Front Spring Scare

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Outback Jack
Member
Posts: 381
Was greasing the king pins etc today and notice that the front spring nuts on the u bolts was loose. Every one of them, considering I am driving 120Kms plus a day on a really bad dirt road, it was lucky I had noticed it.

The diff has moved around as you can see the rub marks etc.

I am going to tighten them and see how it goes, just lucky they didnt fall out completely.
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December 4, 2010 at 3:22 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Tony Lee
Member
Posts: 539
Haven't you had work done in that area recently?

Those nuts are on the list of stuff to be checked very often.
I did check all mine and found them all tight.
Other things were loose though.
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Tony

picasaweb.google.com/114611728110254134379

December 4, 2010 at 3:56 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Outback Jack
Member
Posts: 381
Yes, new springs in Adelaide. I did check them in Perth, but since then have done 4000KMs on rough roads, rough enough for a landcruiser to break its coils and trucks to break things.

I have put a double nut on there now and when I get back to a town I will get it all checked out. I think the wheel aligment may be out as one tyre is scurbbing badly. Again in Adelaide new tie rod ends were put in, but a wheel alignment wasnt done.


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December 4, 2010 at 4:57 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Dean & Kaye Howells
Member
Posts: 79
Might be worth having a look at the spring centre bolts, the head may have sheared off one and skewed the front axle. If you've changed tie rod ends and not done an alignment, in this case toe-in, I'd expect the same uneven wear on BOTH front tyres.

Deano:)
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December 4, 2010 at 6:19 PM Flag Quote & Reply

T & D Morris
Member
Posts: 29
Outback Jack at December 4, 2010 at 3:22 PM
Was greasing the king pins etc today and notice that the front spring nuts on the u bolts was loose. Every one of them, considering I am driving 120Kms plus a day on a really bad dirt road, it was lucky I had noticed it.

The diff has moved around as you can see the rub marks etc.

I am going to tighten them and see how it goes, just lucky they didnt fall out completely.
Hi


I was great believer in spring washers but after some research for work I found this site and they
say they are no better than flat washers.
www.boltscience.com/pages/vibloose.htm

A tight
bolt hole appears to be the secret of then not coming loose.





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December 4, 2010 at 7:22 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Tony Lee
Member
Posts: 539
Not no better than flat washers but, especially under cyclic loading, worse than flat washers.
Even flat washers are better done without.
If they were any good you would find them on head bolts and the like, but that isn't the case.
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Tony

picasaweb.google.com/114611728110254134379

December 4, 2010 at 10:13 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Dandj
Member
Posts: 367
U-Bolts nuts do work loose no matter how tight they are. It's probably due to the elasticity of the long bolt. Double nuts locked together will probably work best to maintain the torque.

You could drill the U-bolts and fit R-pins to retain the nuts but this won't prevent them working loose.

The same "boltscience" website tested double nuts and a single plus a half nut. See www.boltscience.com/pages/twonuts.htm

Their results suggested that a half-nut on first, followed by a full nut, demonstrated the best resistance to vibration. I always thought it would be the other way round.

Flat washers are useful to spread the load but spring washers only lock well on small, light fixtures (up to 8 or 10mm bolt diameter).


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David and Janet Ribbans, Oka 148

December 5, 2010 at 6:38 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Paul & Sue Crompton
Member
Posts: 44
Hi folks - I have met a few people with the same problem so it must be quite common. The previous owner of my Oka included an article in the Wanderer about why nuts vibrate loose and it appears one of the ways is to use some type of lock tight to help prevent this. I guess he should know as the vehicle has been across the Tanami about 20 times that I am aware of.

The other thing I would like to point out is that the nuts can feel quite tight but the U-bolts may be loose due to the nuts being seized on the thread. One of the hints he suggested was to keep a check on the U-bolts regularly and don't overtighten them as you will only stretch the U-bolt. Paul.
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Paul & Sue Crompton

December 5, 2010 at 8:11 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Tony Lee
Member
Posts: 539
"One of the hints he suggested was to keep a check on the U-bolts regularly and don't overtighten them as you will only stretch the U-bolt. Paul."

--- and don't grease the threads before doing them up to the specified torque otherwise the bolts can be subjected to several times the specified stress.

(except for the wheel studs - which are to be lubricated before torquing)
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Tony

picasaweb.google.com/114611728110254134379

December 5, 2010 at 9:25 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Peter_n_Margaret
Member
Posts: 198
New or re-worked springs are a guarranteed recipe for loose U bolts.
The springs settle into each other and the paint wears off. Nothing to do with the nuts loosening or the bolts stretching. The rate of loosening does slow down with time, but in the early stages re-torqueing on a very regular basis is a good idea.

Cheers,
Peter
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Cheers Peter, OKA196 Motorhome. www.oka4wd.com/xt196.htm



December 6, 2010 at 4:27 AM Flag Quote & Reply

David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
Would have to agree with you here Peter, Mine were always being tightened (More so after I had front spring work) but over time found they settled in and did not need consistant tightenening.

David
OKA131's Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer


December 6, 2010 at 7:41 AM