Nord-lock, Heico-Lock, Belleville LOCK WASHERS; Spiralock LOCK NUTS --- Any Good?

[aczlan]

I would add a 4-6' "cheater bar" to that wrench if I wanted to make the nut good and tight, but it looks like a good start.

Aaron Z

 

[RickB]

I would add a 4-6' "cheater bar" to that wrench if I wanted to make the nut good and tight, but it looks like a good start.

Aaron Z

He had better use the box end, or he will hurt himself.
Using only that 18" wrench, he will be lucky to get back close to the factory torque setting.
I'll go back to my statement about this exercise only serving to void the warranty due to needless meddling.
It is a brand spanking new machine that had absolutely nothing wrong with it. Right up to the time it got "fixed".

 

[jeff9366]

There are numerous posts in the T-B-N data base on loosened harrow axle nuts and the harrow failures loosened/dropped off nuts have caused. Earlier in this thread there are posts from Howse owners with loosened/fallen off axle nuts leading to field failures. Loosening nuts are a problem and I am attempting to address this.

I have ordered 1" Nord-Lock washers from the eBay vender in the Post #1. Five two-part Nord-Lock washers are $26.85 delivered. Authentic Nord-Lock washers are made in Sweden....I am hoping when Swedish washers arrrive they are blondes.

At this moment, subject to change, my plan is to install Nord-Locks on the front and rear axles on one side, replacing the Howse split lock washers, and leave the other side factory original. On the Nord-Lock side, due to the Nord-Lock design, the nuts should not require tightening more than I can apply with the BOX END of my new 18-1/2" wrench. I will tighten the factory side the same amount.

My Howse supplier indicated that it is important, when new, to tighten the axle nuts regularly. He said after repeated tightenings during use that all the parts on the gang assembly should settle in and the nut loosening stop or become infrequent. Maybe so. But the harrow experience of T-B-N members is wider than the dealer's.....and T-B-N-ers say harrow nuts loosen. Dealer did not mention a cheater bar and I am not of the tighten-it-MORE school in general.

(Bush Hog blade nuts being an exception. I'll take the cheater bar.)

From 1965-1968 I was a CT(M)3 [E-4] teletype repairman in the United States Navy. Those teletypes operated 24/7, spun faster and vibrated more than a harrow but did not bounce over fields. There were lock washers in profusion in numerous variations. There were one or two reverse threads.....but joint loosening ranked in the top three causes for maintenance. ( Other two: dirt/foreign objects and operators fooling with the machines. )

If Nord-Locks solve or reduce the problem, $26.85 is a cheap experiment. A few posters recommend Nord-Locks from experience. Others say they use something similar but not necessarily authentic, Swedish Nord-Locks. I am going to use the authentic product so others can replicate my experiment, assuming Nord-Locks keep the axle nuts tight. NOW is the time to start the experiment, before wear variables enter in.

Sending a man to the moon brought forth Tang, Velcro and WD-40! Think of the possabilities here: ending world hunger, Nobel Prize for jeff9366, possibly presented by **Jennifer Lopez**. Phooey the Howse warranty.....FULL SPEED AHEAD!

Let's have a little tractor fun. Let's try something NEW. Let's take four minutes and watch the Nord Lock video.....maybe learn something. FUN! FUN!

 

[bigtiller]

If I felt I had to do something, I would add a jamb nut to back up the factory nut. I wouldn't start fixing it until something shakes loose.

 

[Baby Grand]

Jeff,

I think you plan is solid. I have been tempted to try the NordLocks myself, just never had a pesky enough project to get me past gumption gulch. Keep checking tightness after each use. Do you have a torque wrench & socket to fit? Getting the preload set with accuracy could be critical to keeping everything tight once the stack seats-in.

The idea of doing one side with one fastener type and the other side with a different type may or may not give conclusive comparison results, as often the threaded fasteners on the left or right side of a piece of machinery will display different tendencies to work loose.
Or so I have been told.
If it's a complete load of horsepucky, then I'm sure someone will unburden me of it.

Either way, I'm really interested to see what results you get. This is where the learnin' happens. Good luck!

-Jim

 

[Xfaxman]

Authentic Nord-Lock washers are made in Sweden....I am hoping when Swedish washers arrrive they are blondes.

FUN! FUN!

Gooder-un :laughing: But be careful what you wish for, some Swedish guys are blonde. :thumbdown:

 

[Gary Fowler]

I just put some Nord-Lock washers on some 12mm bolts in my tractor axle hub that keep loosening off along with some blue Loctite but only time will tell if it solves the issue with the 10.9 grade bolts loosening off. These bolts aren't stretching they are vibrating loose and is not the same as your disk nuts.
The disc axle nuts are a totally different ball game. The constant tightening is required because of the settling in of the components and the soft iron axle stretching and not necessarily the nut loosening off. (Mark the nut and axle when tight and see where it is when it gets loose.) I wouldn't bother with putting on the Nordtrack washers till you run it for a few days and tighten the nut several times. A hammer wrench or impact is what you need to tighten it, not just an end wrench, you wont ever get it tight by hand like that. Also when tightening, get the nut as tight as you can, then take a 4 pound hammer and whale the heck out of the blades to ring them good so they seat in. Then check your nut again, it will likely take another round to tighten it up. Repeat till you stop getting any turning on the nut. Everything is going to seat in, stretch, and wear in for a few days of use. Once it all get worn and seated, you shouldn't have any more problems with loose nuts. I don't think your high dollar washers are going to help, put let us know how it works out if you experiment which it seems you want to do.
I have broken in quite a few new disk before and always we have to tighten and tighten for the first few weeks, then finally they start staying tight. Best way to check for loosening (before you can visually see it ) is to take a hammer and ring each blade with a medium strength tap. A dull ring on any of them indicates a loose section and will need to be tightened AGAIN.
After review of your photo, it looks like the better option for you would have been a jam nut which would have kept the nut from moving even after the components stretched and or seated together. That is the problem with using a lock that depends on pressure to seat ( spiral spring, NordLock or any other lock washer type, when the nut doesn't turn, but the bolt stretches then the lock washer wont hold no matter what kind or brand.

 

[jeff9366]

That is the problem with using a lock that depends on pressure to seat ( spiral spring, NordLock or any other lock washer type) when the nut doesn't turn, but the bolt stretches then the lock washer won't hold no matter what kind or brand.

A condition I had not thought of. Maybe a disc harrow IS different from a teletype printer......

Here is a new can of worms: Why not use one or more Belleville washers within the axle assembly? Wickipedia says Bellevilles are a washer/spring used to take up slack/absorb shock, Belleville(s) could compensate for axle stretch......

Anyone with Belleville washer experience?

 

[aczlan]

Just tighten the gangs repeatedly like Gary Fowler said (preferably with a long cheater bar and/or a slug wrench) and you will be fine.

Aaron Z

 

[Scooby074]

3/4"+ airgun and some stover nuts, and go at it.

No they arent high tech, but this is only a disk harrow. I think you're over thinking this.