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I'm in the middle of timing belt change and ready to reinstall. Do I need to use blue loctite on water pump bolts? timing belt cover bolts? etc. or just torque them down?

Thanks

Do NOT use loctite on that hardware.

I would instead use anti-seize on water pump and thermostat housing bolts, studs or nuts. Knowing how corroded they are on almost every M20/M30 I've seen I think it's the prudent thing to do.

SamSpade wrote:I would instead use anti-seize on water pump and thermostat housing bolts, studs or nuts. Knowing how corroded they are on almost every M20/M30 I've seen I think it's the prudent thing to do.

Emphatically. Always use anti-seize on anything water related. I do use locktite on many things, but not WP/T stat or related.

Use it on things you're never going to take off again!

ismellfish2 wrote:Use it on things you're never going to take off again!

I read and re-read this; I'm not at all sure I agree with this completely. Blue Loctite is a standard part of my toolkit; I rarely use Red except where specified by a manufacturer.

Not trying to be argumentative - it's an interesting question. I will admit that the last time I did my thermo/water pump bolts, I used Wurth Copper anti-sieze, so it is my standard practice. As always, getting enough on the threads is the key, regardless of what you use.

EDIT 7/16: Pulled a ten year old water pump and (newer) thermostat recently. Bolts were in horrible condition. Wurth Copper didn't help much it seems. So, anti-seize on these from now on. Lesson learned.

Never Seize on cooling system, aluminum and spark plugs.

Blue on things you want to stay together until the next time you take them apart.

Red for when your life or your wallet are forfeit upon unintended loosening of parts.