I thought you might get a hoot by this assessment by the guy who build my MGA 1600 race engine - a man from South Carolina and perhaps a former moonshiner for all I know - with specific reference to the crankshaft washer:
"Yep, you don't need it, it was a joke to start with. I am totally convinced someone at the MG factory was sleeping with someone at the locking tab factory, there's no other reasonable explanation for over use of totally useless tab washers on our engines and our cars."
Several other less linguistically colorful engine builders on my MG forums also urge discarding the lockwashers and using LockTite. The articulated theory is that the lock washers are too soft and won't hold the required torque over time; and that the Locktite is the better solution. Perhaps the Swedish factory did a better job than the British factory in tabbed lockwasher hardness.
From my own experience with loose axle nuts held by tabbed lockwashers, , I've abandoned the use of the locking tab washers everywhere on the car, relying on LockTite instead. The only possibly exceptions I might make if using stock parts is on the con rods. But so far, I have used only aftermarket APR fasteners with the LockTite for the con rods.
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