FOUR Screws, FOUR screw failures in 6 weeks... Loctite Arrived Just In Time...

[david_ord]

Hello Members. I purchased my DSSD on January 27th. I have 6.5" wrists, so I only use one screw-mounted link on each side. This means 4 screws altogether. The first screw fell out on day 3. I heard a sharp "ping" as the screw fell and hit the sink while I was holding the watch in my hand looking at it under the bathroom light. Luckily, this did not happen while I was wearing the watch, otherwise, I might not have it right now. During Week 2, the clasp wouldn't open. I eventually figured out that the reason was because the screw right next to it had pushed itself out to the point of getting in the way of the clasp's movement. I became alarmed and checked daily for screw failures. Screw #3 protruded last week, at which point I went to Homedepot and bought a 1.6mm driver and drove everything in tightly, so I thought. The Loctite arrived Monday and sat on my desk. Screw #4 protruded last night, at which point I took the bracelet apart and applied Loctite #222 (red) to all threadholes and threads. Here's a picture of the watch, the Loctite, the 1.6mm flathead, and my favorite pen holding it up :).

All in all, this has been somewhat of a harrowing experience. Had I not been diligent AND lucky, I may have lost or damaged the watch, as there were 4 chances of something catastrophic occurring over the last 6 or so weeks. I wonder how often this has happened to other Members.

[david_ord]

Opps, here's the picture.

[Director EDTF]

Originally Posted by david_ord

Hello Members. I purchased my DSSD on January 27th. I have 6.5" wrists, so I only use one screw-mounted link on each side. This means 4 screws altogether. The first screw fell out on day 3. I heard a sharp "ping" as the screw fell and hit the sink while I was holding the watch in my hand looking at it under the bathroom light. Luckily, this did not happen while I was wearing the watch, otherwise, I might not have it right now. During Week 2, the clasp wouldn't open. I eventually figured out that the reason was because the screw right next to it had pushed itself out to the point of getting in the way of the clasp's movement. I became alarmed and check daily for screw failures. Screw #3 protruded last week, at which point I went to Homedepot and bought a 1.6mm driver and drove everything in tightly, so I thought. The Loctite arrived Monday and sat on my desk. Screw #4 protruded last night, at which point I took the bracelet apart and applied Loctite #222 (red) to all threadholes and threads. Here's a picture of the watch, the Loctite, the 1.6mm flathead, and my favorite pen holding it up :).

All in all, this has been somewhat of a harrowing experience. Had I not been diligent AND lucky, I may have lost or damaged the watch, as there were 4 chances of something catastrophic occurring over the last 6 or so weeks. I wonder how often this has happened to other Members.

Home Depot sells the loctite as well!! Good Luck!!

[dddrees]

That many screws coming loose in that small period of time has to almost be some kind of record.

Glad to hear no harm came because of all of this.

[newmedia]

I have seen this on WG DAYTONA , I was eating dinner at local place , one of the guys at the table is trying to tighten up the screw using his hands because the screw will not stay tight. I told him thats a nice watch and try using some loctite with it.

[xxthe_remedyxx]

Originally Posted by david_ord

Hello Members. I purchased my DSSD on January 27th. I have 6.5" wrists, so I only use one screw-mounted link on each side. This means 4 screws altogether. The first screw fell out on day 3. I heard a sharp "ping" as the screw fell and hit the sink while I was holding the watch in my hand looking at it under the bathroom light. Luckily, this did not happen while I was wearing the watch, otherwise, I might not have it right now. During Week 2, the clasp wouldn't open. I eventually figured out that the reason was because the screw right next to it had pushed itself out to the point of getting in the way of the clasp's movement. I became alarmed and checked daily for screw failures. Screw #3 protruded last week, at which point I went to Homedepot and bought a 1.6mm driver and drove everything in tightly, so I thought. The Loctite arrived Monday and sat on my desk. Screw #4 protruded last night, at which point I took the bracelet apart and applied Loctite #222 (red) to all threadholes and threads. Here's a picture of the watch, the Loctite, the 1.6mm flathead, and my favorite pen holding it up :).

