Fasteners are everywhere in the car. After all, they stick together, and the average car contains thousands of them. But because a car is a heavy, moving machine, it is subject to constant heat, pressure, and vibration. Some of them end up rusting, mixing, or sticking together as a result. That’s why anti-seicing exists, mainly to prevent any of this from happening.
Anti-seize is a special compound that penetrates threaded connectors and other metal parts that come into contact with each other. Grease is thick, but while base grease is just a thick oil designed to lubricate, anti-seize is a paste filled with very small metal particles.
When used for the first time, the anti-seize is wet, so it acts as a temporary delivery system to help install the component. However, when things get hot, the oil cooks off forever and all that’s left is crushed metal particles. These are the ones that prevent the fibers from coming together.
Apart from this, the paste also helps to fight against galvanic corrosion, a process that occurs when two different metals come into contact with each other in the presence of moisture. A common example is a steel bolt attached to an aluminum housing. Without preventing seizure, you get oxides growing, parts swollen, and fuses welded to the surface. This just goes to show that protecting your car from rust is more than just keeping the paint looking good. A good place to use anti-seize is where two dissimilar metals meet or anywhere you’ll be loosening things down the line, but this type of softener isn’t really helpful.
When should you use anti-seize in your car?
Keep in mind that seizure prevention won’t work on anything that’s already been taken, so the best time to use it is during routine maintenance, when you have a rust-separated binder in your hand, not after the damage has started.
As mentioned earlier, anti-seize should be used at the point where two different metals meet. That basically means the suspension fasteners, bottom tray bolts, exhaust hardware, brake calipers, and battery terminals. Engine head bolts are another area that some experts swear by.
How you use it is just as important. The thin coat on the threads is plentiful, and you only want it on the part that ends up being hidden inside the nut or housing. Smearing it between exposed parts is a quick way to invite dirt and particles to stick. When you’re done, reduce your torque value by about 20% to 30% and, it would be a good idea to follow the 20% rule of torque wrenches, as the anti-seice has a lubricating effect, and you don’t want to accidentally overdo it.
When you have to avoid anti-catch
There are also places you should avoid using anti-seice altogether. Nuts are a no-no, as the slippery adhesion makes it very easy to over-force when installing the wheel. Doing so can destroy warp rotors, stretch wheel studs, or in the worst case scenario, even let the wheel work on its own, which you never want to happen on the highway.
Then there are the spark plugs. Seized spark plugs, those that are connected to the cylinder head and refuse to come out, are not a real pain to deal with, so the instinct to lubricate the threads for better lubrication makes sense. The catch is that many modern plugs already ship with a stainless nickel or zinc coating on the threads, and adding anti-seize on top of that can void your warranty.
Finally, a few more quick jumps. You’ll also want to leave the brake caliper slide pins alone, the small bolts that allow the caliper to slide in and out as you brake. Those need brake greases with a higher temperature than that to continue to slide well under the heat. Of course, if the thread is already chewed, no combination will save it, at least for everything that is not compatible with being caught.