Zinc Plating OEM hardware

To add another question the past week of questions, I’m replacing my bed bolts and hardware while my bed is off because some had to get cut. A thought that crossed is sending the OEM hardware off to get zinc plated to prevent this Ohio weather from crusting them up again. Any thoughts on this or if it’s worth it or if anyone has done it. Thanks!

 

There's a guy that restores Nissans that does this will all hardware he takes off, then he puts it in a big bucket to be dropped off with a guy that replates them with zinc-dichromate to give that protected gold look. It's not a bad idea but can be costly in time and money.

 

We looked at replating hardware on our austin healey and decided it was cheaper just to replace it entirely. For bed bolts I’d just antiseize them and then throw some fluid film on occasionally.

 

TommyFYeah? Ya that’s where the thought has come from. Starting to wonder if I’d need a minimum for them to do too.

 

Yeah, that's probably who I'm thinking of. I don't think it would make sense over buying already coated bolts for just a handful of them

 

move thought about this as well. Only issue is I’m not exactly sure of bolt size and am trying to figure that out so I can search for that.

 

They're an M12 I'm pretty sure. I have the tap at home, I'll check the markings on it later for you

 

The rear bolts are special anyway - the heads have a little lever on them so you don’t need a wrench on top

 

Pretty sure they're a

$13 M12x1.25 mm Self-Locking Nylon Insert Hex Lock Nuts, Pack of 6

M12x1.25

 

Go to Home Depot and buy galvanized carriage bolts and use those!

 

You are asking if it's worthwhile to zinc plate new OEM hardware? Zinc plating is like the yellow coating you see on grade 8 bolts etc. from the hardware store. That plating is less durable than the Toyota OEM protective coating in my experience. Get stainless bolts if you need more corrosion resistance.

 

Every time I pull a bolt I replace it with stainless if it isn’t a bolt that holds suspension or something that could cause a wreck. If it’s something like your bed stainless would be fine as far as strength. You can get replacement bolts in bulk on Amazon or at your local hardware store. If you want a bolt from Toyota some are cheap and some are expensive. I’ve bought bolts from Toyota before some are still available for purchase. Just FYI. The minimum strength of grade 8 bolts is around 130,000 psi, whereas stainless steel strength doesn't exceed 90,000 psi.

 

^That's true when the bolts are new. After a few winters, the grade 8 bolts will be weaker than stainless when they look like this:



If you find stainless bolts in A2-70 grade, that is 700 MPa or 102,000 psi, for extra margins.

 

Maybe the special hardware that only can be bought from Toyota .is worth doing .

With some shopping you should be able to source the standard JIS hardware

For the most Stainless Steel bolts will work fine without going into pages of math.

If your not sure take or teach a Strength of Materials class it is very eye opening

Winter Chemicals will get the best of hardware .

I have never been able to ever tighten the back bed bolt without tacking the head fast

Even with the fancy Toyota Bolt with the ear to grab hold.