LT1-280z Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Necessity being the mother of invention I wanted to share something I came up with. Since it’s nearly impossible to get small quantities of metric sized tubing in the US and I don’t have access to a lathe. I came up with an idea to make my own by resizing 1/2†OD tubing by forcing it through a die. I started with 1/2" OD x .035†wall DOM tubing I purchased from Fastenal. The OD / ID are too large to start but after shrinking its darn close to 12mm / 10mm. Using a scrap of 1/2" plate I had lying around I drilled a 31/64†hole with a bit from a standard 1/16†to 1/2†drill index set, I then slightly tapered the hole with a hand reamer about 1/4†deep to make the die. I then forced a 10†piece f the tubing though the die with my hydraulic press. The tubing diameter was reduced to very close to 10mm x 12mm. It did come out a little curved but with such short pieces it won’t matter. I cut the now reduced tubing using a tubing cutter to make sure the cuts were square, into 10.5mm pieces. I then used a counter sinking bit to remove the internal ridge left buy the cutter. The OD came out jut a little over 12mm making a nice press fit into the differential housing, with little effort I used a 10mm bolt and nut to draw the spacers into place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Or you could buy 12mm OD 10mm ID stainless tube off the internet and cut it to fit, deburr and you're done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LT1-280z Posted January 23, 2008 Author Share Posted January 23, 2008 I couldn't find any place that would sell less than 20 foot lengths. Do you know of any suppliers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Not personally. Mat73GNZ bought a stick, I thought it was 10' and made quite a few sets and sold them to offset the cost. I got mine from him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLave Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 anyone try mcmaster carr? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 anyone try mcmaster carr? They don't have anything in the right size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Purple240zt Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Could you guys use bronze? I had really good luck ordering bronze bearings in metric sizes from a place online. I can look it up if anyone thinks it could work. Not sure, it may be too soft I am thinking. Just throwing it out there. Evan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LT1-280z Posted January 23, 2008 Author Share Posted January 23, 2008 While purchasing the correct tubing would be ideal. It seems its not as readily available as one might hope, the solution I came up with cost me $2.50 for enough material to make several sets (or several mistakes ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slow_Old_Car Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 to what end was this done? what are you looking to achieve by reducing the diameter of bolt that will fit in the R200 ring gear? i'm sure i missed somthing in some of your older posts, but care to explain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LT1-280z Posted January 24, 2008 Author Share Posted January 24, 2008 Older R200's have 10mm ring gear bolts. Newer ones have 12mm (not sure of the cut off year). Most LSD units are 12mm, but the ratios tend to be 3.70:1 and numerically higher. In order to install a LSD unit in an older R200 or if you want the numerically lower ratios common in the older R200 (3.54:1 being most common). You use spacers to make up the difference. Although some have not used spacers and have not reported problems, IMO spacers should be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2126 Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Yep, it's been proven that the spacers are not necessary. Proper installation and proper torques are all that's required, according to PRECISION GEAR, who has loads of experience! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillZ260 Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Regaurdless of need or not, and the fact that you can buy simular tubing (albeit in much too long a piece). A HUGE two thumbs up for making due w/ what you have lying around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 A HUGE two thumbs up for making due w/ what you have lying around Good point. What you did was pretty ingenious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLSHLE Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Could you run a 10mm die down a 12mm bolt and leave a 12mm shoulder? I think I'm going to be dealing with this, and that much slop make's me nervous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Could you run a 10mm die down a 12mm bolt and leave a 12mm shoulder? I think I'm going to be dealing with this, and that much slop make's me nervous. No, but I think you could cut the threads on a 12mm bolt on a lathe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 LT1-280z, I can't believe we practically live in the same town and I've never seen you around. I looked at your photo album and I am extremely impressed with your work. I didn't know what those photos were all about until now. Very crafty! Can't wait to meet up. I heard you might be coming to some of our future ZORB meets. -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Everything I have read about bolts and their strength ratings would cause me to reconsider modifying a bolt in any way... other than to shorten it, drill it's head for retaining wires, or ball-milling the hex head. The threads on high strength bolts are "rolled" onto the blank bolt shafts while they are hot and malleable. They use two large grooved plates to clamp the bolt blank, then the plates slide against one another to "roll the blank while the grooves in the plates create the threads. Then the bolts are heat treated to the required hardness and plated. This process creates threads with a strong grain pattern at the root of the threads. Rolled threads are far superior to cut threads in many ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LT1-280z Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 Thank you all. I agree with bjhines, I wouldn't mess with the bolts. I never heard of anyone shredding the 10mm bolts. So why tempt fate? I did have a thought while dealing with this; what about re-tapping the ring gear to 12mm? Ultimately I came to the conclusion that if a 10mm bolt isn't a failure point it didn't make sense to mess with it. For me its not like I'm making 500hp and dumping the clutch at full throttle with slicks. (hmm... sounds like fun) There are probably better choices for rear ends if that's your thing. But then again I have heard of the R200 holding up to some serious abuse. (other stuff breaking first) Dave - yes I will definitely be at ZORB meets, zee you there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLSHLE Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Thanks, When I get to that point I think I'll just bolt it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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