Jack W Drews wrote:
>
> As far as the other lock tabs on these motors...<Personal Opinion Mode
> ON>...throw the suckers away. There's no reason I can think of to use an
> 80
> ton cold rolled heat treated rod bolt, and then stick a soft tin lock
> tab
> with a Rockwell hardness of about 1 under it. <POM OFF>
>
> Jeez, I love opinions...just like you-know-what's...everybodies got
> one...
> Nick in Nor Cal
>
> I haven't started a controversial thread in awhile, so here goes one
> regarding lockwashers, locking tabs, loctite, torque, etc.
>
> I just retired from life-long employment in one of the world's leading
> construction and agricultural equipment manufacturers. They use LOTS of
> bolts -- billions of them.
>
> Extensive research revealed a number of years ago that when designing a
> bolted joint that is metal to metal, the one single thing that insured
> bolt retention was proper torque. Furthermore, they found that locking
> tabs and lockwashers do ALMOST NOTHING in terms of retention of the
> bolt. Subsequently, as each product was redesigned, all retaing hardware
> was eliminated, as was spotfacing under the heads of bolts. Instead, we
> specified very flat surfaces in the as-cast condition. Thiese changes
> resulted in huge savings and NO increase in failures.
>
> We DO make extensive use of Loctite compounds, however.
>
> Because of this, I have eliminated things from my racecar like the sheet
> metal locking tabs on rod bolts, the lock tabs on flywheels and ring
> gears, etc. I have never had a bolt loosen because of this.
>
> Let the flames begin.
> --
> uncle jack the carfrek
> TR4 Rallye Replica vintage racer
Wow Jack... going for the jugular... I think you've started one of
those big THREADS... with lots of flames, like you suspect...
That said...
I've always suspected that what you have said is probably quite on the
money... Especially since you haven't knocked LOCKTITE... it seems to
me that Locktite is simply a technological breakthrough that makes many
previous fasteners obsolete...
That said...
It seems to me.... that SOME forms of locking procedures are simply
prudent... because they are in areas that are not inspected regularly...
OR can't be inspected without a disassembly...
Secondly... I tend to think that someone who races his car, is more
likely to be inspecting various components, and breaking
down/reassembling various components, a lot more than the guy who is
just a daily driver, or pulls his car out on weekends when the weather
is nice...
That said...
I think it would be a little irresponsible to suggest that EVERYONE
simply disregard the manuafacturers efforts to keep the cars safe...
I believe,
It's wise to keep the wire-secured fasteners on the steering column...
wise to keep the nuts holding the fan secured by those whacky soft
metal things...
etc.
And probably wise to go OUT OF THE WAY, to wire secure, etc. the
fasteners that hold on the generator...or any other area that a owner
finds simply keeps coming loose...
that said...
Many of those fasteners simply provide peace-of-mind to those who do not
inspect their vehicles as much as they would like. And to me...
peace-of-mind, helps me when I'm pushing my car through limits that I
probably shouldn't be... but by having peace, helps me to concentrate on
the driving.
This is NOT a FLAME... I think you're on the money... but I think I'm
offering up a side of your THREAD that should be considered.
--Justin
http://www.greenheart.com/jmwagner
Los Angeles
TR 4A, TR 4A IRS
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