Washers - Spring washers, flat washers, why?

[sa mokin]

Hello Moke gurus

I have three washer questions.  I am about to make a nuts/bolts/washers purchase for my resto and want to understand something...

• Where does the spring washer go - just behind the bolt head or the nut?
• Where does the flat washer go - just behind the bolt head or the nut?
• Why?

[Pete Power]

Hi Paul,
Spring Washer always goes behind the nut. Unless Bolt going into threaded hole
On heavy gauge material joints, normally just a spring washer used.
On light gauge materials and also for aesthetics a flat washer can be used under the Bolt head and also under the spring washer. Nyloc nuts can be used for non structural joints and you then don't need a spring washer.
The flat washer is to make a larger bearing surface than the bolt head or nut does. Flat washers also used to hide incorrect hole sizes
The spring washer places tension on the nut to stop the nut vibrating off .

[spider]

Gidday SA,

The way the factory did it;-

If it's a bolt in a tapped hole (eg front mounts of the rear subframe to body) It was bolt, spring washer.

If it's a bolt and nut, it was Bolt, flat washer, (through the parts), spring washer, nut.

The reasons are actually quite complex.

In brief, the parts being fastened are held in place by friction between them. The friction is create by the bolt. The friction is maintained by the bolt stretching, but not beyond it's point of yeild (when it streches but doesn't shrink back).

The flat washer (in theory) spreads the load away from the hole, which has been weakened because of the hole.

The spring washer helps maintain the tension on the bolt if it is subject to vibration (as some other stuff). It also locks the bolt (or nut) by digging in to the parts in the the direction of being undone (unless it is made in china, some are twisted the wrong way!)

Supposedly, putting a flat washer under a spring washer makes it less effective, however, I always do it as I don't like the spring washers wreaking my paint! (never had any problems from it)

Be aware that there are High Tensile washers and different specified thicknesses of spring washers. Most nuts and bolts on the Moke are Grade 5 and specify grade 8 (or better) flat washers.

I'd also suggest buying in boxed quanities as I've always found it costs less than buying a few loose ones.

PM sent.

[Pete Power]

 

[Maddog]

Be aware that there are High Tensile washers and different specified thicknesses of spring washers. Most nuts and bolts on the Moke are Grade 5 and specify grade 8 (or better) flat washers.

I'd also suggest buying in boxed quanities as I've always found it costs less than buying a few loose ones.

Good advice Spider. There is a huge range of sizes for both spring and flat washers - I would suggest taking a sample, (or at least one you think looks right) and get them to match it. The cheap flat washers can be crap, being too thin and almost a metric/imperial multifit size with the hole too big, so check before buying!

Box lots of nuts, washers etc. are so cheap from a decent bolt supplier there is really no reason to use crappy old second hand ones.


Cheers, MD.

[Moke 71]

Hi Sa Mokin

i went and bought a selection of washers and nuts (plain and nyloc) in bulk lots from coventry fasteners in Edwardstown. i thought their pricing and quality was pretty good

http://www.cgl.com.au/coventry/divisions/industrial/coventry_fasteners/

cheers
dave

[Pete Power]

We get ours from there as well Dave, don't forget to take a Business card and ask for Trade Pricing

[.]

Gday Dave.
SA & I went there looking for nuts / bolts and washers, and if I remember it right, they said :
We dont have the same bolts as the original ones off the moke.
The heads of the bolts will be bigger , some of the bolts could be black.
they dont have them in the correct lenth ( so you have to cut them to the right length)

As SA is doing his mokes to factory spec. he wants everything to be the same it came out of the factory. So the bolts from them are not good enough.

But for washers and nuts  they should be fine...

cheers

mavro

[spider]

I have to say over our way I've found all the Coventry Fastener places very ordinary, maybe different interstate.

I get mine from Cedray or if I'm really stuck, Blackwoods. Sometimes I can only get black fasteners, however, these I get plated for a few bucks. If you do that, don't neglect to normlise them before using them. Or put another way, stick them in the oven on about 150 degrees for 20 minutes before eating 

This just takes the brittleness out of them and NO at that temperature, it does not soften them, I think you would use Cuddley fabric softener for that!