Loose Nut

[webng]

Hi guys, hope you are all well.

In the past few months I've had to tighten this nut every so often (every 4-6 weeks) as it starts rattling and annoying me. I've always tightened it quite tight but eventually it just loosens up. Any idea what it is, why it's doing it and what i can possibly do?

Cheers!

[Sunkist]

i duno what it is but lock tight will do the trick

[webng]

i duno what it is but lock tight will do the trick

Yeah but there must be a reason it keeps loosening up though right? And the oily residue is a bit of a worry too...?

[chef_stagea]

Hi nick. Thats a turbo to manifold bolt. They come with a little clip that stops it moving . If uts not there locktite will b ok.

The residue means ur rocker seal is weaping... Quite common n easy to fix!

[webng]

Hi nick. Thats a turbo to manifold bolt. They come with a little clip that stops it moving . If uts not there locktite will b ok.

The residue means ur rocker seal is weaping... Quite common n easy to fix!

Hey Adam! thought you might reply Will try loctite then.

Looks like rocker seal next then. Thanks mate.

[kidafa]

Hi Nick!

Saw you driving last sunday near Erindale I was in a hairdressers car... (convertable audi) Didnt want to wave as I didnt want it making it on here!

Question, do you have an aftermarket dump pipe? and if so does it have a mounting bracket from the front cat flange in place to the mount on the gear box? If not the alot of weight from the zhorst is on the dump/turbo/manifold region thus working these rear manifold bolts loose! Mines been doing it for ever and had it on a hoist with a mate during the week and he noticed it straight away.

+1 On spend rocker cover gaskets and / or half moons ;-) Easy job. buy them and well tee up a time to strip the covers of with yourself adam and I for a catch up

[webng]

Hi Nick!

Saw you driving last sunday near Erindale I was in a hairdressers car... (convertable audi) Didnt want to wave as I didnt want it making it on here!

Question, do you have an aftermarket dump pipe? and if so does it have a mounting bracket from the front cat flange in place to the mount on the gear box? If not the alot of weight from the zhorst is on the dump/turbo/manifold region thus working these rear manifold bolts loose! Mines been doing it for ever and had it on a hoist with a mate during the week and he noticed it straight away.

+1 On spend rocker cover gaskets and / or half moons ;-) Easy job. buy them and well tee up a time to strip the covers of with yourself adam and I for a catch up

ahaha Chris, should've have waved, ofcourse i wouldn't bring it up on here

Yup, have jj dump pipe on her, no idea about the bracket, can't for the life of me remember. What does it look like? Stupid question, i know!

Which rocker seals do i need? Where can I find them?

[zoomzoom]

Your car is only a 2000 model, I dont think its necessary to change the cam cover seals.

Take the covers off, clean the covers, and clean the seals using something like kerosene. Carefully clean the oily residue around the cams, making sure to wipe the oil and dirt outwards so it doesnt get in the engine.

Then reseal using some high temperature sensor safe silicone gasket maker.

Costs about $15 vs ~$100 for new seals

[kidafa]

May I ask why you'd suggest skimping out 75 dollars And potentially having to so the work again when they still don't seal up after you have "cleaned" them....

Do it once, do it right

[zoomzoom]

May I ask why you'd suggest skimping out 75 dollars And potentially having to so the work again when they still don't seal up after you have "cleaned" them....

Do it once, do it right

....and this opinion is based on what?

I would prefer the seal made by a liquid conforming to the microscopic terrain of either surface, over a moulded piece of rubber being pressured into the metal.

My cam seals are just fine with silicone thanks. Also used by workshops and car manufacturers. Be sure to let them know they arent doing it right.

Throwing money at something does not mean better. You pay extra for a specifically moulded product of limited production, as opposed to a universal product.

[wolverine]

I would simply tighten the covers with a big fat screwdriver. The covers on the R33 were a little loose and leaking a small amount of oil but it had 200,000kms on it at the time, it now has 235,000kms.

1x big fat screwdriver = no leaks and no money spent in my case.

[Duncan]

....and this opinion is based on what?

I would prefer the seal made by a liquid conforming to the microscopic terrain of either surface, over a moulded piece of rubber being pressured into the metal.

My cam seals are just fine with silicone thanks. Also used by workshops and car manufacturers. Be sure to let them know they arent doing it right.

Throwing money at something does not mean better. You pay extra for a specifically moulded product of limited production, as opposed to a universal product.

well you are smarter than nissan then! They say new seals, and no silicon type sealer. I have done it both ways in the past but have always found seals alone to be fine, even on the race car, when you do them carefully (ie make sure it is all flat, not pinched etc).

BTW, you can buy "lock nuts" to make sure those exhaust manifold nuts do not come loose. Just make sure you buy heat safe ones, the "nyloc" style ones are not OK on the exhaust manifold.

Also, there are about 12 exhaust manifold bolts, and some are hard to see. Check them all, they are a common point of failure through loosing or the stud they screw onto breaking off.

[webng]

well you are smarter than nissan then! They say new seals, and no silicon type sealer. I have done it both ways in the past but have always found seals alone to be fine, even on the race car, when you do them carefully (ie make sure it is all flat, not pinched etc).

