stainless steel water jacket galvanizing bolts

Unknown
Unknown
edited November -1 in HUDSON
replacing the rusted water jacket on the 36 terraplane with a stainless steel one,was going to use some nice stainless bolts,but am concerned about galvanizing action on the iron engine corroding the bolts into permanent position..should i just use ordinary steel ones or will a neverseize coating be enough to stop the galvanizing?

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  • jjbubaboy
    jjbubaboy Senior Contributor
    Hey Skip,

    I am not a metalergist (?) or anything so I hope someone will chime in on this one as well.

    When I did mine I also used S/S bolts and put anti-seize on them. Had to remove it here recently and didnt have any problems with the bolts. Put it back on the same way.

    Good luck,

    Jeff
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Your use of anti-seize compound could have helped a lot. To help a bit more both Loctite and Never Seez make compound targeted at galvonic corrosion. You have two different metals with potential differances and water. By using the anti-seize you add metals that have a higher resistance to corrosion. It does not stop it the reaction is reduced.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    good info , note the DOES NOT STOP IT ,REDUCES IT , this is fact . I think I would use regular grade 5 or 8 bolts and put chrome/stainless push on caps on them for the look you want . BUD
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    I used stainless steel on my 36 water jacket. The old steel ones were just about rusted in half. I figure the stainless has got to be better. Remember to put sealant on the threads and new copper washers under the bolt heads or it will leak!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    excellent advice folks.will probably go with regular steel bolts,plenty of antiseize and copper washers to stop the boltheads adhering to the jacket.

    any thoughts on the use of a stainless waterjacket causing electrolysis in the block.Galvanizing is only a problem(as far as i know)when the surfaces are in contact,but i might be missing something(wouldnt be the first time!)
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Your contact area will be the bolt holes in the water jacket to the bolts. Would think that would be such a small contact patch that any corrosion to the bolts or water jacket would be insignificant using a washer.
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    In a nutshell, steel is an active metal and most, but not all stainless steel is passive in nature. Mixing passive and active metals (or alloys) is what causes galvanic corrosion. On the table, listing most metals, the further apart the active metals are from the passive ones, will generate more galvanic corrosion.

    In your example, however, most stainless steels (passive) are actually very close to steel (active), which means that the corrosion that will eventually take place, would actually take quite a long time to create problems.

    Metallurgists will pick two metals going together that will be "most compatible" together and not which ones will have no corrosion at all, which, is very nearly impossible with alloys, (but more common with pure metals).

    In essence, I think you could go either way with stainless bolts or steel ones and use of the anti-seize is an absolute plus, which will help prolong potential problems, and certainly hurts nothing.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Sorry Russell , but I've seen it cause trouble in a short time too many times . NOT WORTH THE RISK FOR A BIT OF PRETTY . Use regular bolts and push on caps for the pretty . As to the baffle thats another story , I have no fear of that , I have one made from some fairly soft stainless in mine , from an old comercial refigeration unit as used in grocery stores to be exact , being soft as stainless goes tells me it's not very pure ,and the gasket keeps it from all but the smallest contact at the bolts . BUD
  • junkcarfann
    junkcarfann Expert Adviser
    Several years ago I built a set of motorcycle sidebag brackets, and used a mixture of the factory bolts, and SS nuts.



    Several months later, I had to take them off for a repair, and had to cut the assembly apart. They were literally welded together. Never again will I mix ss and iron fasteners.
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