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Banks Diff Cover Bolts

CdnHO

CdnHO

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I installed the Banks Differential Cover on my truck shortly after buying the truck three and a half years ago. Primarily to make fluid changes easier. A couple of months ago I noticed one of the bolts missing although there was NO leak. I figured I either missed torquing that one on the install of neglected to apply the thread locker. I temporarily installed one of the original cover bolts until I found a replacement. Due to the differnce in the thickeness of the cover material, the OEM bolt was somewhat short. Banks wanted a stupid amount for one bolt with shipping so I obtained the bolt size and ordered a bunch of stainless steel bolts. Yesterday I installed the new bolt with thread locker and torqued to 144 in/lbs (12 ft/lbs). Figured I would check the rest and to my surprise found every bolt loose. Reinstalled each one by one with thread locker and the proper torque. So no way I missed every bolt on the install. Not sure if they came loose because of bad thread locker or some other reason. The aluminum would expand and contract more than the OEM steel cover which may have contributed to the problem. Made a note to check the bolt torque at each oil change. Just an FYI for anyone else with the Banks cover.
 
Regular Loctite does not work well on stainless steel because of smoothness, and stainless is chemically inert. Use Loctite 243 or 263, both are designed for specialty metals.

If it were me I would not use stainless hardware for this application. They are lower strength than carbon steel and prone to thread galling.
 
jeffn said:
Regular Loctite does not work well on stainless steel because of smoothness, and stainless is chemically inert. Use Loctite 243 or 263, both are designed for specialty metals.

If it were me I would not use stainless hardware for this application. They are lower strength than carbon steel and prone to thread galling.
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Its not a high stress bolt stainless is fine
 
jeffn said:
Regular Loctite does not work well on stainless steel because of smoothness, and stainless is chemically inert. Use Loctite 243 or 263, both are designed for specialty metals.

If it were me I would not use stainless hardware for this application. They are lower strength than carbon steel and prone to thread galling.
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The cover comes with SS bolts and thread locker. Only 12 ft/lbs of torque on a M8 bolt. If they continue to come loose I will put some washers on them.
H3LZSN1P3R said:
Its not a high stress bolt stainless is fine
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H3LZSN1P3R said:
Its not a high stress bolt stainless is fine
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The cover doesn't seal by compression of a gasket. It uses an O ring.
 
CdnHO said:
The cover doesn't seal by compression of a gasket. It uses an O ring.
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Your point? Even if it was a gasket it’s still not a high stress use a stainless bolt is fine….
 
H3LZSN1P3R said:
Your point? Even if it was a gasket it’s still not a high stress use a stainless bolt is fine….
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Point is an O ring doesn't need as much clamping force in that application compared to a gasket. Either method is well within the torque limit of that fastener. Stay warm. LOL
 
CdnHO said:
Point is an O ring doesn't need as much clamping force in that application compared to a gasket. Either method is well within the torque limit of that fastener. Stay warm. LOL
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So you are saying the same thing I'm saying lol.
 
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