Engine Undertray

[Andy P]

Can't believe I've broke a rib getting the undertray off my XJ8,all the fixing's were seized and as I was drilling them out pushing up from the ground I felt it go,quite high up on my rib cage,I thought it be more painful but it's not too bad.
Guess I'm getting old
Anyway finally got the undertray off and it's all cleaned up now and back on the car with stainless steel fasteners so no more trouble there .
Also fixed the fog light which was a bit wobbly,discovered the adjuster had broke(it's sad how some people leave things ) but I managed to fix it and it's all secure now,easy access with the undertray removed.
Take Care.
Andy

Before Cleaning

After Cleaning

Back On The Car

[Orkney]

Sorry to hear that you’ve been injured ‘in the line of duty’. I’ve noticed that as I get older some of these heavy spannering jobs are producing more aches and pains than they did previously but I wonder what the mechanism of breaking a rib entailed - surely it was a twisting force. When you mentioned rib, I assumed it was part of the tray!! Anyway, at least with stainless fastenings it shouldn’t pose a problem in the future. I have done exactly the same with my undertray and almost every time I do any work on the car, I replace non critical stuff with stainless. I’m on with re-commissioning a neglected MG RV8 at the moment and using lots of stainless on that too. Problem there is it’s a mixture of metric and UNF parts.

Ian

[PeterDavisX300]

I note that it has been mentioned 'Non-Critical'. Don't make the mistake of using Stainless-Steel for anything that requires 'Tensile' strength. Stainless-Steel is wonderful for not allowing corrosion, but is NOT tensile-strength enough for a very many parts on normal use with road cars. Insurance companies will refuse to pay out if Stainless-Steel bolts are used for suspension parts for instance. Stainless Steel is in A2 form only 7.9 'Tensile' Most suspension bolts and extended parts require 8.8 'Tensile'. You want a 'Tensile-Strength' bolt that's Stainless Steel, you need to use A4, and it's 10.9 'Tensile'. The difference in price is substantial between an A2, and an A4. Be careful, and always keep the receipts from your recognised supplier. Also, never try to 'wind-up' bolts quickly with a ratchet-spanner that are Stainless-Steel, this will culminate in the nut and bolt being 'locked' because Stainless-Steel does not like 'quick-friction'.