BTW, you can buy "lock nuts" to make sure those exhaust manifold nuts do not come loose. Just make sure you buy heat safe ones, the "nyloc" style ones are not OK on the exhaust manifold.

Also, there are about 12 exhaust manifold bolts, and some are hard to see. Check them all, they are a common point of failure through loosing or the stud they screw onto breaking off.

Yeah, pretty keen to do as what Chris said, fix it once, fix it well and not have to worry about it again, not for awhile anyway!

[pipster11]

Tighten it up first

The 31 loosens it's up and need nipping up every few months

The stagea seems to be fine so far, I can see gasket goo so maybe that holds the screws in place

[RubyRS4]

Hi nick. Thats a turbo to manifold bolt. They come with a little clip that stops it moving . If uts not there locktite will b ok.

The residue means ur rocker seal is weaping... Quite common n easy to fix!

Thats not a turbo to manifold nut. Whilst the turbo to manifold bolts do come with tabs you fold over the nut to prevent it from moving, the pic shows the manifold to head washer and nut.

The nut does not appear to be the nut typically used on manifolds. Its constantly coming loose may be due to it being the incorrect nut. Try sourcing the correct nut and torque to specs and your problem should be solved.

The nut I've seen in that location all the time (including on my own stagea) is this:

And while I'm at it, heres a pic of my engine bay I had some stainless allen key type bolts used throughout the engine bay to dress it up a bit and match the polishing/chroming.

[webng]

Thats not a turbo to manifold nut. Whilst the turbo to manifold bolts do come with tabs you fold over the nut to prevent it from moving, the pic shows the manifold to head washer and nut.

The nut does not appear to be the nut typically used on manifolds. Its constantly coming loose may be due to it being the incorrect nut. Try sourcing the correct nut and torque to specs and your problem should be solved.

The nut I've seen in that location all the time (including on my own stagea) is this:

And while I'm at it, heres a pic of my engine bay I had some stainless allen key type bolts used throughout the engine bay to dress it up a bit and match the polishing/chroming.

Nice looking engine bay there Rubes

The nut looks the same but mine doesn't have a washer. But strange that it has never been a problem 3-4yrs since i've owned the car, up until the last few months. Car is due for a 140k service soon i just realise too so might leave it till then...

Edited February 20, 2011 by webng

[RS4-S]

@zoomzoom

~$100 in seals? where do you shop cos your getting done in the eye. you can get genuine nissan cam cover gaskets online for ~$50 for both and even cheaper for generic brands from local auto stores.

why you would go to the trouble to strip all that gear off the engine to do the job and re-fit a hardened seal with abit of hi-temp silicon gasket has got me stuffed.

i also worked at a nissan dealer where they use an orange and a grey gasket maker, grey was for alloy metal on metal surfaces like thermostat housings and water pumps etc. orange stuff was for oil locations like sumps and half moon seals etc, never saw anyone do the full circumference of the rocker cover but i guess it happens out there. just like the magna i did a rego on last week that someone used a fibreglass repair kit on a hole in the muffler, some people just cheap out like that

[zoomzoom]

Your example of a muffler repair is irrelevant, I used an appropriate product as intended. Im yet to hear a reason why my repair wasnt appropriate.

Im interested in the technical reason, but if on the other hand you want to rationalise a greater expenditure of money for no real purpose then I dont care.

[coparts41]

Its a manifold stud nut , get yourself a griplock nut , like a nylock but has a steel thread lock because of the heat pain to fit but it wont come loose.

[Daleo]

Your example of a muffler repair is irrelevant, I used an appropriate product as intended. Im yet to hear a reason why my repair wasnt appropriate.

Im interested in the technical reason, but if on the other hand you want to rationalise a greater expenditure of money for no real purpose then I dont care.

Ok, technical reasons;

As RS4s mentioned, the main reason this gasket will leak, is because the shrink & harden; due to the heat radiating from the exhaust manifold & turbo. Repetitive heating & cooling does damage rubber seals in this way.

This particular gasket is likely to be better than 10 years old.

Once the gasket has shrunk & hardened , no matter how tight you do up the screws the gasket doesn't push down hard enough to seal properly, nor will it conform properly to the jointing surface; because the rocker cover has bottomed out on the head.

Repetitive heat cycling is also the reason I wouldn't use silicone to reseal the gasket.

Very few oil jointing silicone gasket sealants are rated for more than 200-300deg. The exhaust manifold & turbo can exceed 700-800deg.

I'd be willing to bet the one on the intake side is not leaking at all.

Using silicone to fix a leaking gasket is false economy. When a gasket leaks, you replace the gasket.

The leaking gasket is the ROOT CAUSE; silicone is just a band aid solution.

The only other possibility at this point is that the screws that hold the rocker cover down, may have come loose. In this case I would still recommend replacing the gasket due to it's probable age.

When a customer pays me to do a job; they do not expect to have to bring it back again because I tried to save $30-$40. Also, my profit is gone if I have to do it again; along with my reputation.

Regarding the loose nut, as above; use a griplock nut or "hugnut" otherwise you could use a lock tab under the nut. Locking compounds aren't really suitable here as most loctites are only rated to 300-400deg, then they break down.

Do the job ONCE; do it RIGHT.

Hope this helps, Dale.

Edited February 21, 2011 by Daleo