Nasty Dream
10+ Year Contributor
- 455
- 3
- Aug 30, 2011
-
Alexandria,
Virginia
Just some advice to my fellow DSM'rs to consider replacing body bolts if you remove them. Some of the protective coating comes off, and they will be more vulnerable over the years. Maybe order a 50 bag of body bolts to keep on-hand.
I read a little rant here where someone was complaining about the #4 bolts the other day, saying he snapped every one he came across.
It never happened to me until today. Head snapped right off. A couple of the others looked really rusty. The cars are getting that age, I guess.
So I'm going to replace any I come across before they get any weaker. #4 is the relative strength of a bolt and Class 4 is pretty weak (the number is written on the head). Mainly what makes them weak is rust.
You could use PB Blaster or WD-40 to loosen them up first so they don't snap.
I'm going to replace them with 8.8 or higher strength. Oh, here's some I was looking at, if it helps:
I bought some today from AutoZone (Class 10.9), but it was $3 for just 4.
[Links removed until I verify they are correct (later)]
These are the size for the fenders (if you open the hood), but I think these are used in quite a few places on the car.
I plan to figure out the main sizes and buy large bags of them to keep on hand.
Note: there are many weather coatings - yellow, clear, black, blue, olive - apparently, the yellow coating tends to be the most salt resistant, but slightly softer. Something to consider if you live in salty areas, like near a beach, or in places where there is a lot of snow/ice they treat with salt.
I read a little rant here where someone was complaining about the #4 bolts the other day, saying he snapped every one he came across.
It never happened to me until today. Head snapped right off. A couple of the others looked really rusty. The cars are getting that age, I guess.
So I'm going to replace any I come across before they get any weaker. #4 is the relative strength of a bolt and Class 4 is pretty weak (the number is written on the head). Mainly what makes them weak is rust.
You could use PB Blaster or WD-40 to loosen them up first so they don't snap.
I'm going to replace them with 8.8 or higher strength. Oh, here's some I was looking at, if it helps:
I bought some today from AutoZone (Class 10.9), but it was $3 for just 4.
[Links removed until I verify they are correct (later)]
These are the size for the fenders (if you open the hood), but I think these are used in quite a few places on the car.
I plan to figure out the main sizes and buy large bags of them to keep on hand.
Note: there are many weather coatings - yellow, clear, black, blue, olive - apparently, the yellow coating tends to be the most salt resistant, but slightly softer. Something to consider if you live in salty areas, like near a beach, or in places where there is a lot of snow/ice they treat with salt.
Last edited:
