This is a question that I have had for quite some time.
On the Hondas and Toyotas I have worked on, no where in the shop manual does it state to use Loctite on the caliper bracket to knuckle bolts or on the caliper assembly to bracket bolts. And to this day, I have never had an issue with the bolts backing out, knock on wood.
However, back when I had my Saturn, I remember that GM recommended that threadlocker be used on the caliper bracket to knuckle bolts. Of course, I never used any when I reassembled mine since whoever watched over me at the time said it was not needed. I never had any problems, either.
If you google "loctite on brake caliper," you will come across a number of threads about this topic, almost exclusively on GM forums. There are a number of posts about brake calipers falling off due to a tech's failure to use loctite. It is difficult to believe that floating calipers are significantly different on GM cars, and require the use of threadlocker for the bolts to not back out. (For instance, the only difference I remember about my Saturn's calipers were that the slide pins bolted the caliper to the bracket, unlike most other cars where the slide pins remain in the bracket itself.)
With that said, these are the questions that I have:
1) Is Loctite really needed for brake caliper bolts?
2) Is it good insurance to put some on anyway? If so, would Loctite blue be a good product to use for this?
3) On the GM applications that require it, what is the origin of the requirement? How is there more stress on the caliper bracket bolts in those applications? What makes them more prone to backing out?
4) Is Loctite red the best product for the bracket to knuckle bolts? I've been told that heat is not always needed for removal, and is more critical on smaller bolts where breakage is a greater concern.
Let's discuss.
Thanks!
On the Hondas and Toyotas I have worked on, no where in the shop manual does it state to use Loctite on the caliper bracket to knuckle bolts or on the caliper assembly to bracket bolts. And to this day, I have never had an issue with the bolts backing out, knock on wood.
However, back when I had my Saturn, I remember that GM recommended that threadlocker be used on the caliper bracket to knuckle bolts. Of course, I never used any when I reassembled mine since whoever watched over me at the time said it was not needed. I never had any problems, either.
If you google "loctite on brake caliper," you will come across a number of threads about this topic, almost exclusively on GM forums. There are a number of posts about brake calipers falling off due to a tech's failure to use loctite. It is difficult to believe that floating calipers are significantly different on GM cars, and require the use of threadlocker for the bolts to not back out. (For instance, the only difference I remember about my Saturn's calipers were that the slide pins bolted the caliper to the bracket, unlike most other cars where the slide pins remain in the bracket itself.)
With that said, these are the questions that I have:
1) Is Loctite really needed for brake caliper bolts?
2) Is it good insurance to put some on anyway? If so, would Loctite blue be a good product to use for this?
3) On the GM applications that require it, what is the origin of the requirement? How is there more stress on the caliper bracket bolts in those applications? What makes them more prone to backing out?
4) Is Loctite red the best product for the bracket to knuckle bolts? I've been told that heat is not always needed for removal, and is more critical on smaller bolts where breakage is a greater concern.
Let's discuss.
Thanks!