will that grade 8 bolt from LOWES hold up to tracking?

its about the same dimensions as the stock bolt that came off the lca. the oem one stripped so i went to home depot and bought a grade bolt similar to oem thanks




Modified by dchung1 at 10:30 PM 6/17/2004

 

NO! Do not use any bolt from home depot for any critical part on your car....even if they say it is grade 8.

If you don't have time to go to a dealer look in the phone book for a fastener dealer and buy bolts from them.


If you want to use it as a temp replacement thats fine but replace it as soon as you can.

I found HD bolts to be very soft ,they strip and either bend or snap easily regardless if they are sold as grade 8 at HD.

 

im confused some people on here say grade 8 is overkill for car application and the bolt seems strong enough>? does anyone have any experience with using home depot grade 89 bolts? actually i got it from lowes

 

would ace hardware carry anything better??

 

which bolt did you break...the shock mount bolt?

Is the honda dealer not open?

sorry not sure about lowes or ace

 

i stripped the lower control arm / strut bolt on the passenger rear.
home depot ran out of nuts for the oem bolt. and lowes didnt have any either.. so i bought a grade 8 bolt from lowes

 

Get a bolt from the dealer.... or there should be a fastener supply in your area, look them up in the yellow pages.

 

pardon my ignorance.
whats the dealer bolt design difference to the other?

 

1) Grade 8 bolts are not available in metric sizes. So there is no way that bolt is the correct size.

2) You have no idea what standard the original bolt was, so getting an identical one from the dealer is the safest bet. You could probably find something equivelent from MSC or mcmaster.com, but not unless you know what you need.

You might get away with using some random bolt, but with your suspension on a racetrack I sure as hell wouldn't take the chance. I would not put ANYTHING from the home depot or the like in my suspension.

 

I've been using grade 8 bolts in my suspension (three diff. bolts) for months on my current car....and on my last car (crx) for almost a year. Never had any problems, and they didn't strip or seize either. They are from advanced auto parts if that makes a difference.

Just posting my experiences.

 

how is a grade 8 from one place different from a grade 8 elsewhere? if there are variances from place to place, something is seriously wrong with the system.

i'm pretty sure you can get grade 8's in metric sizes, iirc, i have some on my miata.

also, iirc, from Mr. Shelby's book Prepare to Win, it gives a referance guide as how to read a bolt. there should be markings on the head of it indicating what it is. if you can figure it out, and match it from a generic supplier like lowe's, i don't see any problem.

 

Not all Grade 8 bolts are created equal... and Joe is right, the metric standard for that pressure rating is NOT on the same numeric system as SAE fasteners. The metric equivelant for a 'grade 8' bolt is Metric 12.8, which is printed on the head of the bolt. People usually get mixed up and call metric 8.8 grade 8 - don't make this mistake: 8.8 is equivelant to SAE grade 5. Neither Home Depot, nor Lowes carry graded metric bolts, at least not the one's I've been to. You're probably going to have a very hard time matching the bolt diameter when using an SAE part, and getting the wrong size is NOT good, so either find some 12.8 metric fasteners or go to the dealer.

I doubt ACE or True Value will have the metric bolts I'm talking about. I work at an independent hardware store and we carry metric 8.8 standard and 12.8 flanged high quality stuff - so starting at your local independent hardwares is probably your best bet.

If you want to check the actual strength of a bolt you get, there is a 'method' for doing so. Put the bolt in a vice and beat it with a BFH. It should bend before it breaks. If you've got a 12.8 bolt and it just snaps right off, you should probably start feeling uncomfortable about using it in your car. That's the 'home test' method - which is supposed to demonstrate that, while a bolt may match up to it's yield strength, it may just snap at it's limit. Think about bending a bolt passing through your LCA, and then think about snapping one. Bolts can use high quality, or low quality metals and forging procedures, the same way wheels can. The grading system, on the level that we're discussing, only means that the bolt won't break until a certain amount of pressure has been applied.... what happens then, or how long the metal will last without fatiguing, is another story altogether.


But really... just go get the right part from the dealer.

 

SEARS HARDWARE has some kick *** bolts, but i used them for sway bar mounting ,not to support a control arm

 

very interesting ASteele.......

my local ACE stores are independently owned, and i KNOW they carry SAE grade 8 stuff, as they have a separate section specifically labeled SAE with associated grades. what i can't remember for sure or not is if it was in metric sizes.

i completely forgot about the SAE thing, since it's the only stuff i ever buy, i don't even think about it.

buying it from the dealer you are for sure going to get the right part, and are for sure going to pay more for it.

 

This is why AN-grade bolts are so great. The quality control is much more rigorous than SAE grade bolts - you won't get them mixed up with cheapo Home Depot fastneners. Unfortunately they are not available in metric sizes as far as I know, and you can't even get them from MSC or McMaster - Pegasus is the only place I know of that carries them.


By the way Metric grade 10.9 is about equivelent to SAE grade 8 in tensile strength (about 150,000 psi). Grade 12.9 is similar to SAE grade 9 (175-180,000 psi)

 

Some guys need to get a little more clued in about metric fasteners. No such thing as metric grade 8. That is for inch sizes. No such thing as AN fasteners in metric. Race cars use them, but not in metric. If the head of a fastener has no marking, you are clueless as to its strength. If it is marked say 8.8 (about SAE grade 5) or something higher, then you can know what you have. Many Honda fasteners are marked with a 10 for grade 10.9 (about SAE grade 8) , and they almost all have flange heads for load distribution and extra friction to prevent the need for a lock-washer or flat washer. Buy Honda fasteners. Some are grade 12.9, but are un-marked, so you can only tell by looking at the manual's torque setting and bolt diameter and a torque table to know what the Honda fastener is rated. Flange head fasteners are hard to find in metric.

Here is a post with a little info:

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=865076

 

the factory honda bolt is I believe a grade 10