Rivnuts - material type? Possible alternatives?

[jackb]

I came across a rivnut missing. There are a couple more I?ve known of missing/broken for a while, so I?m going to replace a bunch of them. I was looking at them on ebay and unsure what material given their application. Stainless steel won?t have corrosion issues but I expect will be?. tougher? More likely to cause an issue/fiberglass damage if needing to be removed in the future. Aluminum may corrode, but less likely future damage?

Am I overthinking this? I only need a handful (fuel pump/panels in bonnet, one on the air intake hole?)

Is there an easier alternative to rivnuts at all that I?m missing?

[FABombjoy]

I've used modern zinc coated rivnuts, they seem to grab the body better than the originals and are less likely to spin. I have stainless rivnuts too but haven't tried them, I think you'd just want to be careful of galling if using stainless fasteners.

A lot of rivnuts are used in non load-bearing applications (like the infill panels). For these I've switched to nylon screws. Cheap, no rust.

Just don't draw oddly fitting areas together with them, squeeze panels together then tighten.

[David T]

There is an alternative, it is called a jacknut. Looks like a drywall anchor. Take a look at Mr G's Enterprises, he has all kinds of unusual hardware. The problem with using these types of nuts, is where the screw protrudes past the nut and then rusts, when you go to remove it the rust prevents it from going through the threads of the nut and when you try to force it, you spin the rivnut. The jacknut is not as sensitive to the thickness or size of the hole but suffers from the same problem of rust. Plastic or nylon screws could be the best answer. At least if they get stuck they are a whole lot easier to chop off. You haven't had real fun until you try to remove the cover that holds the washer fluid. Just about every one of those screws will have to get cut off and some of them are difficult to get to.

[dn010]

I used aluminum rivnuts over a decade ago in those areas and they have been fine ever since.

[dmcman73]

I've used Stainless steel rivnuts but they are a pain in the ass to install. They require a lot of force to properly "crimp" them in, I've actually broken the rivnut tool installing them. If you have more than a few to install, you'll be rethinking your life choices.

I went back to using aluminum rivnuts and applying antisieze to the bolts before installing them.