Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: lotusfanatic on Wednesday,April 22, 2020, 06:14:12 AM
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Hi all,
I hope that everyone is staying safe and keeping well?
I have a question: Do the various replacement hinge kits for the Europa still utilise abrasive washers?
Mark
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Yes.
The abrasive washers hold the hinge body in place in the door's square bobbin holes.
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I have Richard's brass hinges and it had not abrasive washers.
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I have Richard's brass hinges and it had not abrasive washers.
I have 14 pairs of Banks brass hinges for 14 doors. No abrasive washers.
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The abrasive washers reduce the amount of torque required to hold the door hinges in place and thus reduce any strain on the door's fibreglass. The abrasive washers also greatly decrease the likelihood of hinge bodies slipping. You don't have to fit abrasive washers to the standard set-up either. But that does mean they may slip and the hinge mounts nuts must be much tighter, potentially adding strain to the the fibreglass.
The Banks hinges don't come with abrasive washers but they were work better with them. I made them up (easy to do) and used them with mine. The main body nut just needs to be nicely snugged and the door is rock solid.
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Thanks, JB. I hadn't considered that! So far I haven't had a problem with the hinges slipping but I saw where somebody used a washer with non-slip step tread for the abrasive part so I'll keep that in mind.
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My original abrasive washers were rather raggedy and damaged from previous adjustments and water ingress.
And the large particles of garnet (or whatever the actual abrasive bits are) on the washers tend to get crushed, too.
I made some new ones out of dry-wall sanding sheets.
The backing mesh is some sort of synthetic material and seems unaffected by water and the abrasive bits are much finer than the originals. They work well
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My original abrasive washers were rather raggedy and damaged from previous adjustments and water ingress.
And the large particles of garnet (or whatever the actual abrasive bits are) on the washers tend to get crushed, too.
I made some new ones out of dry-wall sanding sheets.
The backing mesh is some sort of synthetic material and seems unaffected by water and the abrasive bits are much finer than the originals. They work well
That's a great idea. I'll do that when my doors go back on.