Fasteners: What You Should Consider Before Doing A Car Engine Swap

A car engine swap is one of the most common repair and maintenance services done on cars, particularly those that are very old. When not done properly, such a process can be very frustrating both in the long and short term. For instance, if you are not prepared with the correct equipment, you may find the engine swap to be a long and arduous process, and you may even end up losing the engine due to improper handling. In addition to that, improper placement of the fasteners is also likely to lead to long term maintenance issues such as frequent breakdowns. This calls for a focused approach towards doing such a swap, particularly during the planning phase.

Which fasteners will you need for a car engine swap?

The first thing you need to sort out is which fasteners you need for the engine swap. Most people make the mistake of thinking that they can simply use the fasteners on the old engine to put the new one in place. However, you may run into a number of problems including finding that they don’t fit, or that they are far too old or rusted.
To avoid this, you should simply find out which fasteners you need to put the new engine in place, and then get all of them before you begin the process. Firms that sell specialized fasteners such as aluminum socket set screws and nitronic 50 socket head cap screws are usually the best to approach for this, since you can be sure that they have a wide variety of products on offer.

 

How much torque will be involved?

In order to do proper engine placement, you can’t afford to tighten all the fasteners as tight as is possible. Depending on the section of the engine you are fastening, you may be required to only tighten it to a particular torque level for optimal functioning of the engine. This will help in cutting down on vibration and increased wear of the engine and other components attached to it. It will also improve the performance of the car as a whole.
This means that before you can proceed with the engine swap, you should make an effort of finding out just how much torque each fastener will need. This is particularly important for the ones that are required to mount the engine to the chassis.

The ease of undoing the fasteners

In some cases, you may want to put the engine in place in such a manner that it will be difficult for anyone else apart from yourself to undo the engine. An example of this is when you want to hire the car out. In such cases, you should consider using fasteners that have rare head types, for which only you have the correct tools to fasten and remove. You may need to consult your fastener vendor for more advice on how to do this. Most people usually end up ordering custom made fasteners for this reason. These days, it can be easy and cost-effective to do so, provided that you work with a specialized fastener vendor.