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I've read that these bolts should not be re-used, so I ordered new ones for the reassembly. I've also read that blue loctite should be used on reassembly, but that the threads on both the bolts and flanges must be clean and dry and free of oil.

This seems unlikely to achieve as the rubber boot and the flanges are soaked/dripping with oil. Frankly I'm not looking forward to trying to clean out all four bolt holes with solvent to the point where they are completely dry.

Clymer mentions nothing about loctite, just says to torque em down well. My plan is to reassemble, put a good grunt on the new bolts, no loctite. I say a 'good grunt' because 1) I can't use a torque wrench with a socket on it, it won't fit in the space available and 2) the 10mm 12 point wrench, with a piece of pipe over the handle, is the best I have and I'm too cheap to order the flat plate steel extension thingy....those who have done this before please weigh in on past experiences, regrets and/or tales of woe....

The new bolts I ordered from Motorworks seemed to come complete with a red locking compound on the threads, so I cleaned up the flange threads with a blast of electrical contact cleaner and fitted the bolts, using the Bmw ring spanner, with a larger one fitted through the ring spanner to give leverage. This should be fine.

Top tip: remember to have the rear brake and wheel fully fitted and operable before you start to fit the bolts so you can put one foot on the rear brake to give proper leverage.

If the bolts had not been fitted with a locking compound, I would have used a drop of loctite.

In the past I had three of the bolts come loose during a shakedown ride, they did a bit of superficial damage, I'm fairly sure that the bolts came free because of operator error!

I re-use mine a couple of times then replace.
Never thought to degrease or loctite them.
Just do them tight with a standard ring spanner, no extension, no torque wrench.

Never found them to be loose on disassembly.

Like Chas just bought some new ones from ebay and they have loctite on them already.
Pretty sure they are from an after market supplier though.

There's much that has been said regarding these bolts. Some insist on them being correctly torqued, some insist on new bolts every time they're removed.
I do as you do Chas and use the rear brake to hold everything still.
I use my hand on the brake pedal and use just the spanner from the tool kit as hard as I can with no extra leverage.
And I use the bolts several times over, without any locktite.

Never had a loose or broken bolt.

I typically use new bolts, but if they thread easy by finger, then they haven't been yielded and could probably be used again...owner's call. I always use the tool kit wrench, clean the threads, blue loctite (not red!!), put a rag in my hand and grunt the most I can. That's really all you need. Loctite is just "belt and suspenders".

Kurt in S.A.

ME 109 wrote:There's much that has been said regarding these bolts. Some insist on them being correctly torqued, some insist on new bolts every time they're removed.
I do as you do Chas and use the rear brake to hold everything still.
I use my hand on the brake pedal and use just the spanner from the tool kit as hard as I can with no extra leverage.
And I use the bolts several times over, without any locktite.

Never had a loose or broken bolt.

Yeah but you lift big rocks for a living.

Kurt in S.A. wrote:I typically use new bolts, but if they thread easy by finger, then they haven't been yielded and could probably be used again...owner's call. I always use the tool kit wrench, clean the threads, blue loctite (not red!!), put a rag in my hand and grunt the most I can. That's really all you need. Loctite is just "belt and suspenders".
Kurt in S.A.

"belt and suspenders"
I like that one.

I tried not to reuse mine, but I'm sure there were a couple of times that I did. I never had one come loose.

I never used any thread locking compound.
I never cleaned the holes.
I threaded the screws home by finger-tip,
then I put my 10x12mm box-end spanner from the tool kit on the fasteners and one at a time took up the slack evenly.
Then I went around a second time, while stomping down on the rear brake as hard as possible I would push down on that small spanner (with a glove on) as hard as I could.

Again, I never had one come loose.

I believe this method carries the Duane Seal of Approval.

dougie wrote: Yeah but you lift big rocks for a living.

On that subject, my son and I moved over 50 tonnes by barrow, and placed by hand on my current project.
Not one squashed finger until the last half hour of rock moving. One blood blister rude finger left hand, one black finger nail, rude finger right hand.
My son escaped injury.
An old guy once said to me, "you'll never make money if you have to take your coat off to work"
I hear him time and time again. One day I'll listen.

ME 109 wrote:

dougie wrote: Yeah but you lift big rocks for a living.

On that subject, my son and I moved over 50 tonnes by barrow, and placed by hand on my current project.
Not one squashed finger until the last half hour of rock moving. One blood blister rude finger left hand, one black finger nail, rude finger right hand.
My son escaped injury.
An old guy once said to me, "you'll never make money if you have to take your coat off to work"
I hear him time and time again. One day I'll listen.

By barrow!?
Is that a wheelbarrow without the wheels?
Man you Aussies are tough.