On moderns we are told that hub nuts, brake caliper carrier etc. etc. nuts and bolts should be replaced if you are replacing bearings etc. I'll hold my hands up - if they are in the kit, fair enough, but often the ones in the kit are of poor quality so I use the ones already on the car (tidy them up, new loctite etc. Now I know some people might fall of their seats at this - and I understand about stretch etc - but if the 'new' ones simply look like cheap cack, I don't go there. Which leads me to a good example - the rear hub nut on these old vans. Modern replacements seem to be simply far worse quality, so I reuse the originals. What to you girls and guys do?
Given somebody over on the Samba managed to score a cast hub nut on eBay that broke apart when they hauled on it, reuse the old ones ... Really it applies to bolts on other vehicles where they are torqued by torque followed by rotation angle to stretch them when they are fitted so that a second stretch is a bad idea . Or that they are so rusted they need binning.
I've not encountered anything on a modern over around 170ft/lb - would that be enough to stretch 'em? On the hub nut on the old van's sure its the stub that's getting stretched, not the nut?
Precisely, and both are massive, so nuts are more reusable than bolts because the bolt usually stretches more than the nut around it.
would only depend on what grade either nut or shaft is made from .,Nuts would be more sacrificial as cheaper to make
He's showing the threads don't line up because the old one is stretched. It's in the short sentence you quoted.
Bolts and studs have to stretch to provide the clamping force for the joint. Whether they permanently stretch, plastically deform, or elasticated stretch and recover on untightening depends on what the original designer wanted and whether there was any intention to dismantle the joint in the future. Nuts deform around the threads with the first loaded thread taking 1/3 of the total bolt reaction and each subsequent thread taking 2/3 the load of its predecessor.
He is, and they don't because one is stretched, that's the point. What would be better is if you allowed your mind to wander from your pre-conceived ideas.
On topic, though I'm not qualified to judge... I reused an exhaust stud yesterday after picking the stripped aluminium from the threads and helicoiling the hole. The rusty nuts are going back on too... and I'll be re-using the oval port copper gaskets for the third or fourth time. I have never replaced a rear hub nut on mine or anyone else's. The quality of all the original hardware on a bus has always impressed me, particularly compared to anything I could readily source to replace it.
Sounds good to me. Is it worth annealing the copper gaskets? I'm not familiar with the Type 4 so I've no idea of how thick they are, or how soft they need to be.
