I dropped the rear cage today,am planning to reseal the differential and replace the brake pads. I noticed quite a few of the bolts have safety wire on them, is this neccessary on replacement or will loctite suffice?

I don't see why Loctite wouldn't work. I'm pretty sure many have succesffuly used it.

But, safety wire or Locktite, DO use one or the other. The bolts WILL eventually work loose.

Cheers
DD

This reply will definately put the "Cat among Pigeons", but I'm game, flame suit is ON, Scotch in hand.

I have NEVER replaced that safety wire in all the cradles I have done over many years.

I also do not replace on other areas either.

The bolts are loose now, WITH the wire, there must be a better way was my thought process about 35 years ago. Then add the fact that no other modern car has that wire that I know of, so what is so different between them and us apart from the badge on the bonnet?????.

I wire brush the bolts, solvent clean them and the corresponding female thread (and I mean CLEAN), add a few drops of Loctite 262 to the threads.

On those large suckers on the cradle I also add a few drops to the taper just as it mates up, torque them up ONCE, and never ever had a loosen. DO NOT re=torque, you will crack the Loctite, useless now.

The 4 on the lower brackets where you got those shims are well known to loosen even with the wire, shims fall out, diff comes loose in teh cradle, you know the rest. All I have done with the Loctite still have the shims intact, and nothing moves that should not move. The XJ-S is 16 years now, all good.

At the end of the day, it is your car, your comfort zone, your choice. I am just relaying what I have done and the results of that.

Grant,
I was going to start a thread on this very topic. Thankfully you have answered my question very well. Yes when I pulled the cradle I also noticed the 4 top bolts were not tight, so some securing method is needed. The brake caliper bolts were very tight.
I will be cleaning thoroughly and using the loctite!

Maybe it's worth noting that safety wire was never designed or intended to keep bolts at their original torque setting, it was simply to keep the bolts from falling out completely if they do work themselves loose.

Loctite on the other hand may do a better job of keeping them tight to start with. Depending on the grade used, any additional effort required to run the bolt down it's threads due to the Loctite must be taken into account for the final torque setting.

I've always used loctite with no problems. I prefer it over wire, because it fills the inter-thread spaces, so it keeps water out and the bolt can't rust in place.

I use 243 grade loctite. I'd be cautious about using the red, it's intended to be permanent. Blue is designed to be disassembled later without breaking the fastener. Red has to be heated to over 400F to break the bond.

Mekon, your resurrection of a 4yo thread (which I normally abhor) remains timely and relevant.

My introduction to '3' - a (blue) fore-runner of Loctite 234 - was to turn white at high price. However, that one bottle lasted me years . . . great value for peace of mind. Today, I see these blue products used everywhere, especially in electronics (just disassemble any modern laptop computer), but even in low cost consumer products. Great innovation.

Grant gives an excellent analysis how externally accessible wired nuts and bolts are more effectively restrained in torque with Loctite and I agree totally. Well done, Wizard. OTOH, I have stuck with castellated nuts and (always new) split pins fitted to big end caps . . . provided . . . split pins are snipped to correct length and legs separated and shaped correctly to prevent movement. What turns me white these days is learning of re-used bent, re-straightened then re-bent tab washers . . . but that's another story.

Cheers,

Ken

Basic use for safety wire was for aircraft due to vibration. Losing critical fasteners at Flt level 350 or any altitude is not known to contribute to longevity.