So call me a whiny butt if you want, but I'm still going to cuss every time
I have to remove driveshaft bolts.
They are in a tight space and there's usually a lot of other junk around
that impedes access to them.
Not to mention that the car is only a foot or so off the ground and there's
precious little room to work anyway.
My normal mode of operating is to snug them all up with whatever means seems
to work best. . . including a crescent wrench.
(and by crescent wrench I mean the open ended side of a combination wrench .
.not a "crescent" adjustable wrench)
I seem to remember NOT being able to get a boxed end wrench on some of my
driveshaft nuts or bolts.
Admittedly, it might be due to a cheap, fatter than necessary wrench.
I then go back and make sure each of the 4 bolts are TIGHT before moving on
to the next joint.
Trust me. Mine are tight when I'm done.
I've had loose ones before.
If I come across a loose one again . .it won't be because I didn't tighten
it sufficiently when I put it together.
I appreciate the comments on split type lock washers as well as pointing out
the different types of deformed thread lock nuts, but the technicality on
NEW and CLEAN wasn't as welcome. While a removed bolt might not be "new"
anymore. I certainly am capable of cleaning them well enough to put loctite
on them again.
I ordered new bolts from TRF . . . whom I trust to give me the correct stuff
if it is at all available.
When it FINALLY arrived (TRF typical backorders) and after paying over a
buck a bolt . . . I figure I'd like them to last as long as possible.
(I'm working on a TR6 .. there's twice as many of them as there are on the
TR4)
Lastly . . . how does one go about putting the correct amount of torque on
one of those driveshaft bolts anyway?
If I need 40 ft lbs, I'm suppose to calibrate my arm so that it pushes 80lbs
of force at 6" from the bolt center axis?
The only torque wrenches I've got certainly aren't going to reach the
driveshaft bolts.
But then . . . . that was sort of the original point of my gripe wasn't it?
Scott Tilton
1970 TR6 Everyday
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