bert01 Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 Why wouldn't you lap them with lapping compound and the bolt to be used? Just seems like that would mate the raceways to the bolt lugs better than just stoning the raceways. what am I missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkerfive Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 what am I missing? Probably that you don't want to mess with the locking lugs any more than absolutely necessary. Remember that when lapping the mating surfaces that it is always done before headspacing and that you can lap through the case hardening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron J Posted June 29, 2008 Report Share Posted June 29, 2008 I've only done raceways on one 98. The lugs were not tight in the raceways so lapping them with the bolt would have only made things worse. (sloppier) My understanding for lapping raceways is for smoothing them up and somewhat for appearance. It's not hard and special tools are not needed. I had some 400 grit stones that are very soft. Using some modeling clay, I was able to make an impression of the raceway radius. IIRC it was about 7/16. I ground a radius on the face of the stone to approx 7/16 and devconed it to a long 5/16 rod. I honed the rails by hand using ATF for lube. The soft stone took the shape of the raceway well before removing any serious amount of metal. Easy and worked fine - for me anyhow-LOL. And ditto to what Tinker said about leaning on those lugs. Good luck, go slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradD Posted June 29, 2008 Report Share Posted June 29, 2008 Walnut, quite a few years ago I did just what you asked about. It lapped the sides of the lugs to the rails and I could feel what was needed as I did it. After thoroughly washing out everything and oiling, it really was a nice feeling action. That said, in retrospect, I kind of think I dodged a bullet. It could have made the action too sloppy and bind or remove critical case hardening as others have suggested. There really isn't the precision control over what you want to do there, but it worked that one time for me. I'd say stick to the tried and true. Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limpid Lizard Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 I avoid enlarging anything that is already a sloppy fit. That said, I find Simichrome to be a very gentle polish. It will smooth and polish but not aggressively. Simichrome can be a little difficult to locate, I usually find it in motorcycle shops. LL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 A nice long stone will sit on most of the raceway at the same time so when you move it back and forth you get a nice FLAT surface. Those do-hickies that allow you to use sandpaper only touch a small section of the raceway at once, just like a bolt lug would do. The result is that it is easy to get a wavy surface instead of a flat one. Polish on a bolt will also tend to induce scores or grooves along the bolt body. Something you want to avoid. If you think about it, a tight bolt fit is controlled mostly by the bolt bore and guide rib. The bolt lugs mostly arrest side to side motion but also up and down to some extent. Another reason not to touch the lugs themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert01 Posted June 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 thanks guys Z the long stone = flat surface makes a lot of sense. i've got a couple longer soft stones that should work well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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