Antisieze on rear wheel bolts - yay or nay?

[Dale_K]

I pulled my rear wheel for the first time today to get a new tire mounted. I've got the wheel ready to put back on and normally I put a little antisieze on pretty much everything but I'm having second thoughts about it for the wheel bolts. There wasn't any on the bolts coming off and maybe it would affect how well they hold. Wouldn't want the wheel coming off. Anybody know what's right?

[sandycruz]

Check out the Tech section of the BMW MOA site, here:
http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?t=35072

They are saying the bolts should be dry, no lube, no anti-seize:

"Special Note - the threads of the wheel bolts DO NOT get any lubricant of any kind applied to them, they come out dry, they go in dry."

Good luck!

David

[Dale_K]

Thank you.

[ShinySideUp]

I read somewhere (BMW DVD?) that almost all the fasteners on our bike should be dry. There's a few places where thread-lock compound is used. I personally put hi-temp anti-seize on the muffler/header connection to facilitate removal. But then that's not really a fastener. For SURE the rear wheel bolts should be dry.

I just ran across this tidbit here:

http://tinyurl.com/ysvbv

"Notice that the torque required for a lubricated fastener is LESS THAN HALF that of an unlubricated fastener. I hope you note how important the coefficient of friction is and how it affects the required torque setting to achieve the same preload."

Apparently the author is a rocket engineer for Lockheed Martin. Might know of what he speaks!

[deilenberger]

I've actually been pleasantly surprised that most of the fasteners into aluminum on our bikes did come from the factory with antiseize on them. Good idea since stainless and aluminum are really not compatible (electrolysis problems).

But - there are certain fasteners that should never see antiseize:

1 - Plugs - oft used wrongly. It tends to build up an insulating layer between the plug and the head, interferring with the heat-transfer path from the plug to the head - leading to plugs running hot. Most quality plugs (I know Bosch does) come with a nickel plated base where the nickel is meant to work as an antiseize (without blocking the heat transfer path.)

2 - Wheel lugs. No manufacturer I know of spec's these with antiseize. Wonder why? Mebbe lugs coming out is a bad thing? And the overtorquing that results from the lessened friction isn't good either?

3 - Any bolt/nut combo with a self-locking nut. Fairly obvious - but I've seen people use antiseize on a locking nut.

YMMV, probably..