corrosion-resistant bolts/screws
11-03-2003, 12:36 AM
#1
Banned
Thread Starter
corrosion-resistant bolts/screws
As some of you may have noticed, a few of my DIYs have been rudely interrupted by corroded bolts which have to be dremmelled off and replaced.
When I recently replaced my AC ballast resistor, I noticed that every screw holding the front lip spoiler to the front bumper was badly rusted. That got me thinking that I would rather replace as many screws and bolts as I can, while the existing hardware can still be easily removed. It's cheap insurance, and it doesn't give me much pleasure to see corroded items every time I work on the car. If everything on the car were salt corrosion resistant then I would feel a lot better about driving the car in winter too.
1) What are the original Porsche mounting screws and bolts genarally made from? They don't seem to be very effective against corrosion.
2) What could I replace them with to have no more corrosion worries? Titanium? Various alloys? And are they easily obtainable?
Here's a good example of the corrosion I'm talking about:
When I recently replaced my AC ballast resistor, I noticed that every screw holding the front lip spoiler to the front bumper was badly rusted. That got me thinking that I would rather replace as many screws and bolts as I can, while the existing hardware can still be easily removed. It's cheap insurance, and it doesn't give me much pleasure to see corroded items every time I work on the car. If everything on the car were salt corrosion resistant then I would feel a lot better about driving the car in winter too.
1) What are the original Porsche mounting screws and bolts genarally made from? They don't seem to be very effective against corrosion.
2) What could I replace them with to have no more corrosion worries? Titanium? Various alloys? And are they easily obtainable?
Here's a good example of the corrosion I'm talking about:
Last edited by graham_mitchell; 11-03-2003 at 01:53 AM.
11-03-2003, 10:16 AM
#2
Rennlist Member
Graham,
In the two years of owning my car and doing some work on it, I have been surprised by the poor quality fasteners used throughout. Corrosion (and my car is a no winter, dry climate) and use once and throw away type fasteners are the problems.
Unfortunately, so many of the fasteners are special to Porsche, that they are the only source. Anthing generic, I've replaced with stainless steel, which are readily available and more than adequate for the job.
Just be aware that ss cannnot always be used in a structural capacity as they may not have the needed strength. This is where the fastener grade comes in to play. Of course, this is not an issue for cosmetic fasteners.
SS is available at any large industrial supply house or on-line.
In the two years of owning my car and doing some work on it, I have been surprised by the poor quality fasteners used throughout. Corrosion (and my car is a no winter, dry climate) and use once and throw away type fasteners are the problems.
Unfortunately, so many of the fasteners are special to Porsche, that they are the only source. Anthing generic, I've replaced with stainless steel, which are readily available and more than adequate for the job.
Just be aware that ss cannnot always be used in a structural capacity as they may not have the needed strength. This is where the fastener grade comes in to play. Of course, this is not an issue for cosmetic fasteners.
SS is available at any large industrial supply house or on-line.