How can I stop a bolt from getting unscrewed with the vibrations of the car?

[Free Range Chicken]

Hello everyone. I am still doing my conversion. I just put some 2x3 runners screwed with bolts and special nuts to the ceiling.

I afraid the bolts will get unscrewed with time and vibrations.

I fear that a lock washer may not hold to the test of time. Should I put construction adhesive to keep that hex head in place? ?? Any better idea? ?


Thanks everyone for your help , I'm over due for posting my progress, I'll do that soon in my thread! !!!!

Greetings to everyone! !

 

[B and C]

I always use loctite on the threads of bolts I don't want to come loose unless there are torque specifications for it (head, mains, etc.).  Blue if you want to take it apart and red if you don't is how it was 'splained to me way back when.  There are others here that may have a better solution though.

Brian

 

[highdesertranger]

depends, nylocks work but they are a one use solution and most are not graded. I prefer grade c locknuts. or use Loctite. you can also drill and safety wire or cotter pin. highdesertranger

 

[Reducto]

It's good to have some Loctite around anyway - I had an alternator and a starter come loose and almost fall off my old van when I was doing a lot of driving on rough gravel roads so I started using it a lot. The medium strength stuff will allow you to remove the bolt later but it won't come loose on its own.

 

[Patrick46]

Yep...

Blue Loctite is the way to go.

Available at any hardware store

 

[compassrose]

I guess I am either odd or cheap. Interior, . I use EU6000 which is like a silicone . Exterior, I use an elastomeric caulk. I either put a little glob inside the nut.and the thread on or I put it on the screw threads and tighten the screw. It keeps the fastener from loosening over time but I can still loosen it if I want with a little effort.

 

[LeeRevell]

Two words........   BLUE Loctite. 
The blue is the removable type.  If you use Red, Purple or Green, it will be permanent.
We use the blue stuff for bolts on single cylinder dual sport motorcycles (thumpers) due to vibration, and on firearms to secure scope screws.
My KLR650 will shed certain bolts as I ride if not secured with Blue Loctite.

 

[ccbreder]

Locktite is good. But if using a quality bolt, lock-washer, and nut, torqued proper, there should be no problem. When did nylocks become onetime use?

 

[highdesertranger]

nylocks have always been 1 time use as far as I know. most are not graded, you can get graded ones but boy are they expensive. highdesertranger

 

[SoulRaven]

Thanks everyone, just encountered this issue a couple days ago. Getting myself some blue loctite.

 

[ccbreder]

From Wikipedia.

"Authorities disagree on whether nyloc nuts should be reused. For example, Carroll Smith (Carroll Smith's Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners, and Plumbing Handbook) notes that the nylon insert is not damaged by installation and therefore they can be reused many times,[1] and a Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular allows nuts to be reused if the prevailing torque is within specification.[3] However, an Air Force Technical Order requires replacement of self-locking nuts in critical areas.[4] Various specifications for aerospace-grade self-locking nuts require that the running torque be maintained after a number of cycles of assembly, but without preloading the fastener.[5]"

 

[Free Range Chicken]

Awesome.

Thanks everyone for your responses.

I have never heard of the loctite but i am a total newbie  so that's probably why hehe.

Sounds like the blue loctite will do the trick for me.

I found it for 4.99 at menards.


Since i only have access  to the head of the bolt and not to the end, i discarded the nylon nut option.

I will put blue loctite and a lock washer.  I think that'll do the trick.

Thanks everyone for your detailed answers. Very very very useful post for newbies like me!!!

Enjoy your weekend!!!

 

[SternWake]

Skateboard trucks use Nylon locking nuts to hold the trucks to the wood. It was quite rare for those to ever work their way loose even after dozens of truck swaps when the boards were broken.

Eventually one could even use their fingers to bottom out the nuts before requiring a wrench, but they would still not work loose, and I cannot think of a higher vibration source than a skateboard on asphalt.

 

[B and C]

Eventually one could even use their fingers to bottom out the nuts before requiring a wrench, but they would still not work loose, and I cannot think of a higher vibration source than a skateboard on asphalt.

I always treated them as single use.  The very way you describe using them on the skateboards and finger tightening to bottom before torquing shows that the "locking part" does not hold up to repeated use.  You could have used a standard nut tightened to the same torque with the same results.  It seems you broke the boards before the nuts could come loose  

Brian

 

[Patrick46]

I build and ride Harley choppers.

you wanna talk about "Vibration"???

Nylocks on everything...and YES, I do reuse them, many times over.

I've never lost one in over 35 years.