Agree to disagree, y'all... :yawn:

Yep, what you said.

What annoys me is people over-stretching their knowledge and experience in an attempt to justify their own decisions.

You want to replace the bolts? Fine. Fill your boots.

You don't want to replace the bolts? All the power in the world to you.

But these half-arsed theories based on just a little bit of internet-derived knowledge about how stretch bolts work, the properties of metals, or the stiffening effects of various plates (are these people materials engineers???) are just embarrassing.

Hell, people justify their decision to their mates to buy iphones, android phones, etc without a fraction of the crap that has gone on here. And there is a fair bet that joe average knows a whole lot more about the capabilities of a current gen smart phone than they do about the metallurgic properties of a specific chassis bolt on an X5, and how that affects the mounting characteristics of a chassis stiffener.

Read my post: I said "maybe it's the wrong approach etc., etc."
No need for a lecture here. Not sure who's "over-stretching knowledge & experience with over 25 years of mechanical experience", I just posted my observations like many of us do here.
And nice way of making friends here calling people "joe average" without having a clue who they are, or what they do in life.

You are a great addition to the forum. :thumbup:

Doru, if you don't want to read my posts - don't. I call it as I see it, and provide the benefit of my experience.

If you want to be all precious about things like the term "joe average", that is entirely your prerogative.

Opinions are like assholes...

Personally, I've studied the subjects in university and apply them at work on a regular.

Not everything you read on the internet is a conspiracy theory. Materials science is a real thing. How do you think the SAE has developed its standards? Not witchcraft or hearsay.

If you are going to argue that it is wrong; provide something constructive to the thread instead of this nonsense. This question more straight forward than an oil thread.

The point of your post entirely escapes me. You throw shit around then talk about other people's posts being nonsense? Wow. Just wow.

And for the record Einstein - where did I say that materials science wasn't a real thing? The fact of the matter is that I was saying who HERE is a materials engineer.

Maybe you should have spent more time learning the English language at uni. Just saying...

:rofl:

Stiffening plate bolts
 

You studied assholes at university???

Were there a lot of 'shitty' subjects? Or was it a 'well rounded' degree.....oh, the jokes write themselves!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Guys, Let it go. Bench racing bolt strength of one time use bolt/nuts is a circle conversation.

Bottom line: Engineering says replace after one use. Dealers, DIY, and techs have reused them with little documented consequences. Everyone happy now?

Most of us pull off the plate when servicing the front Diff. That happens once or twice in 100,000 miles? For me, I go with replacement of the bolts and nuts, but then again I am a detail to the extreme personality. Hell, I pull the wheels off to detail them and I even change the oil annually on my vehicles even if it has been only 500 or 2,000 miles. Cheap.

FWIW, I had a lot of leakage and seepage going on with mine. I have tackled all the leaks aside from the sweating vacuum pump (have the BMP gasket kit and I'll install it next oil change). That reinforcement plate (aka drip tray) has been off more times than I can count. I've reused the bolts, but I don't like it. They are TTY. I have a new set which I plan to install after my next oil change and leak repair.

Stretched bolts visible with "naked eye". I would use stretch gauges & micrometers for rod bolts and the like. And I would also change bolts when doing a head gasket. I think the tolerances in those areas are really critical. Most of us 4 x 4 these road warriors on the pavement in the city. If you will drive it in the woods, then new big as* bolts might make you feel that fuzzy warm feeling.

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/...6-23192608.jpg

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