atb

Installed the pan spacer on the 4.7L motor going into the OB track car last weekend. I bought studs to hold the pan on, and used about six of the nuts to crank down the pan to hold the spacer in place while the loctite 574 dried.
Went in today, thinking a weeks time is plenty for it to cure. Grabbed my razor blade to cut off the "hard as plastic" excess that oozed out slightly between the spacer and the block, and the blade slips right through the orange goo. WTF? It didn't cure at all.
I'd had this bottle of 574 for a long time, don't remember how long, but it had never been opened before last weekend. Grabbed the bottle and saw this on the back:




If that's an expiration date, I must have bought this much longer ago then I remembered. Anyone recently buy some that could post their expiration date? It would be interesting to see what the shelf life is on this stuff. I would hate to think somewhere out there someone grabbed an old bottle for their crank cradle, and put the motor together thinking everything was fine, and never have the stuff cure.

RKD in OKC

If you eat expired loctite it will make you sick.

Lizard928

574 cures in a lack of air, and is an anaerobic sealer.

Just wipe up the excess, and as Ken says, fuhgetabudit.

danglerb

What I was told was that anything the military buys has to have an expiration date, but in plenty of cases the stuff is good for decades if properly stored. Since the military buys all kinds of stuff, everything these days has an expiration date even if its meaningless.

Rob Edwards

When we put my engine together, Greg showed me the expiration date on the bottle of 574 we used, and mentioned that he goes and buys what he uses in person so that he knows it's 'fresh'.

Though Colin's right, the stuff exposed to air is not gonna cure.

atb

Hmmm, different then my experience in the past as far as not curing at all. Maybe the stuff I used before really was "expired". Thanks for the info.

dr bob

IIRC, the 574 has something like a 30-day shelf life after it's opened. Loctite used to warn vendors about having stuff on the rack too long also. That's probably why it's a bit spendy.

I stuck a recently-purchased bottle in the garage fridge after I used some on the cam blocks. I guess there's no way to 'test' for next use except to find out it didn't work when all the way back in service. I should just toss the bottle or donate it to someone nearby who needs it. If it's in there I'll be tempted to use it, and then I'll cry later aout how my saved $20 ended up costing a day and a few $hundred in trashed gaskets and the like. It's how my luck goes sometimes...


Adam: Pull the spacer and see if the stuff in the airless sandwich space actually cured. If so, do it again. If not, buy new. You were going to pull it apart again anyway to inspect, right?

Lizard928

I have a bottle of the stuff that is expired and I used it for my car when doing the cams. I bought the bottle new, and opened it a little later.

I have used it a few times once just recently. The areas sealed up perfectly with zero leakage of oil.

blown 87

I always use a new bottle if it has been opened for a few days, to much work and expense to go back and do it again for the price of a new bottle.

I have no idea if I am right or wrong, but I am not going to take a chance on it when some one like Greg Brown say use fresh 574.

Fogey1

I agree you have to know, but ... You could run a test before you disassemble the work you've already done. Loctite and clamp together a couple of pieces of scrap, wait for it to cure and check.

You could also call Loctite and ask. I've found that the people who make this kind of stuff don't mind chatting about it.

blown 87

QFT

atb

I'm going to do a test like Will suggests AND get some new stuff.
Any of you that recently bought it, how far out was your expiration date?
This isn't the first time I've used this stuff (just this particular batch), and I don't recall it staying as wet as it was coming out of the bottle, especially after a week to cure.
I'll let everyone know the test results.

danglerb

Pretty sure if you check the Loctite web site you will find that the bottles are NOT sealed, they are special porous to oxygen so the stuff doesn't cure in the bottle. Few months back I bought "a bunch" of various Loctite products on clearance, so I hope more digging doesn't make it unsuitable for use, but last I looked it didn't seem like a serious issue.

This is what Loctite says now on their website, but could be cya.

What is the Henkel shelf life policy for Loctite® branded products?
The shelf life period for the majority of Loctite® branded products is indicated by the use by
date on the package.
For optimal storage, maintain product at a temperature between 8°C (46°F) to 21°C (70°F).
Storage below 8°C (46°F) or greater than 28°C (82°F) can adversely affect product properties.
UNOPENED cyanoacrylate products must be stored under refrigerated conditions at 2°C (36°F)
to 8°C (46°F). Storage below 2°C (36°F) or greater than 8°C (46°F) can adversely affect
product properties. Unopened cyanoacrylate products should be brought to ambient
temperature before the package is opened. Once opened, it should be left at ambient
temperature. Products requiring storage at conditions other than those specified here are
labeled accordingly.

atb

So I tried to separate the spacer from the block by tapping on some exposed areas of the spacer with a punch where the block recedes in slightly, and it isn't budging. Because I'm using studs to hold the pan (and spacer on), that in itself created a tight fight. The spacer had to be tapped down onto the block because the studs weren't perfectly centerd in the holes. Feels pretty solid. Before I really exert myself on it, I want to see what this test does. Took two pieces of sheet aluminium, dabbed some of the 574, and viced them together slightly offset so that it would ooze out the sides. I'll give it a couple days and report back.

atb

Here's the video, I'd say the stuff worked. I wouldn't use it on a cradle, but for the pan spacer I'm calling it good.