HD bolts good enough for engine stand?

[R18Civic]

I'm pulling my engine this weekend and grabbed standard HD class 8.8 bolts to hold the engine stand arms to the bell housing threads in the block.

Bolts are made by Everbuilt who is owned by Crown Bolt who was purchased by HD as a subsidiary some time ago.

84000psi load strength (supposedly) and zinc plated steel construction. The bolts are 12x1.75x80mm and I've got exactly 1/2" of thread to go into the block.

They look to be good quality but after reading reviews from a handfull of folks condemning them solely or being made in China and owned by Home Depot I'm not 100% confident they should be used to keep a 400lb engine attached to the stand for an unknown amount of time.

The part that startles me the most is despite being rated at class 8.8, HD's description literally says they're perfect for holding lawn furniture and fences together. ...³

 

[dogememe]

I'd have more faith in Home Depot stuff than Dorman bolts available at your local auto parts store. Literally everything with that Dorman logo on it is cancer.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Metric 8.8 is a very low grade. 10.9 is equivalent to US grade 8

 

[R18Civic]

Looks like I'm returning then and visiting fastenal then. Read online that a bunch of guys preferred grade 5 bolts over grade 8 for engine stands because the bolt would bent before it snapped. If I can get bolts that won't do either I'll be happy.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Good luck buying anything but a box of 100 from Fastenal, I've had horrible experiences with them.
Do you have a local hardware / fastener company?

 

[Rand]

for all regular purposes..

Metric 8.8 = grade 5
metric 10.9 = grade 8

 

[BigD1]

Originally Posted by Miller88
Metric 8.8 is a very low grade. 10.9 is equivalent to US grade 8


Yes!

All my local hardware stores carry lots of automotive grade bolts. A couple of bolts like the OP needs would cost round about $3 at my local hardware store.

 

[c502cid]

Grade 5 should be fine, big difference between shear and tension on a bolt. I'd be a lot more concerned with only 1/2" going into the block, I'd want more than that.

 

[R18Civic]

All we have here is HD, Lowe's and Tractor Supply aside from Fastenal and Ace Hardware. And I was told on another forum it's best to have 1/2-3/4 of thread going into the block as opposed to bottoming the bolt out. I'm assuming this is due to the threads don't all bite deeply into one another. 392 lbs spread out over 4 quality bolts sounds like it'll be fine.

Problem is with my stand the 100mm bolts are too long (over 1 inch sticking out of the arms of on the lift) and the next smallest size was 80mm. The holes/tubes come out to 2.65 plus another .5-.75 for the threads.

 

[andyd]

12mm is a tad bigger than 1/2 " Just about any grade will work in that size to support a measly 400 lbs.

 

[R18Civic]

Originally Posted by andyd
12mm is a tad bigger than 1/2 " Just about any grade will work in that size to support a measly 400 lbs.

1/2" is how much thread just out from the arms on the stand, 12mm is the bolt diameter. The bellhousing bolts are 12x.1.75.

If anything I'll take a grinder to the stand and knock another 1/4 off the arm. It's tubular steel so I doubt I'll soften anything up enough to weaken it.

 

[CT8]

Grade 5 is fine, grade 8 will make you feel better! Get grade 8 or 10.9 metrics.

 

[R18Civic]

Originally Posted by dogememe
I'd have more faith in Home Depot stuff than Dorman bolts available at your local auto parts store. Literally everything with that Dorman logo on it is cancer.


I used to think they were good until my balancer started cracking 40k after being replaced

 

[DriveHard]

Rule of thumb is at least 1 diameter in depth for thread engagement. 0.5" is a little more than the diameter, so you should be fine.

 

[928]

Bolt Depot sells by the bolt. The price actually has a decimile in it , hard to read- it's the first column

Buy a little long & put washers under the head if you are concerned about full thread engagemant

https://www.boltdepot.com/Metric_hex_bolts_Zinc_plated_class_10.9_steel.aspx

Also, if you are using an imported engine stand & you are worried about the bolts- check the bolts attaching the arms
for grade

 

[R18Civic]

Pulled a bell housing bolt out and compared it to the ones I have, on the stand I have slightly more thread on the engine stand bolt than the trans bolts have. Should be good to go.

 

[user52165]

Originally Posted by andyd
12mm is a tad bigger than 1/2 " Just about any grade will work in that size to support a measly 400 lbs.

12mm is smaller than 1/2"

1/2" = 12.7mm (1 inch is 25.4mm)

You probably meant 13mm.

 

[R18Civic]

I've got a half inch of bite with the engine stand and the bell housing bolts only appear to have 3/8 or right around there, this was with my bolts bottomed out too. Given the torqiness of the engine I'd assume 4 bolts are fine with that much bite, however the bell housing bolts are 9.8 grade. If I don't like what I see once I get it mounted I'll break out the grinder.

 

[clinebarger]

I've pulled SEVERAL fully dressed LT1/4L60E/T56 combos with four 6mm X 1.00 bolts that were screwed into the aluminum intake manifold through the fuel rails!!
Every tech in the shop would freak-out, It was quite entertaining! If I had half a brain.....I would have patented & sold it while the Gen II SBC was popular!

You have NOTHING to fear with four 12mm bolts holding a 3.8L on a engine stand!

 

[R18Civic]

Ok so the engine is on the stand an almost fully disassembled. One of the main caps seems to be seized up, and oddly enough its right near the 2 rods that had the most bearing damage and blueing. I've taken a block of wood to to and smacked the crap out of it with a sledge and it won't budge. Any ideas?