Toby TABs (was Re: Drive Axles thunking?)

["Walter Coe" <Whalt@xxxx>]

> BTW - I know that you picked up a set of TOBY-TAB's. How did the
> installation go? What was your impression of the quality of the
> parts? Were the installation hints helpful? Please advise. Thanks.

Your timing in asking this question was excellent. I just got through
installing a Toby TAB in a friend's car. (We would have done both sides but
we were pressed for time as usual.) We were about ready to put his car back
on the ground and then remembered that we should check the TABs. This is
something that we had been meaning to check on this car for quite some time
but always ran out of time. Well, it's a good thing we finally checked it!
The drivers side was loose & bent and had lost all its shims. It is scary
to think of how long it could have been like this or when it would finally
snap. It might have done it on his way home if we didn't fix it. He never
noticed any symptoms either. From now on whenever I work on a DeLorean,
this is one of the first things I'm going to check. Period.

Situations like this is why I keep parts like that on hand. I bought two
sets of Toby TABs even though I'm not ever planning on using them on my car
because that is getting the stainless frame that doesn't use TABs.

Anyway, the Toby TABs are a work of art. You even have your name engraved
on the head. And what's the deal with that little dollar sign symbol? I
know they cost a lot to make but...? :-)

Want some constructive criticism? The 12 point head is nice, but believe it
or not, I didn't have a 12 point non-metric socket to fit it. I ended up
fitting a ratcheting box wrench in there (which is so far the best way I
found to reach TABs on auto tranny cars anyway). Torquing was still a pain
(as it is with any TAB, not just yours) since I didn't want to do it from
the bolt head. I figure that turning that end would give an inaccurate
reading. So instead I used a crow-foot wrench on the end of my torque
wrench to get a reading off the nut. I realize that this is 1 inch off, but
at 90 degrees I figure the difference is canceled. I assume you have an
opinion on this?

I suggest selling each set of bolts with it's own set of instructions. I
only got one set of instructions. I would like to be able to leave a set
with each owner. Also, I'm a believer in jam nuts. I think you should sell
the bolts with extra nuts even if it raised the price by another buck or
two. You're the materials expert in this situation and may know better, but
I'm used to seeing jam nuts supplied with the PJ Grady TABs. I would have
rather you used metric sizes, and I'm sure your overseas customers would
agree even more.

Installation was very easy because this car has a manual tranny. I liked
the suggestion of putting silicone grease on the bushing face and anti-seize
on the bolt shaft. I did all that. I had a really hard time getting the
bolt through the trailing arm until I realized that it was catching on the
shoulder at the base of the threads. I kept looking everywhere but there.
I just didn't expect it to hang up there. That is a big shoulder as bolts
go. Maybe if you made the next batch using metric threads then this
wouldn't be a problem [sly grin]. I think it would be a good idea if you
sold new bushings with the bolts. This would of course raise the price some
more, but it makes sense to do them together. Luckily, I had a set of
bushings on hand. (Another really nice thing to do at the same time is to
install PJ Grady's stainless trailing arm cover fastner kit -- very nice.)
That old bolt was so bent that it took the sleeve out with it. We had to
cut the bolt to get the washers off. Oh, that brings another point -- It
would be really great if you provided new harder washers with it too. I had
a discussion about that with Rob Grady when I put TABs on my car last year.
He considered having harder washers made but said that it would cost too
much for the demand.

I'm posting this to the list because I suppose that other people would be
interested in what I think. I think that Toby TABs are definitely the way
to go(unless you are spending $9K on a stainless steel frame :-) Sure
Toby-TABs are expensive, but wow. They are so much stronger than anything
else that could be used. I don't think that any other kind of bolt could be
made to work as safely. What is the life expectancy of an OEM TAB that is
kept properly torqued? I don't think it would last very long. I've seen
two bent TABs now that weren't loose -- just bent. Why did they bend?

God bless you! Major coolness,
Walt Tampa, FL