Rear Shock Upper Bolts

[71newp]

I am replacing the rear shocks on my 1976 Cordoba. The upper bolts are really rusty. They are so rusty that they only came out of the sleeve after a lot of work. Do I need to use grade 8 bolts? The heads of the old bolts are too rusty to tell if they are marked as grade 8 or not. Thank you.

 

[493 Mike]

No, grade 5 will be fine.
Mike

 

[Cranky]

Wouldn't hurt to put a little anti-seize on the bolt threads.....but just a very little.

 

[71newp]

Wouldn't hurt to put a little anti-seize on the bolt threads.....but just a very little.

Getting the nut off the upper bolt was the easiest part of the removal. I didn't even need to put a wrench on the bolt head. The shank of the bolt was rusted pretty solid to the sleeve. I'm thinking I will spray some Fluid Film (or maybe some white lithium grease) on the new shank and sleeve to make it easier to remove the next time the shocks come off. Also, I did get the second bolt off and it looks like an "M" with 3 lines.

 

[66Satellite47]

For the upper bolts, either a good grade 5 or 8 will be fine. Use some anti seize for sure. Three lines means grade 5.

 

[Mopar Hunter]

Glad you asked this, the PO replaced mine with grade 8, he went overkill.

 

[71newp]

I soaked the old bolt in evaporust overnight. It looks like they have a Phosphoric finish on them. Will zinc coated work or should I look for Phosphoric?