hi
i've taken out the engine of my donor car this week and now plan to overhaul it. i haven't done a very good job up to now with keeping a record of which bolt/nut goes in where. i have basically a bag full of bolts/nuts (possibly lost a few in the process, doh). is this going to be a major problem do you think later on when i try to reassemble it? was wondering if there is a tool which measure the depth and size of the thread. thanks for any advice. Cheers

A bit late know, but digital camera and lots of punets (the ones tescos sell mushroms in a good) are very useful things to have.
Tubs or old pots etc. will do nisely, you just need plenty of them. Old swafega (hand cleaner + dislexia) pots are good as they have a screw on lid.


Thread gadges are like feeler guage, but the blades have teeth of different pitch rather than different thickness. This will help determin thread pitch.

A venier caliper can measure ID of a nut, and the measurement can be used to work out thread OD.#


I your situation (useuall when I come to rebuild car/engine years after it being dismantled) I try and group nuts according to size etc. If i've got say 8 similare nuts of a particular size, then i will find a place where all 8 nuts would fit.

The state of the nuts is also a useful indication. rusty, clean, oily, painted, etc.

[Edited on 29/4/05 by clbarclay]

[Edited on 29/4/05 by clbarclay]

You may as well get some vernier calipers, they are indispensible for any work as far as I am concerned. As well as measuring nut sizes as mentioned above, the vernier will measure hole depths with the depth gauge that is part of them.

Basically though, don't panic. You'll soon know if the bolt fits the hole, don't force them. Always blast the holes out with brake cleaner and clean the bolts up with a wire brush. Get a small container with a sealed lid, (old paint tin cleaned out) put a load of dirty bolts in it with some brake cleaner (indispensible stuff too!) put the lid on and shake it a for a while. The bolts will then be fit for reuse.