aa-fords.com

Stakebed wrote:ive done some thinking/measuring:

the 1" bolt idea is looking good, exact same dimension that i measured off a ford bolt in a non worn spot.

There are variations of 1" bolts that are 6" long - some the shank (non threaded part) is just a hair longer than the shoulder of the factory AA bolt, some are smaller where about a thread would be inside the bushing which i don't like.

(The one thread inside the bushing will not harm anything).

yes the heads of the 1" bolts are bigger but could easily trace the head of the ford bolt and grind down the flats of the new bolt to make a smaller head, obviously cant do the same for the nut but it will be on the inside and unseen.

They do make castle nuts and slotted nuts in 1" size so it will look the part at least.

No one seems to make (besides suppliers) a 1" shoulder bolt where the shoulder is 3.5 inches long...

A coworker of mine suggested to stick with a grade 5 bolt instead of a grade 8, reason being grade 8 bolts are harder and more likely to snap in an impact VS a grade 5 that will bend and give slightly. What are your guys thoughts on this?

(Use soft bolts).

I re-evaluated what I have and obviously MUST use the ford bolts that hold the shackle to the frame due to the way it attaches, my problem is i have one good octagon head bolt and 3 OK square head bolts (have wear but not too bad). Can I use a square head bolt in this location? Id imagine that funny washer with the tabs to bend over and lock it in place would still do the same job right?

(Yes washer is to lock it. I'd get all new bolts that match).

Ive also thought about finding the thinnest 1"OD bushing i can, lathe the worn bolts down to make a press on interference fit, and thus restoring the OD of the bolt, but how much strength would this compromise?

( not a lot, but some. Do you plan on loading 1.5 tons on it ) If you have access to a lathe, Weld them up and turn them back to original size. This will save you a lot of other grief).

Since all the nut does is keep the bolt from sliding out that part of the bolt is irrelevent, but the shank being turned down and a bushing pressed over it - does that keep the same strength in shear forces? I dont know...


It will make it marginally weaker. If you do leave a slight radius. Not a sharp corner..


Thanks for your guys help!