As part of my usual inspections, I regularly check the CV joint bolt torques as they occasionally come loose & I’ve taken the opportunity to address this issue.
There are 6 no M8 x 55mm 12.9 grade socket head bolts in each CV joint as standard. On closer inspection & after testing for clearance, I upgraded to 65mm long bolts, giving a few MM of thread protrusion for good measure.
In addition to the extra thread length I decided to lock wire the bolts, & the first step is of course to drill & chamfer the socket heads to accept the safety wire.
Drilling 12.9 grade bolts is a whole heap of fun, especially when there’s 24 to get through. After making a suitable drilling jig, & purchasing a big box of 3mm TCT drills & a new pot of drilling/cutting compound, I used a low speed drill with lots of patients & successfully drilled & chamfered all 24 bolts. Some military grade swearing also seemed to help.
I torqued the new bolts in place & put a few miles on the car, then removed, cleaned, loctited & re-torqued the bolts before lock wiring in place.
I’ve got a track day booked at Castle Combe in a few weeks so will look forward to seeing the results of my latest efforts.
Hope this is of interest or use to other GTD owners.