replacing suspension nuts and bolts for stainless ones

[markh1]

I am rebuilding the suspension and want to prevent further corrosion. Are the bolts used in the wishbones and suspension high tensile? because if they are I wont be able to use stainless.

Also There are several allen bolts in the suspension, can these be replaced with anodized aluminium versions or will these not be strong enough?

[teamHOLDENracing]

Suspension bolts are high strength - you should not use stainless

Edited to add: you shouldn't use ali cap bolts either.

We use unplated socket head (allen bolts) on the race cars. You could use the zinc plated high strength socket caps if you are concerned about corrosion

Edited by teamHOLDENracing on Tuesday 25th November 10:41

[heightswitch]

teamHOLDENracing said:

Suspension bolts are high strength - you should not use stainless

Edited to add: you shouldn't use ali cap bolts either.

We use unplated socket head (allen bolts) on the race cars. You could use the zinc plated high strength socket caps if you are concerned about corrosion

Edited by teamHOLDENracing on Tuesday 25th November 10:41

Very important to note this. Whilst it is possible to get a higher tensile grade of Stainless it is still only about 75% the total yield strength of High tensile steel.

I have always found that Black finish bolts assembled with some copper slip perform better than cheap plated bolts.

N.

[shpub]

The most important points are that stainless steel is brittle and will often break rather than bend. It is also liable for creating corrosion products when used with other metals that can make removal very difficult. It is basically a no no for anything bar cosmetic stuff.

[markh1]

thanks for the replies chaps. I think the best bet is probably to clean up the existing ones and put some copper slip or greas on them to make sure they dont corrode.

[JR]

heightswitch said:

I have always found that Black finish bolts assembled with some copper slip

This was part of the standard service at the factory. Grade 8.8 black bolts are fine but grade 12.5 are best.

[markh1]

JR said:

heightswitch said:

I have always found that Black finish bolts assembled with some copper slip

This was part of the standard service at the factory. Grade 8.8 black bolts are fine but grade 12.5 are best.

JR do you know where one can get these 12.5 grade bolts?

[heightswitch]

markh1 said:

JR said:

heightswitch said:

I have always found that Black finish bolts assembled with some copper slip

This was part of the standard service at the factory. Grade 8.8 black bolts are fine but grade 12.5 are best.

JR do you know where one can get these 12.5 grade bolts?

Do a google for toolfast direct mark.

[JR]

heightswitch said:

markh1 said:

JR said:

heightswitch said:

I have always found that Black finish bolts assembled with some copper slip

This was part of the standard service at the factory. Grade 8.8 black bolts are fine but grade 12.5 are best.

JR do you know where one can get these 12.5 grade bolts?

Do a google for toolfast direct mark.

Have you used them Neil?

Any good engineer's merchants should be able to supply them. These from DT are even stronger than the 12.5 (aircraft) strength http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ProductDeta...

http://exp-aircraft.com/library/alexande/hardware....

These guys at Silverstone appear to be good: http://www.tridentracing.co.uk/info/fastas.htm

[V8 Animal]

Steve Heath sells a suspension bolt pack if that's of use to you.
Regards
V8 Animal

[shpub]

I often get asked to supply stainless and 12.9 grade high tensile bolts. Stainless is not an option as previously discussed. Very high tensile bolts are incredibly expensive and, to be honest, a waste of money in that the original bolts are all the Grade 5 or 8.8 high tensile spec — which is typically the spec you get if you ask for a bolt from a decent supplier.

Apart from the cost, which is unbelievable (5 to 10 times adder, in my experience) the other problem with very high tensile bolts is that they are too strong — so, instead of the bolt bending and absorbing energy, it is transferred into the chassis and can result in a bent chassis rather than a bent wishbone bolt. The energy has to go somewhere and it is easier to replace a bolt than the chassis. Having crashed my Wedge many times while sprinting, it has amazed me how many times the bolts have bent rather than the chassis. If the bolt doesn't bend then the energy will go elsewhere — which usually means that the chassis or fittings distort instead.

