Weak bolts or I'm the hulk.

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Just wanted to check I'm right in suspecting I've been sold some cheapo sub standard nuts and bolts as part of a ball joint kit. Been putting a new top ball joint on the front of an Isuzu Trooper. The joint is secured to the wishbone with three new M10 bolts and nyloc nuts. On doing them up tight, by hand, with a normal ratchet I've stripped at least one and maybe all three. Should it be even possible with hand power alone.

The bolt heads are marked 8.8 but the nuts are where my suspicion lies.

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kambites said:

No, you shouldn't be able to strip a good M10 nut with a normal length ratchet. At least not without hitting it repeatedly with a big hammer. Even with a breaker bar it would require a fair amount of force.

How deep is the threaded bit of the nut? Cheap nylocs sometimes have a lot of nylon and not very much steel thread. There should be at least four full turns, if it's designed to be tight more like 5 or 6.

Edited by kambites on Saturday 25th July 21:25

I'll post a photo tomorrow. I had to cut the bolt head off as the nut wouldn't back out. I the used a hacksaw to then cut the nut off. You can see the thread is totally mashed.

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paintman said:

Doesn't sound good, but what's the torque setting for these bolts?

ETA. Quick google might have answered my own question:
http://www.itocuk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=168...
"lower balljoint Nut 147NM-108lbft
the four bolts 103NM-76lbft
top ball joint 98NM-72lbft
the three bolts 57NM-42lbft"

If you'd used a torque wrench & they failed below the setting then you'd have a chance arguing with the supplier. As it is, might be worth raising it with them but in the circumstances given I can see them refusing to replace/refund.

Edited by paintman on Sunday 26th July 03:39

For the cost of come new bolts and nuts, it's not worth arguing anyway. I'll just get some new ones from the engineering supplies place down the road.

I didn't use a torque wrench (I know, I know....), I shall borrow one.

Slightly unrelated, the original ball joints had a castle nut and split pin, the replacements have a big nyloc and no split pin. Would the different type of nut have an effect on the torque value?

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imagineifyeswill said:

The quality of aftermarket parts is getting worse by the day, probably manufactured in China.

I know, and I usually try to stick to the known brands, but choice is limited where Isuzu Troopers are concerned.

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one eyed mick said:

If you guys will buy cheap crap from the likes of b+q , unknown suppliers on the bay you will get the cheap s---e , you would not buy beef from a fishmonger would you so why buy fasteners from a diy outlet,and buy the correct stuff as its bit important on saftey related items i.e. brakes ,steering etc rant over sorry

Erm, it was from a biggish motor factors, not some unknown EBay seller.