All in all, this has been somewhat of a harrowing experience. Had I not been diligent AND lucky, I may have lost or damaged the watch, as there were 4 chances of something catastrophic occurring over the last 6 or so weeks. I wonder how often this has happened to other Members.

Is it still under warranty? If so, I would bring it to a RSC near you.

[rad87gn]

I have never had any screws come loose and never used loctite on them. I do the sizing myself and make sure the screws are tight.

[Z-Sub]

Originally Posted by dddrees

That many screws coming loose in that small period of time has to almost be some kind of record.

Glad to hear no harm came because of all of this.

I have to agree this is an extremely unusual occurrence unless the screws were not screwed down tight enough to begin with. I do my bracelet sizings and only see a screw comes loose occasionally and never used loctite in the past. I've only used it once recently just to try it.

[david_ord]

Originally Posted by xxthe_remedyxx

Is it still under warranty? If so, I would bring it to a RSC near you.

Interesting thought-- so you think it could be that this particular batch of screws are defective, thereby not holding as well as they are supposed to? I wonder if they would argue that the Loctite invalidates the warranty.

In any event, even if the screws are defective, wouldn't the loctite be a sufficient remedy?

[liuk3]

yeah, i'm wondering why you didn't have rolex service it for you under warranty just to look everything over?

[xxthe_remedyxx]

Originally Posted by liuk3

yeah, i'm wondering why you didn't have rolex service it for you under warranty just to look everything over?

My thoughts exactly. I don't think the screws are defective, maybe just misfortune? In any case I would bring it to them just for peace of mind.

[david_ord]

Originally Posted by Z-Sub

I have to agree this is an extremely unusual occurrence unless the screws were not screwed down tight enough to begin with. I do my bracelet sizings and only see a screw comes loose occasionally and never used loctite in the past. I've only used it once recently just to try it.

The problem is, I'm 98% certain they WERE tightened. After Failure#2, I took it to a jeweler (not an AD) near my house. I asked him to make sure all the other screws are tight, which I saw him do. In fact, he "super-tightened" screws #1 & 2 to the point of damaging/flaring the screwhead! Therefore, I thought these 2 screws would be difficult to remove. I was surprised last night when they unscrewed with just a light twist. Based on your comment/experience, I'm beginning to think that the entire batch of screws may be defective.

[david_ord]

Originally Posted by liuk3

yeah, i'm wondering why you didn't have rolex service it for you under warranty just to look everything over?

It's a little complicated. I bought it from a Alan Furman ( http://www.alanfurman.com/ ), a "gray" market dealer. It is brand new, with a blank warranty card (G serial#) from an AD outside the U.S. I don't think the warranty is registered with Rolex, because only the original AD can do this. It appears that Alan has an impeccable reputation for his own inhouse warranty work. However, its not as easy as walking into a local AD because Alan Furman is in Maryland and I'm in Florida. All this warranty talk is probably taking us outside the scope of the thread's topic however.

[gwalker]

I had the exact same issue when my DSSD was my daily wearer. One screw was always backing out on me. I used to check it throughout the day. I used plumbers tape on the thread and it fixed it. I had to tighten it every night because a few turns had been made.

[nGage7962]

About 9 months with mine now and no issues at all.

BTW I have a friend here is Australia with the exact same name (David Ord) ... quite funny.

[cyglee]

Just a thought... do you wear the bracelet on the loose side? Maybe the loose fit and the heavy weight of a DSSD causes more movement and allows the screws to come out. I would expect the loctite will remedy the situation, but suggest you check the screws after the next few days. I do not recommend "super-tightening" the screws, just snug is fine. And, the low strength loctite 222 is the preference for watch screws.

[azguy]

You'll be fine with the Loctite, keep us posted

[TSW]

Pretty common problem with the DSSD, Use the green liquid Loctite 2701 instead

[handsfull]

Originally Posted by david_ord

Interesting thought-- so you think it could be that this particular batch of screws are defective, thereby not holding as well as they are supposed to? I wonder if they would argue that the Loctite invalidates the warranty.

In any event, even if the screws are defective, wouldn't the loctite be a sufficient remedy?

No need to worry....Rolex actually recommends loctite on all link screws.

[TSW]

Originally Posted by handsfull

no need to worry....rolex actually recommends loctite on all link screws.

x2