MyExplorer03v8Lim
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- June 20, 2016
- Messages
- 256
- Reaction score
- 14
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2003 Explorer 4.6L
A while back I purchased a replacement engine cover from eBay for my 4.6L. It was/ is in great shape, but it was missing the hardware.
As you guys know, it fits over the studs on the alternator bracket, and probably the nuts aren't even required. But I'm a perfectionist.
I believe these are 1/4-20. For a while now I've been using just some regular old nuts and they work okay, but it's slight a pain to pull out a ratchet to take them out.
I always figured the original must have had thumb screws or a push-on, but oh well, the standard nuts were good enough.
UNTIL NOW
My ex is in the shop having some stuff assessed before a road trip, and since I can't turn wrenches on it today I decided to fabricate some thumb knobs for those studs.
I went to the hardware store and found some 1/4-20 knobs, but they're too shallow to use on their own, so I needed a way to space them. It doesn't really matter where the nut is located in the knob, as long as it can thread, because my spacer will hold the cover down.
So I purchased the knobs, some nylon sleeves, along with some 2 part plastic epoxy. To make sure everything was aligned while the epoxy hardened, I wrapped some electrical tape around some long 1/4-20 bolts.
But my concern was that maybe some epoxy would get on the threads of either the knob or the bolts, and I wouldn't be able to get them apart. So I filled the nut inside the knobs with petroleum jelly first, and coated the bolts with it too. Then I sanded and wiped dry all of the mating surfaces.
This way the petroleum jelly will block the epoxy, and it'll remain in there to protect the hardware from corrosion.
I can't test them yet, so they may still need slight modifications to work, but I'm sure they'll thread just fine because they're the same as the nuts I'm currently using.
Once I've ensured they fit tight, I'll paint them all black. And I'll hang onto the long bolts with tape to make it easier to paint them without over spray entering the inside.
These photos will help it all make sense.
https://imgur.com/a/IPz5i
As you guys know, it fits over the studs on the alternator bracket, and probably the nuts aren't even required. But I'm a perfectionist.
I believe these are 1/4-20. For a while now I've been using just some regular old nuts and they work okay, but it's slight a pain to pull out a ratchet to take them out.
I always figured the original must have had thumb screws or a push-on, but oh well, the standard nuts were good enough.
UNTIL NOW
My ex is in the shop having some stuff assessed before a road trip, and since I can't turn wrenches on it today I decided to fabricate some thumb knobs for those studs.
I went to the hardware store and found some 1/4-20 knobs, but they're too shallow to use on their own, so I needed a way to space them. It doesn't really matter where the nut is located in the knob, as long as it can thread, because my spacer will hold the cover down.
So I purchased the knobs, some nylon sleeves, along with some 2 part plastic epoxy. To make sure everything was aligned while the epoxy hardened, I wrapped some electrical tape around some long 1/4-20 bolts.
But my concern was that maybe some epoxy would get on the threads of either the knob or the bolts, and I wouldn't be able to get them apart. So I filled the nut inside the knobs with petroleum jelly first, and coated the bolts with it too. Then I sanded and wiped dry all of the mating surfaces.
This way the petroleum jelly will block the epoxy, and it'll remain in there to protect the hardware from corrosion.
I can't test them yet, so they may still need slight modifications to work, but I'm sure they'll thread just fine because they're the same as the nuts I'm currently using.
Once I've ensured they fit tight, I'll paint them all black. And I'll hang onto the long bolts with tape to make it easier to paint them without over spray entering the inside.
These photos will help it all make sense.
https://imgur.com/a/IPz5i
