In the last post I removed the bellhousing to machine it so the next step was to reattach it to the transaxle. Should be easy right?
Well I couldn’t get the Loctite residue off of the studs. I tried using acetone with a wire brush and a metal pick, but that didn’t do much. I tried brake cleaner to little avail. Apparently chlorinated brake cleaner works better, but the good stuff is illegal in Massachusetts. Part of the issue is that acetone, and I assume brake cleaner, are less viscous than water so it was difficult to keep the solvent in contact with the residue. I considered removing the studs to let them soak in the solvent, but removing seven studs from cast aluminum didn’t seem like the right approach.
After some research I discovered Loctite Chisel which is designed to remove Loctite residue, gaskets, paint, etc. It’s hazardous stuff and I couldn’t find it locally, at McMaster or on Amazon. It’s available from Pegasus Auto Racing, but UPS applies a hazardous shipping charge of $54.50 on top of overnight shipping charges.
Back to research. The primary active ingredient is methylene chloride. I noted that a most paint strippers indicate “non-methylene chloride” so I pulled an old can of aircraft stripper out of the cabinet and in big bold letters was “WARNING: Contains Methylene Chloride.” It’s nasty stuff which can blind you, give you cancer, kill you, etc.
Preemptive statement to prevent verbal barrage… Mom, wife and daughter, I wore gloves, goggles and did everything in front of an open garage door.
Aircraft stripper is viscous and clings to vertical surfaces, so I applied a small amount with a Q-Tip, let it sit for 15 minutes and then removed the residue with a combination of the pick and wire brush. It worked extremely well. The studs have a shiny black coating and broken Loctite is white, so it was easy to determine that all of the residue was removed.
I then used acetone to ensure that all of the stripper was removed. Albins recommends Loctite 7649 primer before applying Loctite thread locker. I had never used primer before and I wonder if it made the residue more difficult to remove.