So I don't do very high tensile bolt kits because they would be so expensive that no one would buy them and they are not really needed and they could cause more expensive damage to the car if it hits something.

Edited by shpub on Tuesday 25th November 19:21

[heightswitch]

JR said:

heightswitch said:

markh1 said:

JR said:

heightswitch said:

I have always found that Black finish bolts assembled with some copper slip

This was part of the standard service at the factory. Grade 8.8 black bolts are fine but grade 12.5 are best.

JR do you know where one can get these 12.5 grade bolts?

Do a google for toolfast direct mark.

Have you used them Neil?

Any good engineer's merchants should be able to supply them. These from DT are even stronger than the 12.5 (aircraft) strength http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ProductDeta...

http://exp-aircraft.com/library/alexande/hardware....

These guys at Silverstone appear to be good: http://www.tridentracing.co.uk/info/fastas.htm

Yep.
dead cheap and fast delivery. some batches cheaper than others but good stuff if you just want stock items.
N.

[S6 Devil]

Bit of a thread resurrection. Does someone have a list of replacement nuts and bolts needed for the suspension?

[nawarne]

Mike,
Back in January, I had the car up on axle stands. Titivated the chassis, sent the GG Pro's back to GAZ for a service and asked for new road springs.

I got a complete set of plated 8.8 bolts and nylocs from Neil at ML performance, he knows all the sizes - http://www.mlperformanceparts.co.uk/.

Fair price and good delivery.
Nick

[zed4]

I bought these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TVR-Griffith-and-Chimera...

I'm sure you could get them cheaper from elsewhere, but it was just easy to remove all the old nuts and bolts and throw them away and then have individual labelled bags to chuck under each wheel arch when it came to refitting everything.

I didn't have time to catalogue each nut and bolt and go to a fasteners to buy replacements.

The only problem is that this pack doesn't come with the 3x lower ball joint nuts and bolts. Luckily TVR Parts supplied the ball joints with nuts and bolts.

[Basil Brush]

S6 Devil said:

Bit of a thread resurrection. Does someone have a list of replacement nuts and bolts needed for the suspension?

YHM.

[S6 Devil]

Thanks Guys. I have just sent emails to ML and the ebay seller. Cheers!

[stesrg]

Regarding the bolts you can get zink played bolts in black Finnish we use these for CAT Projects for oil and gas applications .
Don't use stainless :-)

Ste.

Btw has anyone got a shopping list for me :-)
Thanks .

[teamHOLDENracing]

The suspension bolts on the Tuscan racer are 3/8th" UNF in various lengths. I have a load of new socket head bolts (black unfinished) which I had as spares for the Tuscan / Sagaris and don't need any more (nothing that manly on the Fun Cup car!!). I also have quite a lot of stainless spacers for the rose joints where they are bolted to the chassis, in a variety of sizes to cope with the different spaces between the chassis tabs and where the wishbones align.

If anyone is interested in them let me know - I'll do a good price on them.

Cheers

ANdy

[S6 Devil]

teamHOLDENracing said:

The suspension bolts on the Tuscan racer are 3/8th" UNF in various lengths. I have a load of new socket head bolts (black unfinished) which I had as spares for the Tuscan / Sagaris and don't need any more (nothing that manly on the Fun Cup car!!). I also have quite a lot of stainless spacers for the rose joints where they are bolted to the chassis, in a variety of sizes to cope with the different spaces between the chassis tabs and where the wishbones align.

If anyone is interested in them let me know - I'll do a good price on them.

Cheers

ANdy

Hi Andy, I am not exactly sure what I need. I am doing the 16 main bushes on the wishbones, and rebushing the diff . The gearbox is coming off for a new slave, so will do the gearbox mounts. I will also be fitting new springs. Would you know and have what I need?

Thanks to Basil Brush, I now have the list of sizes but haven't had time to work out exactly what's needed. think I need the following I am assuming wishbone, rear hub and shocks. Also Diff, Gearbox x member and mount, anti roll bar and ball joint bolts? Any others?