Everything You Always Wanted About Lower Ball Joint Bolts

Hopefully not the black bolt, I just bought a replacement set

But yes, this is one of the more important pieces of knowledge on herein my opinion, I think this thread should be a sticky.

 

Nope, you're safe with those!

 

what about this for those LBJ bolts?

https://www.vibra-tite.com/threadlockers/plastic-compatible/vibra-tite-vc-3-threadmate/

 

How is this not a sticky yet? @ColoradoTJ pin this please. Thanks.

 

Not wanting to hold folks in suspense, the issue I was made aware of was with the ARP bolts (I know, a collective "oh s**t" sigh).

There was no problem with the bolt strength, or any of the data we collected, which are the important things. However, I was made aware by a friend in St Louis that her ARP bolts rusted badly within 8 months. In retrospect, it's not a big surprise, the ARP bolts we tested are finished in black oxide, which has very little resistance to the elements, compared to zinc plated bolts. So they really are not meant for areas exposed to weather, like suspension.

You can still use them, perhaps hit them with a coat of paint after installation. However, I am more inclined to go with ARP stainless steel series, since they'll be more resistant to corrosion. I haven't done the testing on them yet, which is why I have been holding off on bringing this up, but I will report back after I run some tests. I expect them to perform as well as or better than the ARP black oxide bolts.

Stay tuned!

Here are the ARP bolts after only 8 months:



And here are the factory zinc plated bolts after 6 years - in the same rig:

 

Whoa. I've had mine for over a year and they're still black, even though I've removed them a few times to swap broken axles.

 

From everything I have read stainless isnt a good choice here. Although ARP claims theirs are better than grade 8.

Disadvantages of Stainless Steel Fasteners

• Lacks strength and hardness — Stainless steel is not a very hard or strong fastener material. While it’s great for low-stress applications, a different option should be used if you need boosted durability.

https://wilsongarner.com/stainless-vs-carbon-vs-alloy-steel-fasteners/#:~:text=Lacks strength and hardness — Stainless,if you need boosted durability.

https://arp-bolts.com/p/stainless.php

 

Stainless sucks, poor compatibility with crusty threads in steel that most spindles will have and tend to mess up threads more than any steel bolt in this comparison.

 

40 years in the Aerospace fasteners business under my belt, stainless is one of the primary structural fastener materials, with some exceptions. Look up A286 and tell me it sucks .

 

Edited my post - unless you chase the threads before each wrenching project which I’m guessing most people won’t, it’s far easier to strip a thread. As far as aerospace I don’t think most of those planes or craft were driven on salt brined roads or have years of caked oil and mud in the thread holes.

 

If talking aerospace why not put zinc plated aircraft spec and rated in this test? Off-road vehicles that go through the most difficult terrain and abuse use these fasteners so I would assume it would at least be a consideration for people that push their vehicles the most.

 

I defer to the more knowledgeable. Never heard of A286 before... Not cheap though.
By using them i could double the resale value of my Tacoma

 

I'm trying to limit the test to readily available fasteners, since that's what most folks would have access to and would want to use.

If you look at the test results, you'll see that strength was not a problem for any of the bolts, so we don't necessarily need higher strength. What made some bolts stand out (Black and ARP) was their consistency in torque to preload relationship, which gives you confidence in how much preload you are introducing during torquing.

 

Just curious, I can see the need for corrosion resistance on aircraft etc. But in space what is the need? What kind of corrosion are you going to get in a vacuum?

 

You apparently haven't seen what happens to bolts that sit on a rocket at a Vandenberg pad for a few months .

 

See post 116. It's not so much "corrosion in vacuum", it's concerns about corrosion during fabrication, assembly, processing, and launch preps.

 

Not talking about a stainless bolt’s strength, but it’s use in this application where the average dude isn’t going to know if the sticky nature of stainless on steel threads is normal or he’s rethreading a second set of threads. I’ve used stainless on something as simple as a bumper valence and it can be easy to think you have things lined up and not actually have it threading properly.

An engineering solution that looks good on paper needs to still be field tested if it’s actually going to be the solution. If 30-50 guys with varying level of experience use them with a negligible amount making errors then it could be the proper solution. Prefer to not use it when I don’t have to is what I should have said instead of it sucks.

 

And then they have “random forum user Joe” go work on one after being on TW for a few months or days?

 

Stainless is sometimes more likely to gall. We'll test the ARP stainless bolts, and that will give us good indication of how they perform.

Understood, and again, I did not say that stainless is the answer, I haven't tested them yet. I said that the corrosion on the black oxide ARP bolts is concerning, especially because it will no doubt affect the torque to preload relationship, so stainless may be the answer.