Replacing Nuts and Bolts

[Zenarchy]

My bikes been in bits for weeks now while I've been tidying things up and repainting etc. and I'm about ready to start putting it back together again (thank god! - it's dragged on for far too long).

I've just got one of those stainless allen bolt kits from ebay and planning to use stainnless nuts and bolts for as much as I can get away with.

I know these aren't as strong as regular steel bolts and shouldn't be used for anywhere there's high stress, but not quite sure exactly what I can use them for and what I should avoid using them for.

Does anyone have any pointers. I figured all the parts that are just hanging plastic (chain guard, fairing fixings, water bottle etc) will be OK, but not sure if I can get away with using them for much more than that. Has anyone used stainless bolts for anything heavier duty than this, and what things should I absolutely be avoiding them for (I know engine mounting bolts and any major frame bolts are going to be a no-no but not sure about things like radiator mountings etc where there's going to be some weight on them but not a great deal?).

The other thing I'm not sure about is the other bolts that need to be replaced (subframe bolts etc) I've taken off and removed all the rust with a wire brush. They're looking nice and clean and rust free at the moment and my plan was to put those back on. Is this a good idea or are they going to rust up again very quickly. Not sure if they'll have had some sort of coating on originally to prevent them rusting that'll be gone now and if it's really the best idea to get a set of high tensile bolts to replace all those as well? Or could I get away with just putting the originals back now they've been cleaned up?

[GSPD750]

My bikes been in bits for weeks now while I've been tidying things up and repainting etc. and I'm about ready to start putting it back together again (thank god! - it's dragged on for far too long).

I've just got one of those stainless allen bolt kits from ebay and planning to use stainnless nuts and bolts for as much as I can get away with.

I know these aren't as strong as regular steel bolts and shouldn't be used for anywhere there's high stress, but not quite sure exactly what I can use them for and what I should avoid using them for.

Does anyone have any pointers. I figured all the parts that are just hanging plastic (chain guard, fairing fixings, water bottle etc) will be OK, but not sure if I can get away with using them for much more than that. Has anyone used stainless bolts for anything heavier duty than this, and what things should I absolutely be avoiding them for (I know engine mounting bolts and any major frame bolts are going to be a no-no but not sure about things like radiator mountings etc where there's going to be some weight on them but not a great deal?).

The other thing I'm not sure about is the other bolts that need to be replaced (subframe bolts etc) I've taken off and removed all the rust with a wire brush. They're looking nice and clean and rust free at the moment and my plan was to put those back on. Is this a good idea or are they going to rust up again very quickly. Not sure if they'll have had some sort of coating on originally to prevent them rusting that'll be gone now and if it's really the best idea to get a set of high tensile bolts to replace all those as well? Or could I get away with just putting the originals back now they've been cleaned up?

See attached. http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/barrett/manual1-A.html

Those SS fasteners will work just fine for the light applications...and if the shoe fits...As for the OEM fasteners that you cleaned the rust off of I would apply some sort of corrosion preventatve lube. Something that will leave a coating and prevent futher glavanic corrosion in your salt air environment.

[davsato]

ive always found those SS screws strong enough for most things, but the heads arent. a 6mm dome screw only uses a 4mm allen wrench, which looks nicer but cant be tightened as much as a 6mm caphead which uses a 5mm wrench. the hex just spins in the socket, which makes it very hard to remove after that. so just be careful and dont overtighten, which most people do anyway!

a good pointer is to look at what is used on the bike. most fasteners are nice looking shiny generic bolts, you can usually replace these, but occasionally you will find an ugly grey or funny coloured bolt, maybe with a big dent in the head. these are forged and heat treated bolts that are there not to look good but because they are strong, eg brake discs, calipers, sprockets etc. best to leave these alone, they are there for a reason

[dasoutham]

SS replacement bolts should be fine for all those things like fixing rads, panels, electric components, brake pipes etc. Also (not sure if you've bought these from your post) for replacing the terrible fasteners which Japanese bikes have mostly used to hold all the engine cases together, as the limitation is in the strength of the threads in the aluminium and not the fasteners.

For suspension parts, brake caliper bolts, and ANYTHING INSIDE THE ENGINE, etc use OE spec unless you absolutely know that the replacement is up for it!

The fasteners that you have already cleaned up will still be fine as long as the threads, and more relevant, the spannering bits are still OK. Your problem here is to stop them going poxy again. Rust eater products will smarten them up but don't add any protection. Good old grease works wonders but it is not pretty, so you are back to the decision whether to replace with OE or nice stainless fasteners.

