Recently someone was mentioning the ease of stripping threads in aluminum when tightening bolts with no torque wrench. Very true, this. I was snugging-up the pan on my inline gas Jetta motor (a diesel Vanagon pan, to make allow the motor sit in there at 55degrees) last evening, using a "T" driver. Just gently running down the bolts, with the motor upside down on the stand, getting ready to do the first go-round with a torque wrench. Two of the bolts (#6x 1.25?) go not into the block but into the rear main oil seal carrier, which is aluminum. In the "Zen" of doing a repetitive, mindless operation, spinning down the bolts with that cool "T" wrench that I like so much, I lost track of the fact that two of those suckers went into an aluminum casting. The first of the two stripped right out with hardly any torque at all. I was actually twirling the T-wrench with just 3 fingers, you know, like the guys on TV do? Now, this particular aluminum cast rear main bearing seal carrier, it came off a block that is 'new' to me, so maybe that hole was partially stripped already by a PO or a hamfisted factory guy..who knows now. But I couldn't 'believe my fingers' when it went snug and then......let loose...Dang! That little 'glitch' in re-assembly cost me a whole afternoon...I had to go over to the city and get a #7, next size fatter, bolt and the tap for it. So this morning I can start over on the pan...Probably not all negative, since I also came home with some Permatex Black gasket Goo to lather up that pan gasket with, you know, like "Belt AND Suspenders"? Don Hanson |
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