Club 80-90 Forums

I'll kick off with structural bolts.

They should never be greased or lubricated, they should be fitted dry and if the mating threads are greasy then clean them out. If you grease threads then not only are you applying much more bolt stress for the same torque but the loosening force required is much less meaning they can come loose more easily.

Grease is probably why peoples wheels fall off VW even fitted a sticker but put it in a stupid place so some people have never read it.

Goes without saying that you should always use a torque wrench.

Are you going to treat us to one every day

937carrera wrote:Are you going to treat us to one every day

No, I was hoping to learn a thing or two myself so feel free to contribute.

Regarding wheel bolts, etc, if people are concerned about avoiding corrosion then apparently the use of a weak strength (Loctite 222 - purple) or medium strength (Loctite 242 / 243 - blue) threadlocker will prevent corrosion without altering the torque characteristics of the fixing.

Wheel nuts - check them after driving 30 miles.

Is your van right on the change? If it's 84-86 check Brickwerks really useful page to identify early or late bits from your VIN.
https://www.brickwerks.co.uk/t3selector" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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My tip would be always have fire extinguishing equipment to hand when working on the fuel system.

I had previously thought for the last 20 years or so of working on old cars that this was over the top H&S gone mad type thinking, until recently I had a small fire after an incident involving spilled fuel and an errant spark. Its amazing how long it takes with fumbling panicky hands to find what you need and extinguish a fire, and surprising how quick it goes up!

So I'd have an extinguisher/hosepipe/fire blanket/burly fireman with a a big hose standing by as you see fit.

Might even start doing the whole disconnecting the battery thing as well!