control arm nut and bolt question

[1981]

I'm replacing the front lower control arms on my 08 hyundai elantra because the bushings are bad. All four bolts were siezed in the bushing sleeves and I was able to get two of the bolts out and I cut the other two out. I went to the hyundai dealership to order all four new bolts and locknuts. I was able to get the bolts but they told me there was no part number available for the nuts. They tried to tell me to use a regular nut and loctite but I am NOT going to do that. I called 6 other hyundai dealerships in my area and none of them could get me these lock nuts. They all told me the schematics didn't show a part number for the nuts.

So now I'm stuck having to reuse the old nuts which I do not want to do because you're not really supposed to reuse top lock nuts. I am wondering if I should take a punch and tap the top of these nuts to make them lock tighter like they did when they were new. If it was anywhere else on the car I wouldn't be to worried about it but I do not want the control arm coming loose.

So I guess my question is has anyone had issues reusing the lock nuts on control arm bolts? Will hitting the top of the nut with a punch work to make them lock tight again? I'm extremely frustrated that I can't get these nuts from hyundai. I've went to a few other dealerships in town to see if they had any matching nuts in stock but I couldn't find any that would work.

 

[Trav]

Just Loctite them with blue, they will be fine.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Just Loctite them with blue, they will be fine.


I agree with Trav. If you are truly worried - see if there is a similar nut somewhere else on the car that they may have a part number on. Or go to a parts store and get a good grade 8 nut and be done with it.

 

[Bluestream]

Get a grade 8 bolt and put red loctite on

 

[Cardenio327]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
Originally Posted By: Trav
Just Loctite them with blue, they will be fine.


I agree with Trav. If you are truly worried - see if there is a similar nut somewhere else on the car that they may have a part number on. Or go to a parts store and get a good grade 8 nut and be done with it.


^^+1^^

If they're in bad shape go to an industrial nut & bolt supplier. They can be found in areas where there are factories. They should have a good selection of flange nuts and lock nuts in different strengths that can be bought by the piece. They should have higher strength nuts than can be found in auto parts or hardware stores, and the price might be even better.

You'll probably want value 10.9 [US grade 8] or value 12.9 [US grade 10].

Where I'm from the two industrial suppliers are named Valley Nut & Bolt, and Tacoma Screw; both sell to the public and both will sell one single nut. Look in your local phone book.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Just Loctite them with blue, they will be fine.

Agreed.

Alternatively, as Cardenio says, go to any fastener supply-house (with the bolts in hand). They should be able to get flange-nuts with a nylon ring ("Nyloc") as the prevailing-torque device, which will be just as effective as Loctite.

 

[eljefino]

Sure the bolts hold your control arm, and, consequently, your tire on, but the nut just has to hold the bolt in, and it sounds like the bushing friction does a swell job of that already. You aren't hanging weight from that nut, it can be almost any grade. The bolt is in shear and should be the OE grade.

I take it you lack a welder, you could just zap the nut to the bolt in one spot to lock it, and grind it off later if you ever need to remove it.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: 1981
So I guess my question is has anyone had issues reusing the lock nuts on control arm bolts?


On my Buick, the lower control arm nuts have a retainer that prevents them from turning. That way all you have to do is turn the lower control arm bolts. Very nice feature.

 

[1981]

Thanks for the replies. I ended up reusing the original nuts with loctite. I wouldn't have been too worried about it if it wasn't the control arm bolts. They get a ton of vibration and I don't want to worry about them coming loose.

I also had to replace the rear lateral links and the bolts were siezed in the bushings on those also. I ordered new bolts for those as well. I went to pick them up today after they sent the wrong bolts the first time and these were the wrong ones again. I will NEVER own another hyundai.

 

[The_Eric]

What should be of more concern to you is whether you tightened the suspension fasteners down with the suspension in a neutral position- ie: with the weight of the car bearing down on it. If you tightened them with the suspension at full droop, then the bushings will fail prematurely.

Also, properly tightened fasteners will have very, very little chance of coming loose. The big killer as far as loosening goes is movement. If that nut/bolt is able to move or be moved (like from vibration or a bracket wiggling), even the slightest amount, virtually nothing you do will keep it tight.

 

[1981]

Originally Posted By: The_Eric
What should be of more concern to you is whether you tightened the suspension fasteners down with the suspension in a neutral position- ie: with the weight of the car bearing down on it. If you tightened them with the suspension at full droop, then the bushings will fail prematurely.

Also, properly tightened fasteners will have very, very little chance of coming loose. The big killer as far as loosening goes is movement. If that nut/bolt is able to move or be moved (like from vibration or a bracket wiggling), even the slightest amount, virtually nothing you do will keep it tight.



Yep I tightened the lower control arm bushings at ride hieght. I'll tighten the rear lateral link bushings at ride hieght also if the hyundai dealership ever gets me the right bolts.

 

[artificialist]

I suppose in the future, you could order a drilled bolt that accepts a castle nut and cotter pin.