Rivets vs Rivnuts
#1
Rivets vs Rivnuts
Probably the wrong subforum but couldn't find a better place to start the thread. I am installing some abs door cards into my NA and I'm debating using rivets vs rivnuts. Does anybody recommend one of the other for this application and a kit that would serve well in my humble toolbox.
Thanks in advance!
Thanks in advance!
#3
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Rivnuts suck. Rivets are good, but only if you don't plan on removing them. They can be removed, but drilling them out can waller out the hole, and it's just a pain to drill out every time. I would highly recommend a nut plate like this: Pegasus Nut Plate If it's an application where a weld nut is possible, then that is also a good solution, although it's likely not easy for a door panel.
#12
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The two just achieve very different things. A rivet nut makes it possible to create a threaded hole in a blind application where you can't reach the backside. Very handy in certain cases. The risk is that if the rivnut comes loose, you can't easily remove the bolt. In some cases you have to destroy a part to try to get to the backside to get a clamp on the loose rivnut or cut off the bolt. Loose rivnuts are usually the result of improper installation or incorrect application. There's a lot of times a rivet nut is the wrong tool for the job, but there are also plenty of great applications for them. Good practices to follow with rivnuts:
- Only use them in low-torque non-critical situations that do not see significant loads.
- ALWAYS use a rivnut with ribbed body which has much better grip than a smooth body.
- Only consider using rivnuts if the surface is metal (never in fiberglass, plastic, etc.)
- Never install a rivnut in a hole that is larger than what the rivnut size calls for (Not even a little bit. For example M6 rivnuts require 10mm hole so get that drill bit, don't round up!)
- Never install a bolt in a rivnut with any threadlocker like loctite, etc. (If you need to keep a bolt from loosening use a lock washer)
Installation of door cards is a good example of a perfectly appropriate use of a rivet nut. You don't want to rivet a door card in place because you need to remove it occasionally for services/repairs. The door is steel so the rivnut will have good grip. The door cards don't have any loads on them and the bolts holding them on don't need much torque.
- Only use them in low-torque non-critical situations that do not see significant loads.
- ALWAYS use a rivnut with ribbed body which has much better grip than a smooth body.
- Only consider using rivnuts if the surface is metal (never in fiberglass, plastic, etc.)
- Never install a rivnut in a hole that is larger than what the rivnut size calls for (Not even a little bit. For example M6 rivnuts require 10mm hole so get that drill bit, don't round up!)
- Never install a bolt in a rivnut with any threadlocker like loctite, etc. (If you need to keep a bolt from loosening use a lock washer)
Installation of door cards is a good example of a perfectly appropriate use of a rivet nut. You don't want to rivet a door card in place because you need to remove it occasionally for services/repairs. The door is steel so the rivnut will have good grip. The door cards don't have any loads on them and the bolts holding them on don't need much torque.
Last edited by ThePass; 07-11-2018 at 07:18 PM.
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