Grease in bolt threads

[Cheechako]

+1 on Lanolin

[gjordan]

One of the down sides to lanolin, is that on a really hot day, much of it will simply melt out of where you wanted the protection. I did my SS turnbuckles in the tropics, and much of it ended up on the deck underneath the turnbuckle. I dont know if the new replacement Lanokote, has a higher melting point or not? I suspect there are modern lubricants that are better. _____Grant.

[JPA Cate]

Grant,

When it melted out (something that's never happened to us), did you have leather sewn over the turnbuckles, or other dark covers, or were they open to the sun and the air?

I wouldn't expect the lanolin to run where there's splashy saltwater around in the bilge.

Ann

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by gjordan

One of the down sides to lanolin, is that on a really hot day, much of it will simply melt out of where you wanted the protection. I did my SS turnbuckles in the tropics, and much of it ended up on the deck underneath the turnbuckle. I dont know if the new replacement Lanokote, has a higher melting point or not? I suspect there are modern lubricants that are better. _____Grant.

Hmmmm... interesting. Sailed the caribe 3 years with lanolin on the threads of the turnbuckles. No melting whatsoever, in fact, if anything, the little bit that was left proud at the female/male thread interface got a little "crusty".
However, when it comes to turnbuckles, where the threads are under pressure and may need lubrication, there may be better things to use.
Try putting anhydrous lanolin on your hands and try to wash it off with hot water... pretty difficult.

[Irish rambler]

For the stern tube greaser simply use lock nuts, ie tighten down the nut on the stern tube, then put on another nut, hold the first securely in place with a spanner and tighten the other nut. Both nuts locked together this way will not move, simple but effective. If you ask ten sailors for anti rust treatment you'll get 12 answers, use what works or you.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by DuncanC

Hi and Thanks in advance,

I have hauled my boat and am doing some extensive maintenance. One of the things I have come across are bolts and fittings that are well rusted into place.

I have, for example, nuts that can't turn off their bolts because the threads are rusted badly; bolts (that compress my gland packing) so badly rusted in place that the snap instead of coming free; etc etc.

I also had a prop-shaft coupling that had rusted (a bit) onto the shaft and was v.diff to remove. In addition I have a rudder heel fitting with lots of large bolts that, although it wasn't a problem to remove, I would like to protect for the future.

After the difficulties in getting these apart I want to avoid that kind of rusting in future. If my budget was better then perhaps I could replace with better metals or something; but alas my budget isn't better.

So I am interested in what experience people have with greasing threads (perhaps copper grease?) before assembly. To me I can see the great idea of rust prevention and easy disassembly, but the fear that my stuffing box will undo its self and fly apart halfway to France because I greased the bolt threads and the nuts simply undo themselves.

I am thinking of areas like the threads/bolts that compact my stuffing box, my prop-shaft couplings, the bolts that hold my rudder-heel fitting to the keel. So a mix of damp moving parts and wet static parts.

Thanks for any help.

Duncan

Maybe look at some AN hardware(fastners),it has a coating and can come with or without certification ( non-certified AN hardware can be ordered from Lockwood Aviation in FLA at a resonable price) They will rust however if the coating is worn off...

[DeepFrz]

What you guys that are still using the old split spring lock washers need...

Nord-Lock | Wedge-locking washers and Superbolt tensioners | Your trusted partner for optimizing bolted joints

[pbiJim]

When I worked in a marina many years ago, I always used green marine grease from OMC on my fasteners. It seemed to work generally well. For high temperature applications, I either use high temperature grease from an auto parts store (up to about 550F) or never seize, which is basically a nickel-gallium compound in a grease substrate. I've also had good luck with the copper based version of never seize that comes from, I think that it's Wurth Industries. These all work well around fresh water. The metal based compounds seem to work less well in salt water.

