blackrat

well for some reason the drivers side bolt decided to back out while i was going 80 on the freeway and drag the rod on pavement for a few hundred feet. fun expiriance let me tell you. rods ok though. went to lowes and picked up a grade 8 1/2" bolt, lock washer, and castle nut. is this adequate with regards to shear strength? chevy wants about thirty bucks for what seems to be just a 12 mm bolt.

nodnarb481

i thought the bolt was like some special shape or whatever.. id ont know what exactly the difference would be.. is it a stock panhard rod? I know on my adjustable it wasnt just a straight bolt. but it might work.. as for strength it should be fine

blackrat

no, mine is aftermarket. a global west adjustable. it re used the stock hardware and i installed the thing over 2 years ago. its weird for the bolt to just back out now. afaik it was just a straight bolt. chevy says its a 12mm but doesnt know if it has anything else special bout it. the half inch has less play then the 12, plus the metric bolt is of an unknown grade. is there supposed to be play?

2000GTP

It may be worth a search, I can't remember but this may have been covered and someone may have came up with an alternative that you can get from a hardware store. Otherwise, the dealer does carry them. I ordered mine from Spohn directly for 11 bucks.

al 96 Ram Air T/A

Wow...sounds like the Chevy dsealer you spoke to is royally sc#$%ng you.

The bolt is a 14 mm to 12 mm shouldered bolt. Wish I could remember the length...I think 90 mm. Anyway, I just bought mine three weeks ago from my local Pontiac dealer. Bolts cost me less than $5 for both. If you can't get them locally, get them from Spohn. And no...do not use 1/2 inch bolts, or grade 5 SAE/ grade 8.8 metric. You need a metric bolt, grade 10.9 or better.

blackrat

much appreciated
yeah the dealer wanted $6.xx for the nut alone and almost $4 a bolt, minimum order of 5 bolts. thanks for the info, ill check a pontiac dealer or order from spohn.