Upper Shock Mount

[sirmerced]

Anyone got a spare I could buy from them? I have a 1979 TR-7 and after the owner assured me the three bolts on the upper strut mount get torqued to 65 ft/lbs....one of them snapped. Turns out I think the torque spec is 22 ft/lbs. So I need a new upper strut mount. Anyone got one? Its TKC1205 in the attachment. Thanks.

[saabfast]

Welcome to the forum.

Probably best to try people like S&S Preparations or Robsport if you want a second hand one.

[dursleyman]

The curse of the dodgy torque wrench setting strikes again. Sorry "sirmerced" but a normal 8mm thread is never going to be anything like 65 ft/lbs and using a torque wrench you tend to lose that sensation of when its done up OK.

Whatever happened to folks just doing it up with an appropriate sized spanner/wrench. I only ever use a torque wrench on the important engine bolts/studs.

[FI Spyder]

In that range (22 ft lbs) it is better to go to an in/lbs torque wrench the setting would be on high end. (1 foot/lb = 12 in/lb). The other way is to go by feel. Some people are better than others at this. At our 45 man IBM office, we always did up bolts/set screws etc. by feel and got to know what was correct after snapping a few and having some come loose later. There was one guy that could get them so tight without snapping them that they were difficult to undo. Every one in the office knew when he had worked on a machine.

[sirmerced]

Yeah, trusting my wrenching buddy was a bad idea. That number seemed dodgy at best.

Anyways, anyone know of USA based parts companies or parts yards? The importation process is a pain. Done it years ago and was happy with it.

[prackers]

I just did one last week, why not drill/punch/chisel the broken stud out then replace it with a nut and bolt?

[swordfishdani1960]

This sounds like good advice , use a stainless steel nut and bolt through experience you should know how tight you should tighten it, allways use a spanner on delicate nuts and bolts on your car ,if you want to replace it then Ropsport International England do have replacememts ,at a cost of 34 pounds good luck

[sirmerced]

Thanks guys! The bolt/nut idea is it! Once I get some time I will post the results.

[Tamas Petrunin]

This sounds like good advice , use a stainless steel nut and bolt

Just be careful with stainless fittings, sometimes they will effectively weld themselves together, it's called "galling". My prefered way of avoiding this is by using a lubricant on the threads before assembly, if corrosion is likely then I usually use "denso paste".

Corrosion can still occur with stainless fittings, there are many grades of stainless, the higher the grade the more resistant it is. As a quick and dirty method use a magnet, if it is magnetic then it's a cheaper grade and will rust.

[Stag76]

Stainless Steel bolts only have roughly the same yield strength as
Grade 2 (Low or medium carbon steel) bolts.
Hi-tensile bolts are more suitable.

[FI Spyder]

Depends what strength measurement you are looking at, tensile strength for instance can equal grade 8 bolts. I was just wondering just how much is the force put on these bolts. The weight of the car is on the part in question, some tensile force as they twist the inner fender but I'll bet they aren't that much which is why they (the bolts) aren't that big.