[Wagon]

Replacing one of the nuts that goes on the lower arm to cross member bolt.

There are 3 DOTS on it (so appears). Was this an older version of the "tics" or "lines" meaning Grade 5? I stopped in Fastenal today thinking, "ok, I will lay it out there and let them know I am an idiot, they are the pros, right?".

HA

He let me leave with two different nuts, complimentary, but he even seemed unsure of the grade of the ones he was GIVING me. The ones he gave me have no markings?

Maybe I am over analyzing, but I just want to make sure I am putting safe hardware under the car. Checked the parts manual and the numbers that it lists for the nuts give no hits on the interweb. I don't want to assume just because a nut is BIG that it is STRONG enough.

(also going back to check my work on the ball joints. The hardware PST sent me didn't thread together, even by hand, so I substituted some other stuff)

 

[ford4v429]

we quit buying bolts at fastenal- we rebuild a lot of large lathes, the box ways use a couple dozen 1/2-13 socket head cap screws, torqued pretty substantially... we had a bunch of fastenal bolts that wouldnt torque, unscrewed to find they stretched like a hourglass...luckily before they reached install torque- had they torqued, I'm sure one crash woulda popped them.

holo-krome, or another big name is likely safer bet on grade 8 or high stress stuff, although eventually they might start offshoring stuff too...

 

[Wagon]

I have been calling them fasten-some for years now. They didn't let me down yesterday...

So should we always be going grade 8 on these types of items?

I found one blog where it was stated that automotive hardware does not conform to any specifications. This is because the OEM made that piece specific to the application. It was stated that using pieces of a higher specification than installed could cause trouble say, in an accident, when certain pieces were meant to break/sheer to dissipate energy.

I went back and re checked, and one of the ones he gave me has the grade 8 markings on the nut, but its a nylock. No reason I cant use that one, right?

Thanks.

 

[63ford406]

I think that is a lock nut marking.