• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

TR2/3/3A The steel head stud washers?

Share this page

K

karls59tr

Obi Wan
Bronze
Country flag
Offline
I installed the head gasket today. i was missing a couple of steel flat washers so I installed these and torqued the head down. They are made of yellow zink but are the same thickness as the missing ones. How much of a mistake is this and is it going to come back and bite me on the ass?:unsure:
 
For head bolts or other important fasteners I request "hardened and ground" The hardening ensures they are as hard as your bolts and will not compress over time, and the ground ensures they are absolutely flat, so they carry the bolt load evenly to the head surface. If you already used those washers, then I would not go to the trouble to change them out...just be sure to check the torque a couple times to ensure they are holding tension. A softer washer is still better than none at all.
 
In my experience, grade 8 hardware is usually zinc chromated, and lesser hardware is not. So, the washers you used are likely grade 8 anyway.
 
Sarastro said:
In my experience, grade 8 hardware is usually zinc chromated, and lesser hardware is not. So, the washers you used are likely grade 8 anyway.
Click to expand...
Just saw this post after responding to your first post. So this washer should be OK in your opinion?
 
Most bolts, nuts and washers are Zinc coated, no matter what grade they are. Yes, Grade 8 does often have that yellow color, but anyone can buy a zinc chromate kit on the internet. That color does not indicate any specific alloy. Check ARP for quality grade 8 hardware.
 
I'm quite aware of this. I do zinc plating (plus other metals) and chromate conversion. I don't use a kit; I use electrochemistry.

 
Back
Top