How tight is tight?
I remember the phrase "Tighten it 'til it breaks, then back it off a
quarter turn..." ;-> Seriously, I haven't broken a bolt while
installing it in many years... felt one or two start to "stretch",
and removed and replaced them. Broke a couple of badly corroded bolts
taking them out :-( Knowing how tight is just an *art*; or you could
use a torque wrench...
Seating rings:
I just oil (assembly lube) the heck out of every thing, (but not *too*
much on the rings and cylinders) and start it. It may take longer to
seat in, but I have never had it fail. Well, almost never... I once
had a Chevy Vega (GT Wagon) while in college (Obl. Brit. Car content:
the Vega was the replacement for the TR4 that was totaled by a dope
dealer who ran a red light with $250,000 worth of coke/herion in his
trunk on the way to a big deal). When I rebuilt the engine, it had
*no* wear on the cylinders (~125,000 miles). So I just put in new
bearings and rings on the pistons. Well it turns out that the famous
Vega aluminium block is a silica/aluminium alloy, about as hard as
diamonds. You had to chemically etch the block instead of honeing
it... I found out the hard way that the hone didn't do anything...
Anyway, after about 5-6,000 miles without the rings seating, a friend
suggested pouring a teaspoon full of baking powder into each cylinder.
I figured that I didn't have much to lose. It helped... did a
second treatment about 100 miles later, and the rings fully seated...
As always, YMMV
Freeze plugs:
For OFATP, freeze plugs are the soft metal plugs pressed into holes in
the water passages of engine blocks/heads. Theory is that as water in
the engine starts to freeze, it expands slightly, causing the plugs to
push out, thereby draining the block. Instead of a cracked block, you
just replace the freeze plug and refill the cooling system. The
trouble is, they often leak, and the only time I heard of one
functioning as designed, the water drained, and the dim-head owner
didn't notice, and drove off...
I just use a punch on one side of the plug to cause it to "turn" into
the hole. Then use a big pair of pliers to grab the side, and I pull
it out... Clean the hole, press a new freeze plug into the hole, and
use a socket that *just* fits inside the plug to drive it home...
Tab Washers:
We are talking about the things that go under a bolt, (often passing
between two bolts) and then after the bolt is tight, you bend the side
of the washer up to prevent the bolt from turning, right?... Why not
use them????... The bolts that they go under are not usually torqued
too highly (I seem to remember torqueing the rod bolts on the Elan to
about 40 ft-lbs - don't remember if it used tab washers though), so
any deformation (squishing) of the tab washer won't amount to much,
and will occur as a result of the original tightening of the bolt
anyways. I'd be a little more worried about having the bolts come
loose, and yes, safty wiring would be a good cure, but what about the
nice engine balance job that I paid for?... Remember, just 'cause
something is new doesn't mean it's better. The engineers that designed
the engines/cars weren't exactly stupid, well not usually ... (and
yes, I know that cost of parts/manufacture is often a design decision,
but I like to think that happened more in Detroit than in England).
And it is a good idea to ALWAYS use good quality nuts and bolts. I
get aircraft quality hardware from an aircraft supply house...
Tim Mullen mullent@ymv5.ymp.gov Chantilly, Va
72 Elan Sprint "For the few who know the difference" - current
Lotus advertising slogan...
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