Anyone out there, feel free to disagree with me as this is my off the top of the head opinion.

Cheers,
Dave

[Zenarchy]

Thanks for the tips, and the link to that manual. That looks really useful. I've had a quick skim through the bits I need but I've bookmarked it to read the rest later (looks like there's loads of other helpful stuff in there). I should be able to find out the type of stainless used in the bolts I've got I think so that should help to give me a rough idea.

Not many of the bolts I've removed were very shiny to begin with unfortunately as most had at least surface rust on them (it's an 18yr old bike), but I'll look more carefully for any with different coloured metals that I can see and dents in the head and be particularly careful about those ones.

It's good to know I can get away with mounting radiators and other smaller metal parts with the stainless ones I've bought. I was hoping these would be such a problem with the weight but wasn't sure if vibration would cause a problem and compound that. Sounds like they'll be OK My plan is to replace as much as I can with stainless so I don't have to worry about them rusting again.

I haven't really paid much attention to the engine casings, brakes or sprocket bolts yet, just the frame bolts, and various mounting bolts for things so far. The kit I bought was a generic kit with 200 nuts bolts and washers in with common sizes to fit most Japanes bikes (it lists the africa twin on the ebay listing but isn't specifically for this bike).

Most of the bolts I've taken off that I was thinking I might need to reuse seem in fairly good condition as far as the threads and heads go, and I think I've wire brushed all the rust off them (or most of them - gave up as I was getting towards the end as that's when I started wondering if I should really be replacing them).

I'll have a closer look tomorrow and any that don't look like they can be replaced with stainless, I'll try putting back again and smear some grease or waxoyl over the heads when I screw them in (just bought some copaslip today for the threads). Looking at that manual, I'm guessing some of them will have been nickel plated and that'll no longer be there, but hopefully if they're greased or waxoyled then that'll protect them a bit longer. A lot of them are under the fairings anyway so shouldn't get too wet (apart from condensation maybe I guess).

[Dilbert]

Generally as above and I think you've got a pretty good handle on it anyhoo, just think about the application, brakes, engine mounts and also suspension bolts, best left alone, most others can be replaced with stainless.

Engine bolts are fine in stainless too and if you replace them one at a time you shouldn't need to replace the gaskets.

I ride an XRV650 same sort of age as yours, age doesn't really matter, it's how much rain and salt they've seen, I completely stripped mine and put it back together, most bolts just need a good hard rub with an oily rag and then re-assembly with a thin film of lithium or graphite grease, don't sand them this will take off what remains of the coating, they won't be nickel plated, more likely zinc or cadmium and passivated.

[Zenarchy]

Generally as above and I think you've got a pretty good handle on it anyhoo, just think about the application, brakes, engine mounts and also suspension bolts, best left alone, most others can be replaced with stainless.

Thanks It sounds like I was being overly cautious and they're OK for a bit more than I thought they could be used for.

Engine bolts are fine in stainless too and if you replace them one at a time you shouldn't need to replace the gaskets.

Thanks. I might have a look at those as well. I don't think the ones there are in such bad condition so might just leave them for now but if I've got any bolts left over that fit I might give it a try one at a time. I was a bit wary about touching those incase it meant draining the oil and the resealing again, but it sounds like I might be able to get away without doing that.

I ride an XRV650 same sort of age as yours, age doesn't really matter, it's how much rain and salt they've seen, I completely stripped mine and put it back together, most bolts just need a good hard rub with an oily rag and then re-assembly with a thin film of lithium or graphite grease, don't sand them this will take off what remains of the coating, they won't be nickel plated, more likely zinc or cadmium and passivated.

Sadly I've probably brushed off any coating that might have already been on there on most of them now with a wire brush (thinking if I got all the rust off and made them nice and shiny again it'd stop new rust setting in again but then discovered this might not be the case). I'm pretty new to this as you can probably tell, but I'll keep it in mind for the future. I'll try putting them back with grease on and see how they fair over the winter then might replace them if they're looking like they're rusting up again at any rate.

I've had my eye on those electroplating kits since I found out about them last week (thought something like that would cost a ton but it seems you can put together a basic kit that runs from a car battery relatively cheaply) so might give that a try if I get one (will have to be after christmas now). Though I'm tempted by one more for the fun of electroplating things than getting one just for the bolts, it might come in handy for doing the bolts as well.

Thanks for your help (and all your help in the other thread - haven't managed to get hold of an impact driver yet but planning to go over to screwfix to pick one up tomorrow then give it a try )