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Drive shaft bolts help?

7K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  slander 
#1 ·
So I just tried to bolt up my new front drive shaft, and the flange on the shaft is significantly thicker than a stock flange...the bolts are now to short to fully thread the nuts...

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I don't know from hardware, but I've read that these are m8x1.25, grade 11 bolts...so not the hardware store variety. Any advice on where i might source these in a hurry would be much appreciated! Napa? Toyota dealership? Please advise...thanks.
 
#5 ·
so i must live in a shitty part of the country for hardware...had to go all over the place to find anything close.

the shop i found had 10mm bolts that were grade 5, and 3/8" bolts that were grade 8. given the .019" difference in diameter, i figured the grade 8 bolts would be a better option...do you agree? is the extra space going to allow the flanges to slip, thus buggering up shit in there? long term, i'll get the right size bolts...but i guess i have to order them?!?
 
#6 ·
Could I ask where you got your new shaft? Im in need of a new rear shaft, slip yolk is getting some play, among other problems.
 
#9 ·
The stockers are M10x1.0, I think 25 or 30mm long. NAPA carries bolts around here. Best bet is to measure how thick your flanges are, and then round up to the next bolt longer than the thickness of both flanges plus the washer and nut. Metric bolts are usually found in 5mm length increments.
 
#10 ·
Toyota wanted $96 for the 4 driveshaft bolts+nuts+washers (88 4runner) lol, even the parts guy had a look of shame on his face. $6 at the part store and I had everything I needed. Just make sure you use lock washers if you don't get oem. The front driveshaft doesn't usually spin very fast compared to the rear, so you don't have to worry about them coming loose as easy.
 
#11 ·
The dealer's prices are ridiculous, but there are big differences in bolt quality. Most hardware/auto store stuff is pretty poor. Quality bolts have things like threads cut to a higher standard to prevent the formation of stress risers. You can see the differences under a microscope. They are annealed after plating to drive out hydrogen trapped by the plating process. If left unannealed the hydrogen will cause embrittlement of the steel. There are other differences as well. Just because a bolt is such and such grade means very little in critical applications. In something like a driveline where you have relatively small bolts under high stress and vibration, I would not cut corners. One commmercially available brand of quality bolts is Unbrako. They will run several times more money than the hardware store brand, and they are worth it. They are produced in small runs and each lot has a traceable certification. Tifco used to make a quality bolt, but I think some of theirs are cheap imports now. You might get away with using a cheap bolt, but it doesn't make it smart. I have actually seen and studied the failures of inferior bolts, so this is not an academic argument.

Driveline shops and shops specializing in race car equipment probably carry good quality bolts. You can also find them online.
 
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