~ From: "W. Ray Gibbons" <gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu>
~
~ He felt the locktab washers were an outmoded technology,
Well, if we start eliminating outmoded technology from this
car, I'm left with nothing but the tires and the oil. :-)
~ and no longer necessary if high quality bolts were
~ used and torqued properly.
~ IMHO the best thing to do is to use good quality hardened flat washers
~ (grade 8 SAE minimum, but mil-spec ones with precision-ground sides
~ are better) and get the bolts tightened right, at which point they
~ should stay put forever.
Two votes for high-quality bolts (I'm getting brand new ones) and
tightening them properly. Sounds like the beginning of consensus.
Well, that's easy; I'll get some Grade 8 flat washers this week,
and of course I'm using a torque wrench. (Oh no... now everyone
will argue about using an extension versus pushing on the knob!
Aieeeee! :-)
Any thoughts on thread-locker compounds such as the various ones
made by Loctite?
~ If the situation is really critical, safety wire the bolts -
~ cheap peace of mind.
Hmmm. No, I don't think my drilling skills are up to making teeny
holes through two adjacent flats on these bolts, which are 3/8"
fine I think (that is, they use 9/16" sockets). I might use some
thread locking compound if anyone knows of one that will work inside
an engine.
--Scott
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