Headbarcode
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Mike
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2018
- Threads
- 26
- Messages
- 7,782
- Reaction score
- 17,834
- Location
- LI, New York
- Vehicle(s)
- 2019 JLUR Stingray 2.0 turbo
- Vehicle Showcase
- 1
I've also used these products. They're good for slight irregularities in light press fits, like bearing race and seal journals. I personally wouldn't use it on wallowed out knuckle tapers or the straight bored holes in the inner C's.
The nuts for the ball joint stems are only there to dissuade unwanted movement from starting. The condition of the taper itself is what dictates how long that friction joint will last after being put back into service. A properly fit and set taper can withstand a substantial amount of operating and impact forces. On the other hand, a wonky fit will never set, regardless of how much the castle nut gets over torqued. A cured liquid will mold itself to the contours of the ball joint stem, but won't do anything towards setting the taper. Even a hair of movement in that joint will lead to premature wear and failure, and it won't take long in this specific case.
Similar premature wear and failure will occur if the ball joint housings don't have a properly sized and continuous straight bore to press into. Unlike the light press fit of a bearing race in an aluminum case, a steel bushing housing in a ductile iron axle requires an interference fit. Too little of interference will jeopardize holding strength which could lead to unwanted movement, this premature wear and failure. Too much interference can potentially lead to stress cracking the iron or compressive damage to the ball joint, depending on which one is more resilient.
When not in use, a bearing race in an aluminum case is only under the load of the weight of the shaft assembly. In use, it will see gradual increases of load due to the gear mesh wanting to spread opposed shaft assemblies. The Loctite only has to fill in the air gaps, created by small dimensional irregularities, and buck up against the outer race to prevent it from spinning. If the spun race doesn't mangle the case, the Loctite has a strong chance of extending the service life to vehicle retirement, without the cost of replacing the whole case. I personally never saw a job return to the shop that had anything to do with that specific repair.
On the other hand, a ball joint pressed into the inner C and its set taper in the knuckle is under the directional force of roughly a quarter of the vehicle weight when parked. In use, those 2 important structural friction joints will see increased weight forces every time the suspension compresses, along with a wide range of much higher impact forces. Nothing will stand up to that better than proper continuous dimensions of the parent material. Any foreign materials used in those structural joints will inevitably become the starting point to unwanted movement, thus premature wear and failure. A cured liquid just simply doesn't provide the same compression resistance as the parent material.
Sponsored
