Re: [alfa] Stainless fasteners in exhaust systems

[Bruce Giller <bgiller@xxxxxxxxx>]

My experience with SS nuts/bolts on my '86 have been that the nuts loosen over time and fall off...and then I loose the
bolts as well.  I tried lockwashers which didn't help and have gone on to double-nutting them.

My main reason for using them is because regular steel bolts/nuts soon turn into rusty sculptures which are quite
difficult to remove.

	Bruce

	'86 Spider
	'73 GTV

> I recently had to remove the SS nuts and bolts from the downpipes from my 
> '74 Spider, which had been in place for a few years, and maybe 4K miles.  I 
> didn't have the same trouble you did, and they still look fine.  They're 
> nothing fancy, either, just the crap that Home Depot sold at the time.  I'm 
> sure there are lots of different alloys out there, too, so that's got to 
> make a difference.  Your mix and match trick might just be the way to go, 
> and I always use the silver Permatex Anti-Seize, which seems to hold up 
> well on exhaust parts.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Dean
> 
> >I had tried something a bit simpler, and had some strange results.
> >My '76 spider has a catalytic converter attached to the exhaust
> >pipes with two, three-bolt flanges.  I figured "hey, SS is the way
> >to go", and bought some 5/16" X approx. 2-1/2" stainless bolts,
> >nuts, and lockwashers.  I needed to remove the cat a couple of
> >months later, and tried to loosen the six bolts.  Two of them were
> >locked up - totally frozen.  The bolts fractured before the nuts
> >would loosen.  No they didn't look corroded, and no, I hadn't
> >used Loctite or anything else on the threads.
> >
> >My question for all you metallurgists out there is: Does stainless
> >steel tend to "gall" or otherwise  lock up, especially when exposed
> >to heat?  Should I have used oil, anit-seize, or some other lubricant
> >on the threads (of course, would that have survived the heat of the
> >exhaust system?).  I replaced the SS nuts with regular steel ones,
> >but retained the SS bolts.  My hope is that this combination will give
> >the desired result.
> >
> >Jay Mackro, San Juan Capistrano, Ca.
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