hey guys im getting ready to finish up my build and get my motor in the car/fire her up, but one of the last things i need is a set of pressure plate bolts. i REALLY dont want to order them online and have to wait another week to get this done, and they are like 5 bucks a piece from the dealership (need 9 of them, dont want to pay that much).

so my question is would it be a bad thing to just source some bolts from the hardware store and use those? i've read a few things that say it is important to use OEM/proper aftermarket bolts for this, but the pressure plate bolts are only torqued to 10lbs approx so i didn't know how bad it could hurt. if it is the difference between my pressure plate deciding to pop off while im driving or not i think i'll wait, but if it doesnt matter i would rather just snag some hardware store bolts.

anyone with a little more experience with this willing to chime in?

 

It's not so much about bolt strength/quality. But rather the head. PP bolts are 12 point, and a very thin head. Most hardware stores aren't going to carry anything that will work for what you want. Also, for what it's worth. I used to manufacture bolts for a living, I wouldn't trust a bolt from the hardware store as far as I could throw it.

 

^^
Listen to this guy.


home depot doesnt have car parts, get some ARPs and be done with it
http://www.velocityshop.com/product/...series_12.html

 

thanks for the replies.

if it fits the thread, does the head of the bolt really matter? it seems to me like any bolt that fits with a higher grade metal would be fine.

obviously i am here for your advice, but its tough for me to rationalize paying 40 dollars for a couple of bolts, so any alternatives that work would be great. what other options are there?

 

Grading and metallurgy are only part of the reason not to buy hardware store bolts. There are also considerations as far as head thickness ( for clearances) radii under the head for proper fitment against the flywheel surface. Thread pitch, diameter and length are also critical points when selecting the proper hardware. While I fully understand the concern with paying $40 for some bolts. It sure seems cheaper than rebuilding your engine if the flywheel comes loose and destroys the bottom end

 

I wouldn't cheap out on pressure plate bolts, the last things anyone would want is to wreck a tranny and possibly a block because their stupid *** cheaped out on crucial bolts.

 

Get the proper bolts, OEM or ARP. Or at least don't get the crap sold at menards. Standard hardware is complete junk. I tried to screw two 2x12s together with lag screws from menards, and more than half just broke in the middle of the smooth part as they went in.

Spend the money, and wait the few days it takes to get them. Order from Summit or Jegs or somewhere legit and you'll get them fast.

 

why not just go to the junk yard and grab em off a motor with the tranny missing

 

Like Clayton said the head is very thin on them, regular bolts just plain wont fit. There's not enough room for the head in the recess.

 

Old thread I know but, I just ran into a pressure plate that somehow has a what seems to be a 12mm or equivalent hexagon head on it. Just one out of the whole bunch. I tried a combination and socket. No luck. I gave up tonight but tomorrow i plan on using the dremel to cut a slit for a flat head. Put a bit in a socket and go from there.

My questions are:
- How the hell did it get on if theres no room to take it off?
- If, this doesn't work, all I can think of is to cut the head off, extract the bolt and replace. Any other ideas than that?

 

like the rest say,
OEM or ARP.
now way around it unless you want to take a chance of it failing

 

ALL OEM inside the engine, outside, different story.

 

Can you use a wrench to get on a couple of sides?

 

PB blaster and some time. Hopefully they didnt use red loctite

 

I have one regular bolt in my Pressure plate and it never made any difference. only thing is that It has to be tightened with a open end instead of a socket... IMHO I would just get the OEM ones. IK its a pain to wait but those bolts are the only ones that really fit right.

 

I thought I posted an update but I guess not.

I eventually, after making a groove for a flat head, decided to grind some of the pressure plate down in order to fit a socket on it. The open wrench wouldn't work due to the amount of torque needed. Came out fine and this is my daily driver at the moment so I put it right back in. Wasn't giving me probs before so I decided to chance it ao I could make it to work the next day. So in my opinion it didn't really matter with that particular bolt but it also happened to be the exact bolt as the others minus the head. Which is a b!txh. I will replace it when I open it back up but I can actually get to it by just removing the starter...

Now I got other problems. I'll post them since I'm here but I know it's not the thread title. First of all I had a a000 tranny that came with the car and I put in a d16y8. I bought a b000 a while back for better acceleration. Since I needed to replace my TOB and main rear seal anyway I figured I'd just do the swap at the same time. The seal was leaking bad and the TOB were whining for a few months and got to the point where second gear would pop out as I slow down for speed bumps. No real difference in the amount of work, plus I already clean the **** out of it. So everything went in fine despite the abnormal amount of bs I went thru pulling it. Now on to the issue at hand...

When I put it in reverse and start moving...as soon as I push the clutch in, it's like the brakes are applied as well O_o never even heard of that happening before. Also, second pops out but only when it nots under load. Again this makes no sense to me. I'm no master mechanic but I've done all my own work since I started driving. I'm 29. I have a lil under my belt as I usually buy older cars. Has anyone come across this? I know the forums say its the syncros but I feel like since it was already starting that with the old tranny, it probably isn't that. I also noticed that the shifter/stick moves quite a bit more than normal while driving. I checked the linkage and even turned it upside down hoping that was the issue. No change. I checked the mounts and they seem to be fine as well. If I put the jack under the tranny and lift, the whole car lifts accordingly. Any ideas would be great. And I hav searched like crazy on other sites with nothing found about the reverse issue.