We have a slogan that goes with our Loctite brand, that says: “We Love Machines. Machines Love Loctite.” And much as it is a feat of marketing messaging, it always puts a big smile on my face when I come across colleagues who live their lives loving the machines that make our lives easier and finding ways to give them some tender, loving care in the form of Loctite.

I owe this story to Steve Rayner, one of our Technical Sales People, a mountain man from British Columbia, Canada. Steve likes getting a good deal as much as the next guy, and this one came out at the top of his list.  He found a barely used Husqvarna brush cutter on Craigslist for $70 (they normally retail for $750 plus tax). The ad listed the cutter as not starting, which Steve found hard to believe. In his own words: Husqvarna’s ALWAYS start! Two-stroke engines are fairly simple, so it could only be a handful of things.

So, he took the machine home, all the while thinking it was a scored cylinder / blown piston rings (one of the most common issues with 2 stroke engines), as it felt like it didn’t have compression.

Taking it apart to examine the piston and cylinder, Steve found that the nut that retains the flywheel to the drive shaft had loosened enough to allow the flywheel to spin free (no evidence of threadlocker was found).  No flywheel meant no spark and consequently: no start.

Instead of buying a new flywheel, Steve pulled out a bottle of Loctite 638 from his Training Kit, applied a thin film to the driveshaft and re-mounted the flywheel (with careful consideration to the alignment). He also used Loctite 248 on the threads on the driveshaft, even though the 638 was more than strong enough to retain the flywheel without the nut.

It runs like a dream now; the weeds in Steve’s yard don’t stand a chance! The best part is: it took less than 25 Cents worth of Loctite to fix a $750 machine! And I got a great story out of it! Thank you, Steve, for sharing!