> Strangely enough, some of the captive nuts want to turn
> within their 'prison'.
> What's up with that?
Very common, IMO. The cage will only take so much force, and then deform so
the nut spins uselessly.
If the cage itself isn't too rusty or weak from bending, then you can bend
the 'ears' back in to catch the nut (with Vise-Grips, aka mole grips, or
similar). New cages are available from the usual suspects, but need to be
welded into place.
> While concoursites might oppose, i have thought about
> replacing some of these
> 'free'd prisoners' with Stainless steel COURSE THREADED nuts and bolts
> (because they are easier to find).
Replacing _some_ of them would be a mistake, IMO. It's hard to keep track
of which ones are which with the fender in place, and cross-threading
(coarse bolt in fine threads or fine bolt in coarse threads) is very likely
going to spin the nut in it's cage again. Even if you get it right this
time, you'll hate yourself next time.
So unless the old nuts are totally ruined, I would (and have) just cleaned
them up with a 1/4-28 tap; and use plenty of anti-seize on the bolts.
Last I checked, TRF had the nuts available (tho not cheap). Still, even at
$.70 each (or whatever it was), probably cheaper than replacing with all SS.
If you do remove the nut, it's probably wise to replace the cage, too.
Randall
|