Bolts

[whitehillbilly64]

Which bolts have series owners used as replacements.
Steel, zinc, stainless.
Which are least lightly to react with alloy ?
Looking for replacement bolts for tub to chassis, seat box, hard top roof. Sills.
Most of these 1\4 x 3\4 UNF. Just two washers and nyloc nut.high tensile.
What would be estimated amount.
Thanks.

Whitehillbilly

[Homestar]

You can buy full stainless steel bolt kits for series land rovers, so I guess they're fine - I've also been pondering this a bit myself recently.

A reaction between the 2 metals will only occur if the joint is wet, so unlike a boat the reaction won't be continuous. I also think zinc would be fine IMO.

Looking forward to what others think too. :)

[trout1105]

As most of the bolts on an outboard motor are stainless steel and they are made mostly out of aluminium then I would think that SS bolts would be the best choice albeit an expensive option.

[JDNSW]

Where in contact with aluminium and likely to get wet, stainless steel must be insulated from the alloy or it will result in corrosion. Although it is not an issue for most body bolts on a Series Landrover, as they are lightly stressed, you need to be aware that most stainless steels will work harden and eventually crack when subjected to vibration. They are probably satisfactory for a vehicle that is rarely used, and kept dry, however.

The original bolts were sherardised, and this is the best replacement, but these are not readily available. Galvanised (as opposed to zinc plated) are next best (not easy to find either!), followed by zinc plated (readily available).

[Homestar]

A font of knowledge as always John - thank you.

[JDNSW]

A font of knowledge as always John - thank you.

High school chemistry - with fifty years of sailing experience to reinforce it!

[gromit]

I've been investigating importing sheradised bolts from India. A lot of companies list it but......when I look at BSF bolts for example they want to only sell each size by the kilo. I'll push my contact again and try and get some samples.
A lot of bolts on my Series I haven't rusted in over 60 years and they were sheradised. Looking at the process it may be OH&S issues that have stopped it in the 'developed' World.....

Personally I've used zinc plated or zinc passivated and they don't hold up too long in the wet. When you go into the local bolt shop they just ask 'black or bright' not even specifying the type of protection just 'bright'.

I've used stainless bolts against aluminium mudguards on bikes in the UK.....the aluminium dissolved due to water & rocksalt (used to de-ice the roads in winter). You need to consider using anti seize on the threads otherwise they can cold weld and some barrier between the stainless and aluminium.

As John mentions, stainless has its limitations but it stays 'bright' & shiny for longer so I guess do you want functional, or pretty ?


Colin

[Homestar]

Just looked up how this process works - and yeah, sounds highly toxic... maybe a group buy from your contact Colin?

[whitehillbilly64]

Thanks for the input.
so what is sheradised ????
Looking at zinc maybe. How many 1/4's then ????

whitehillbilly

[Homestar]

Sheradised coating seems to be a gal vapour coating applied by heating the bolts to around 500 degrees and tumbled in a drum where zinc vaporises and coats the metal.

[whitehillbilly64]

Thanks Gav.
Followed my words to my Kids, "Google It"
Looking at all the bolts removed, didn't really "looked" to have a coating ???? worn off, or that how they look after 50 yrs
sheradised, Invented in the 1900. stood the Test of Time then !!!!

whitehillbilly

[JDNSW]

The zinc is actually alloyed with the steel. It does not give quite the same protection as dip galvanising, but it does not materially enlarge the thread or gum it up either.

[S3ute]

Hello from Brisbane.

You can still get the correct sized sheradised bolts from the UK - LR Fasteners is one supplier I seem to recall.

Like everything else of this nature, the shipping cost can make the exercise one for the purists.

Cheers,

Neil

[gromit]

Hello from Brisbane.

You can still get the correct sized sheradised bolts from the UK - LR Fasteners is one supplier I seem to recall.

Like everything else of this nature, the shipping cost can make the exercise one for the purists.

Cheers,

Neil

Just had a quick look at their website.
3/8" BSF nuts at 9GBP for 10 !
Full body kit of nuts & bolts for an 86" hardtop 600GBP.

It must have taken some legwork to get the parts lists together, source the parts & then get them sheradised but, as you say, an exercise for the purists.......

Land Rover Body Fastener Kits, Spares, Land Rover Parts (http://www.landrover-parts.net/index.php)


Colin

[S3ute]

Hello again from Brisbane.

Yes, you have to want them badly to proceed down the import path.

Actually, I had finally decided to bite the bullet and do it anyway (just the ten on the rear crossmember) and submitted an order whistling through my teeth that it would be worthwhile once the price was forgotten etc. However, there was still another small sting awaiting - the firm I was dealing with (might not have been LR Fasteners) was a small operation that didn't take credit cards or PayPal. In fact, would only accept direct deposits into their UK bank.

The catch there is the foreign payment fee demanded by my bank, as well as any unforeseen handling charges by the various intermediaries along the way. These were projected to potentially add an additional $30-$40 to what was already a sphincter clenching sum for the bolts etc plus the shipping quote. I figured that each bolt was going to cost somewhere around $10-$15 which basically explains why the pre-shipping invoice is lying around somewhere in the deep litter pile towards the bottom.

Might save it for a future UK holiday.

Cheers,

Neil