Sampson

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These bolts were taken out of a 88 Jeep Grand Wagoneer project I am working on. It is not a very rusty vehicle. I Reused 95% of the bolts when I restored my 1972 Cutlass. i don't think Jeep used the same quality bolts as GM. Could it be the difference in metal quality that GM specified or had all OEM material quality degraded to this point by 1988?

oldcutlass

It's the difference of the coating.

Sampson

Too long in the Muratic acid??????????

Octania

Steels vary, surface treatments vary, and conditions of use vary. I'd venture to say on an AZ or TX car, one could re-use 100% of the bolts.

66-3X2 442

It's a Mopar thing.

Allan R

I believe you've found the bolts that everyone has been looking for. They're quite rare and made of Softenite. Reason they're so rare is they don't last long.
Find some real bolts - there's lots of guys here who part out cars that could ship you tons of rusty bolts that just need a small bit of clean up.

rustyroger

Bolts are are bolts, but only the correct bolt is right for the job. Do you need high tensile bolts for high loads?, corrosion resistant bolts for marine use or use in industrial chemical processes?, bolts designed to break at a predetermined load?, bolts designed to stretch as used in many engines nowadays?.
When I was at school the metalwork shop has a book listing various threads and materials used in bolts. Or as the teachers insisted, fasteners. It was about the same size as a bible.

Roger.

drop top olds

Even spec'd bolts can be a problem. Around 2010 there was a real problem with the A-325 bolts used by the structural engineering community. Seems there were some sub-standard bolts out there snapping off when using the "turn of the nut" method. The point of origin for these A-325 bolts was.........China. I was shocked (not). Industry quickly identified the bad lots.

So yeah. not surprised about bolt quality now a days.

FMB42

Yep, this issue crops up from time to time. A decade or so ago a U.S. high rise steel worker feel to his death when the bolt he was torquing down snapped off causing him to lose his balance (he wasn't wearing the proper safety gear IIRC). These bolts were also from China (which is not at all surprising to anyone who works with machine type products from that country).

oldcutlass

Fastener issues crop up all the time. There was an issue related to amusement park rides due to bolt failures about 15 years ago. There were issues with fasteners in the aircraft industry before that. I don't think the OPS issue is related, his is the climate in which he lives and a manufacturers choice in fastener coatings.

twintracks

GM is not immune. We have a '98 GMC 2500 4 wheel dig that has had a hard life as a plow truck in Wisconsin. The exhaust manifold bolts completely dissolved, leaving the manifolds falling loose. We had to pull the heads to fix it correctly. Amazingly, the body is still looking good except for the tailgate, and the very bottoms of the doors. Funny thing too is that it's completely free of dings, because it's never been parked in parking lots.