What does your Europa look like *today* ?

[Chuck Nukem]

eye balls!

[Serge]

Rear bearing housings!

Before & After:

- Clean manually with a wirebrush
- Remove bearings & bolts (including those that were stuck in there)
- Clean with wirewheel (anglegrinder for the big bits, dremel for the fiddly bits)
- Scuff with a scuffpad
- Polish with Autosol
- Clear with KBS Diamond finish
- Sand + Polish the clear
- Install brand new bolts

- Repeat for the other side.

[Mecky]

New clutch and ready for the next (dyno) test. Very beautiful with this great wheels and the Sahara-dust

[Valerio Leone]

Rear bearing housings!

Before & After:

- Clean manually with a wirebrush
- Remove bearings & bolts (including those that were stuck in there)
- Clean with wirewheel (anglegrinder for the big bits, dremel for the fiddly bits)
- Scuff with a scuffpad
- Polish with Autosol
- Clear with KBS Diamond finish
- Sand + Polish the clear
- Install brand new bolts

- Repeat for the other side.

Ciao Serge,

here I would suggest to use 4 helicoils to strengh those 8M bolts.

[Serge]

Did you have any threads fail on your bearing housing?

Did you use a standard helicoil type insert, or a solid insert?

[Valerio Leone]

No fails, but I saw my hub carriers were in need of a compete  Overhaul.
It's in my mind that for competition use we are having a quite weak car...

take a look at this rear wheel, you don't want to know what happened 10 metres ahead...
 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pietroz/4514562673/

I would use the standard helicoid anyway!

ciao
Valerio

[EuropaTC]

Did you have any threads fail on your bearing housing?

Did you use a standard helicoil type insert, or a solid insert?

I managed to successfully damage 2 on my hub carrier last year when I had it apart.   

Given the age of these things I reckon (with hindsight) that it's a good idea to helicoil the lot while the suspension is in pieces. I just used standard helicoils and it was all surprisingly easy to do.

Brian

[LotusJoe]

Did you have any threads fail on your bearing housing?

Did you use a standard helicoil type insert, or a solid insert?

I'm a big believer in time-serts. More expensive but easier to install and I think a better fix.

http://www.timesert.com/

[Serge]

Thanks for all the information. I've read that the timeserts are a better solution to the standard helicoils, that's why I asked.

I quickly ran a tap through all of the threads after I clearcoated the housing and the threads seemed fine to me. But I'll see to get some inserts to make it bulletproof.


Serge

[EuropaTC]

I've not heard of those Timesert things before, but I've got to say they look much more of an engineering solution. 

I didn't have a big problem with standard helicoils but as a newcomer to them I did manage to get one wrongly threaded during the insert phase.  Fortunately it was obvious and I was able to just break it out and start again, but something like those solid bushes would have been far simpler to install.

Considering how few of these jobs I do I'm not sure cost is a big issue compared with the certainty of getting it right first time ?

[Serge]

The time sert inserts are significantly more expensive. A timesert kit will cost about 55 euro compared to 20 euro for a regular helicoil kit. (75$ vs 28$)

An added thing is that they aren't readily available here in Europe. I don' t like replacing the bolts with M8 bolts, so I have to try and source a 5/16-24 insert kit. It's not a problem to find the regular helicoils, but even Wurth doesn't list the UNF kits here.

[LotusJoe]

Serge, I see the 5/16 24 kit is available here in the States. I would be more than willing grab a kit and forward it to you.

[Valerio Leone]

Again me.
I used 8M all around 8.8 - 10.8 strengh
UNF I sourced were charming but not for race use.
I am Sorry to bug you but I just feel I have to share my experiences

[Serge]

Thanks Joe, but I see I can easily buy them off of Ebay US and they'll ship them to here. But I need to go and see our local Wurth shop, they seem to be the ones that sell them over here, maybe they can get hold of the UNF sets. It will save me a lot in import charges if they can.

Valerio, no bother at all, your own experiences can only help to make my car better. Getting the M8 parts here isn't that difficult, but I would like to keep the original 5/16 size. No reason other than me being stubborn and not wanting to mix imperial and metric bolts everywhere.

Serge

[Valerio Leone]

Getting M8 is easy in Europe of course.
You have to consider how strong they have to be.
I don know where to source UNF 10.8 high tensile
May be from Damon Tweeks?