Posted to News on 29th May 2014, 10:19
Loctite 5189 sealant used for 1.0L EcoBoost "Engine of the Year"
Working in conjunction with Ford Motor Company, Henkel has developed an anaerobic gasketing sealant for highly stressed engine joints. With exceptional flexibility, Loctite 5189 meets the requirements of the on line blow-out test and thus eliminating the cost of extensive manual rework and offering robust sealing for high-volume engine manufacturing.
New engine development effort is geared not only to generating high performance with reduced fuel consumption and low CO2 emissions, but also to ever more compact dimensions. The general trend for compact yet high-power engines means very highly stressed engine joints. Henkel can now offer a new, exceptionally flexible liquid gasketing sealant. This "formed-in-place' (FIP) flange sealant developed by Henkel in close cooperation with Ford has been tested and approved for use in a number of different Ford engines as a means of offering a robust and cost effective sealing system. Loctite 5189 is used, for example, to seal the cam caps on the 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine and for highly stressed joints on the 1.6 litre EcoBoost engines at Ford. The 125 PS (123 BHP/92kW) 1.0 litre engine installed in the Focus and Fiesta as well as other Ford models was recently named overall winner in the 2013 International Engine of the Year Awards. In explaining its decision, the jury made particular mention of the economic everyday qualities of the gasoline power unit.
Each engine is tested to ensure seal integrity, and the challenge for the automobile manufacturer is to offer leak-free engines to ensure warranty costs are minimised. Ford's MrTsunou Chang, Senior Sealing Engineer at Ford Motor Company, says: "In order to ensure leak-free engines and the reduction of re-work, we asked Henkel to develop a gasketing compound with high flexibility and blow out resistance so engines pass the quality test first time."
Loctite 5189 from Henkel does indeed enable substantial reductions in both reject rates and process costs in engine production. Aside from its short curing time, the gasketing sealant is also characterised by its good adhesion to metallic surfaces, particularly aluminium. Rather than becoming glass-hard once cured, Loctite 5189 offers long-term flexibility compared with previous gasketing sealants, enabling it accommodate flange movement on highly stressed joints. Ford began using Loctite 5189 in production of its 1.0 litre and 1.6 litre EcoBoost engines in January 2014 and the product will be used globally by the end of 2014.
For more information about Loctite 5189 anaerobic gasketing sealant, visit the website at www.henkel.com/automotive.
