I’m replacing the lower shock absorber nuts bolts in my Jeep. There’s too much rust making it extremely difficult to get the nuts back on. If I didn’t just take them off, which was a chore, I would swear they were the wrong size.
I’m about to get some new ones from Home Depot but the question just crossed my mind whether the stock nuts and bolts are treated in any way to make them stronger, or if generic bollts from a hardware store will do.
Common bolts from the Home Depot are probably Grade 1, not very strong or corrosion resistant. I’m not sure what the bolts are in this case, but generally you want to use Grade 6 or higher in anything holding a critical part of an car. For a shock absorber I’d make sure you had the right kind of bolt. If you can’t get them from a supplier, at least look up the spec for those bolts.
there are hardness markings on the heads of bolts(lines radiating from the center), look and see if yours have any if they do not than Home Depot should be fine, if they do a place like Fastenall will have what you need here is a chart that shows the markings
http://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/Materials-and-Grades/Bolt-Grade-Chart.aspx
They will most likely be 10.9 grade bolts, which indicates a certain hardness and strength. They should have “10.9” on the head. You’ll probably want something that equals them and my guess is that Home Depot won’t have anything, but I could be wrong.
10.9 is the metric version of “grade 8” so look for both. They’re not special, just not something a hardware store usually has. The dealer, a place that specializes in bolts or possibly an automotive store will have them. Tractor Supply and (I think) Northern Tool have grade 8 if you have either of those nearby.
ETA: Glanced under my Wrangler and it has 10.9 in the rear and too much dirt to see in the front.
After cleaning the heads it looks like they have a 98 on top with a squiggly line underneath. Could that possible be g8?
Yep same as mine, the dirt as well!
I would be going to a specialist provider of nuts and bolts if there is one in your area. In the past I have purchased from specialists and whilst it cost a little bit more I can rest assured my front shocker is not going to come off in the middle of the bush or worse on the freeway at 100!
Is it 9.8? I cleaned off on and mine are 9.8 in the front. If your Jeep is like mine, the front shocks sit on a perch and the bolts just hold a clip that holds the shock in place, so the front bolts don’t have to be as strong as the rear which actually rest on a horizontal bolt. I would still get a strong bolt though. 9.8 is, according to one site, 9% stronger than grade 5. Grade 5 would be fine, or grade 8 if you want (I like to replace things with grade 8 whenever possible).
Looking at their site, Home Depot apparently does have grade 5 and grade 8 bolts, but they all look like this where the threads only go part of the way up. That’s ok, just make sure enough threads are sticking out the bottom to get the nut on.
Looked again and the ‘9’ is definitely not a ‘g.’ Looked at another bolt, one that holds on the transmission backing plate and it has a decimal point in there(9.8). It didn’t cross my mind because that grade did not appear in the nifty little chart Capt Kirk linked to so I didn’t think it existed. I guess they just don’t carry that grade at boltdepot.com.
I know what I need now. If I can’t find it at one of the local hardware stores I’ll make a trip to the stealership tomorrow.
Thanks.
Did not read rest of thread.
I wanted to pop in to say that sometimes the nuts are lock-nuts which have a kind of plastic or rubber in it that helps them from loosing from the repeated shocks and vibration.
I have heard that these are supposedly 1 time use and should be replaced when you take them off.
Yes, metric bolts has the grade number stamped on the head. Home Depot may or may not stock the high grade ones you need. Auto stores may.
Frankly I don’t buy bolts at HD. Ace Hardware has better ones cheaper.