12-02-2021, 01:56 PM
I have assessed old bigend bolts by cleaning them and checking whether full depth old type castellated nut will run easily along the whole thread length. Frequently the nut goes tight before it reaches the top of the thread, because that is the part which stretches when overtightened since it does not have the bracing of the nut around it. Often the stretch is visible and those go straight in my scrap box. Generally I no longer use bigend bolts with an unknown history, but I will reuse bolts which I know to have been fitted new by me at the last rebuild (they have not been overtightened).