-40 to help keep moisture/corrosion down but rust and corrosion is
the nature of the beast. What you could also do is clean any rust/corrosion
and use paint to help. I like anything made by loctite either copper or nickel
antisieze.

[Lorrin Barth]

Most people who live in the NE just accept the fact that their vehicle is going to rust to pieces. It needn’t be that way no matter the conditions. Ocean going vessels are swabbed with anti rust oils. This stuff works on automobiles too but since there is no demand in this market the products are hard to find.

This last time I found product I had to purchase a five gallon bucket. Now I need more.

What you do is raise the vehicle, mask off places you don’t want oiled (like brakes) and wearing a painter’s mask, apply with a spray gun or paint brush. You also need to spray interior cavities in the body.

The vehicle will drip and make a mess on the garage floor for a few day so have oil dry on hand. If you drive dusty roads the vehicle will collect a oily dirt coating, Clean off the dirt and find the fastener underneath rust free. You will need to refresh areas that get a lot of splash like fender wells annually. Anyway, serious work but effective.

Back when cars had metal quarter panels behind the rear wheels, when the drain would plug, this pocket behind the rear tire in the trunk would often fill with water. Cars more than several years old would have rust in this area. The quarter panel drain on my car plugged and the pocket filled with water. I don’t know how long it was this way but when I probed the drain and released the water it came out clear and the pocket was rust free. This after being treated with anti rust oil.

[Gary]

Two words: PB Blaster. Wonderful Stuff. No need to go crazy with anti-seize as it would just be a lot of unnecessary work IMO, but when you do have to make a repair and a bolt/part is rusted you can spray it with PB and it will help loosen things up and make getting the bolt out much easier.

[Dr. Jerryrigger]

PB blaster (aka weasel blaster) is a big help, but it’s not like working on a southern car.
WD 40 is great for some stuff too. I spray a pint on my cars in every fall. If you have too much time hose everything down with WD 40, wait a few days, then put a dab of anti seize around every bolt and nut where water could get in.

[EricTheCarGuy]

I don’t think that’s a good strategy. In fact, some manufacturers recommend against the use of antisieze on fasteners for fear they may work loose during operation. That said you’re best friend when working with rusty fasteners is a torch hands down. I’ve been working as a professional mechanic for years and I’ve never found anything better.

Also, you want to use an impact on rusty fasteners. A twisting force will actually create a higher risk of breaking fasteners over an impact.

[Author]

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