On my previous cars I've used mostly Grade 8.8 BZP fastners and over time the corrode and go cloudy white. I' intend to chrome all my axles and links and was wondering if stainless grades A2 or A4 are acceptable on higher load components such as motor plates, torsion bars, radius rods, steering links, rod end half nut and through bolts ? Would I be better off using chromed steel nuts and bolts ? problem with these is they do not have markings ?
Hi Phil:
Im not smart , but have had the privilege of some good experiences and working with great people. So just some info that I hope can be of help to you.
Sounds like by your post your mostly worried about looks as your are chroming some items. If you intend to chrome be very wary. As mentioned by our fine members here there can be issues and if correct processes are not followed the items are compromised. Hydrogen embrittlement is more of a problem by formed material and introduction of hydrogen molecules by welding. This is all exasperated by chroming. With economic , ecological and political issues. Plating industry has taken it hard. If you have a good plater, by him a great lunch or more.
You need to be proactive to make sure your item was fabricated correctly and to follow through with your plating. You may need to get a steel treating place involved if the plater is not hooked up with one. Also plating within a timely period of the items processing. There was a web site that had plating engineers that would answer your proccessing questions. I will try and find it.
As you mentioned you would like to use SS hardware to compliment . There is nothing wrong with this but you need to make sure of a quality hardware and a correct lube. Torque correctly also.
As long as we are talking lubes here can I recommend one??
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/drt-lube You can get this at most MFG supply. As in example here in the states McMaster or Grainger. I have a tube of this stuff that got to be 30 years old. Works great on dead centers. Not messy. Important on SS fasteners to use right lube. You will get unsatisfactory results if you just grab some wheel bearing grease or the like.
Now on the subject of fasteners. be very careful. There is a problem of .......lets say unworthy sundries getting into the mainstream. Sometimes you can just look at it and go OY. But sometimes it looks OK ,there are material and heat treat issues. This is a real problem. Especially for very engineered items like aerospace.
There are places that may charge more for there items but they have the pedigree. You have to research this. Dont know what you have in the mother country. Think next time you go flying that one of these things did not end up in a critical area of your plane.
One other quick item of note. The higher the strength steel fastener, the more susceptible it is to corrosion and related issues. They do not take kindly to plating's. Fortunately in drag racing we are constantly messing with our cars and they are not subject to much exposure. But just because you have this high strength fastener does not mean it lasts longer. Think rod bolts.
I just scratched the surface of a very deep topic. We can be very thankful we live in this time of so much shared engineering. Very smart people out there doing things to improve our lives and make things better.
Sorry for any errors in writing but am a person that did not pay enough attention at English class.
good luck bud
Luke
