Do you always replace nuts?

Just reading the Landrover Rave manual and they always discard the nylon nuts and replace them with new ones. Is the really necessary as it can be hard to source nylon nuts at short notice. If you should really replace them is there a specific set of nuts that I could buy in advance that will cover the majority of scenarios?

Thanks

Nylon nuts where exactly?

jedi said:

Nylon nuts where exactly?

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I can see the confusion here. Apologies. I mean the locking nuts with the blue nylon insert

We know what nylocs are. I think he meant what nuts are you talking about i.e. what part of the vehicle are they specific to? And yes ideally you should replace them as once a thread is cut into the nylon and you reuse it it becomes less and less effective

I now know the type, but where are these used on a freelander? I dont think I've come across any? Unless mine have no nylon left

I have to replace the upper shock mount bearing and the manual states discard the nuts that hold the strut to the hub and a couple of others in that area too.

If the manual says to replace the nuts then I would do just that. I would rather follow official instruction and at least have peace of mind knowing that its secure than save a few pence and risk a nut vibrating or working loose because I reused them. Nylocs are really only a one time use

Problem is that the FL uses different thread pitches and you need to know which is which. Some are standard metric, others can be either metric fine or even metric extra fine. You can buy a bottle of Loctite "Lock & Seal" or equivalent and use that on the threads instead of renewing the nylocs at a push. It enables the nuts/bolts to be removed without too much effort yet retains them.
They used to use spring washers in the past but they seem to have gone out of fashion but can also be used with old nyloc nuts. They are readily available from the likes of Ebay and sizes from M6 to M20 would cover most things.

Lots of nuts used on the Freelander are "Crush Loc" nuts. These work in the same way as Nyloc nuts but are less obvious to detect.
They shouldn't be re used unless you use s locking compound.

I always use a loctite type fluid.
An extra strong one on suspension & steering part or where the nut won't be undone very often & a medium type for other areas more regularly accessed. Gives piece of mind knowing they will be there the next time I look!

Ok. Sounds like a bottle of lock and seal should be in the tool box

duncanpage4 said:

I always use a loctite type fluid.
An extra strong one on suspension & steering part or where the nut won't be undone very often & a medium type for other areas more regularly accessed. Gives piece of mind knowing they will be there the next time I look!

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Problem with the "Extra strong" Loctite is that it takes hell of a torque to release the nut/bolt and it can end up rounding the head off. I have experienced first hand where loctite Bearing Fit 600 grade has been used on a bolt and the head sheared off as we had to use a Torque Multiplier to try and shift it. It's all well and good using a "Belt & Braces" approach but the correct grade for the application should always be used otherwise you create more problems than you solve. The only way to counter the effects of retaining compound is to use heat-like a blowtorch and that is not always possible especially where danger of fire etc. is a possibility.
Lock and Seal is a good general purpose grade and well capable of keeping the fastener in place, it is a must for bolt threads which are going into aluminium-e.g engine blocks etc. as it eliminates the electrolytic seizure caused by the dissimilar materials which can cause the threads in the aluminium to strip..

Yes, a bottle of Lock & Seal grade is an essential part of any DIYers toolkit.

Warm it up

fanatic said:

Warm it up

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+1 most of the loctite high strength requires heating to release the nut.

How to Disassemble & Remove Loctite Red High Strength Threadlocker - YouTube

flanagaj said:

Just reading the Landrover Rave manual and they always discard the nylon nuts and replace them with new ones. Is the really necessary as it can be hard to source nylon nuts at short notice. If you should really replace them is there a specific set of nuts that I could buy in advance that will cover the majority of scenarios?

Thanks

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if the nyloc part is in good nick ,shown by the fact it has resistance to wind nut back on then they are ok to reuse, if your worried use a little loctite too,

in the perfect world or if you dont understand what you are doing , do as the manual tells you ,

from a personal point i have been in engineering over 40 years working on all types of machinery , the worst thing you can do is over tighten nuts and bolts,
you need to understand the correct torque for a given size of thread and i rarely use a torque wrench, i very rarely use new nuts and bolts or thread lock unless they are damaged, also gaskets can be reused many times if they are in good condition,and i have never had anything come loose or leak after work has been carried out,
what you read in books is quite different to the real world

john t said:

what you read in books is quite different to the real world

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anybody over the age of probably 5 can write a book though and alot of them are pencil pushers who have absolutely no experience what so ever

jamesmartin said:

if the nyloc part is in good nick ,shown by the fact it has resistance to wind nut back on then they are ok to reuse, if your worried use a little loctite too,

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+1. And I would also expect that in some cases if you bought new generic nyloc nuts, the resistance they offer is possibly less than a OE nut being re-used. The rule of thumb I use is if it is a M6 or larger and you can easily hand tighten it using a socket - it's probably time to replace it - or fit a spring washer...