I usually reuse nylock nuts for as long as I feel a good drag on them when I tighten them up, even though the specifications from the manufacturer say to only use them once. Lock washers have generally performed well for me in most applications that were not completely horrible. Thread locking compounds (lock tite) come in many versions, each with varying properties. Generally speaking, red is high strength & blue is medium strength, for places where you may want to remove the nut some day. None that I have used will stand up well to heat. It makes a big difference how clean a fastener is before you apply lock tite to it. If I have a nut that really needs to stay put no-matter-what, then I use a castle nut & a pin or an aircraft style safety wire.

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Grant,

When it melted out (something that's never happened to us), did you have leather sewn over the turnbuckles, or other dark covers, or were they open to the sun and the air?

I wouldn't expect the lanolin to run where there's splashy saltwater around in the bilge.

Ann

Ann,

My Forespar branded Lanokote liquefies in my tool bag (stored inside the boat) on hot Guatemalan days. I have had the same issue with it running down my mast where I installed a stainless bolt in aluminum. They still remove easy, so its all not running out, but some does seep after instillation.

Matt

[Lojanica]

Loctite copper based anti-seize lubricant

Amazon.com: Loctite 38650 Copper Anti-Seize Lubricant Brush Top - 8 oz.: Automotive

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by Ziggy

--- large stainless nylocs are somewhat more susceptible to galling than normal nuts.
---

Fastener guy I dealt with recommended always oiling the bolts before installing stainless nylocs.

[skipmac]

[QUOTE=tropicalescape;1364541]I think you can reuse the Nylok nuts until you see the plastic starting to come out the end QUOTE]

That is what I have read recently in a tech bulletin. It said the in the past one time use was the standard but recommendations for Nyloks had been upgraded to allow reuse.

[gjordan]

Anne, I just went poking around the internet,and found that the melting point of lanolin is 32 to 44 degrees C. I dont know what that translates out to in plain red neck American, but I think it isnt too high. What I read also said that in storage the melting temp reduces. It only happened to me once in Tahiti and it had been in the turnbuckles for 2 or more years. In the 70s I read a lot of Hiscocks books and followed his advice, and lanolin was one of them. It worked to keep water out ,but it really is not a lubricant, and doesnt prevent galling. I still think it has its purpose, but not in the engine room where temps often go much higher than on deck. ____Grant.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by gjordan

Anne, I just went poking around the internet,and found that the melting point of lanolin is 32 to 44 degrees C. I dont know what that translates out to in plain red neck American, but I think it isnt too high. What I read also said that in storage the melting temp reduces. It only happened to me once in Tahiti and it had been in the turnbuckles for 2 or more years. In the 70s I read a lot of Hiscocks books and followed his advice, and lanolin was one of them. It worked to keep water out ,but it really is not a lubricant, and doesnt prevent galling. I still think it has its purpose, but not in the engine room where temps often go much higher than on deck. ____Grant.

Hi Grant,

Could not resist jumping in since I happen to import lanolin from Uruguay. Unfortunately cannot find too much fault in your information.

Lanolin that is more highly refined has a slightly higher min melting temp about 38C or 100F to us non-metric folks in the US but yes that can break down over time. Pretty sure metal fittings on deck in the tropics or in the engine room anywhere will get a lot hotter than that but I would think there would still be some residue and effectiveness in the threads of a fitting unless it got really hot.

Not sure if lanolin would be considered a lubricant at least as far as preventing galling for a part under high load but it is certainly used in manufacturing lubricants and I can say from experience that it will make metal parts move more freely. It is also has good water resistance and was used a lot to waterproof leather.

All that being said and even though I sell lanolin I use Tefgel on anything long term or critical but since lanolin is a lot cheaper it still gets used on the less demanding bits. I am using lanolin to lube my seacocks and so far so good. The only negative I have found in that application is cold temps do make them harder to turn.

[pbiJim]

Originally Posted by gjordan

I just went poking around the internet,and found that the melting point of lanolin is 32 to 44 degrees C. I dont know what that translates out to in plain red neck American, but I think it isnt too high.

When I lived in Arizona, I saw the air temperature hit 122F. I didn't do the math, but I think that's pretty close to 45C. A piece of metal baking in the sun would surly be warmer than that.