A Bolt Conundrum

[oldgravy]

I've recently been assembling axles and I am thinking / wondering about bolts. Specifically, the fixings that connect the axle flange, brake backing plate, and stub axle.

The original part is a 3/8" BSF bolt with what looks to be about a 1/2" of... why can't I remember the word here, it's the smooth part of the bolt before the thread starts. Shank? You know what I mean.

Anyway, I bought some bolts for the rear locally but needed to source some 3/8 BSF nuts. These are pretty much only available from the UK. So, I decided to get 24 nuts, 12 more bolts (for the front stub axle) and some cheap propshaft bolts from Paddocks.

With shipping, the fasteners cost me $90.

This is crazy. Is there any reason we couldn't use a local grade 8 UNC bolt that is a bit longer, but is available from e.g. Alder Auto?

Picture for reference. The bolts on the left are front stub axle bolts from Paddocks, and are fully threaded; the yellow chromated one in the middle is an Alder Auto bolt; and the right one is the original bolt.

Am I crazy for thinking I should have saved myself $85 and just bought fixings locally?

[red90]

Grade 8 of the same diameter is fine. Your photo does not appear to be the same diameter. Also, use a fine thread bolt and nut (UNF), not coarse thread for this application.

[jacobko]

Ouch... For the axle/stub axle bolts just use a locally available 3/8" UNF bolt grade 8. The propshaft bolts are a non-standard length (1 1/8" if I recall), so you can just cut down a 1 1/2" grade 8 bolt, or buy them from a LR parts supplier.

[oldgravy]

I wish I had known that before spending well over a hundred bucks on BSF fasteners. :/

Thanks guys.

[yrayray]

originals are grade 10.9 :)

I actually had the most success finding grade 8 UNF/UNC bolts at lowes