When do you try and get one from nissan versus going to home depot and using whats available there?

 

Go to Home Depot or Autozone, if they don't have it, then go to the dealer. The dealer will absolutely rape you on nut/bolt prices. I think I paid $20 for 6 nuts that connected my y-pipe to the manifolds, it was absolutely ridiculous.

 

go to pepboys. the hardware from HD are generally not used for cars.

 

hardware store or parts car at the junkyard, depending on what it is. Some bolts are just easier to find if you take it from the exact same spot on a junkyard car.

manifold studs = dealer

bolts to hold the exhaust together = hardware store. My Home Depot has crap for nuts and bolts. I went to True Value and got some grade 8 metric bolts, instead of some generic SAE from HD (I think they were grade 5). I used the same type of bolts on my sway bar, too.

 

Napa here, normally they have anything I need, plus they normally just throw it at me and tell me to GTFO, I'm not worth the time to ring it up

 

local hardware stores are the best, they usually keep stock of both standard and metric hardware. with these cars, you almost always only use metric. i know a local hardware shop close to me called the do-it center that carries a full line of metric automotive 'grade' hardware. i would assume something similar is around you, like an ace hadrware. really big 'we sell everything for your home' chains often have nothing you need.

 

Walk over to my parts car and pull whatever i need off of it

 

I just use a welder

 

Much love on the welding.

I hate to admit it, but even I (an HD employee) use Ace for just a nut or bolt, easier to get in and out of and noone recgonizes me there. HD is a different thing.

 

You guys down in the states are so lucky to have so much choice. Here in canada we have canadian tire (not much selection, low quality stuff) and for other things we only have small hardware stores that carry nothing, and the usual home depot or reno depot(for us in quebec).

I wish we had an equivalent to pep boys or autozone here.


*Sigh*

 

...mail order from www.biltema.se ...*Sigh*...*Sigh*...*Sigh*

 

if you can't find them locally, fastenal.com can help.

 

I must plead the 5th on where my hardware comes from

 

The Huge bin of bolts ive got from parting out many hondas and nissans

 

That makes me nervous. You a "Midnight Auto" sort of guy???

 

here's a cheap trick....

next time you guys to go the salvage yard for some parts, take a coffee can or bucket with you and just ask if you can wander through the lot and pick up some nuts and bolts.
those places usually just drop them under the cars and leave them. usually they'll just give them away. but even paying $5 for a bucket of bolts that can weigh 10-15lb is cheap. those things cost $3-4 per bolt from Nissan, or $0.50-$2.50 each at the parts store, depending on what size.

 

For those who know me, I'm a mechanic by trade. And as one, you learn of places that are great to get parts.

 

So all these poor peoples car you work on are driving around with only half their nuts-n-bolts that they had before you working on their car??? j/k

 

it's amazing when you do a project how many bolts and nuts come up after you're done. And you're sitting there scracthing your head wondering where they were supposed to go. Of course, a lot of that happens to me because my shop has a very well equiped bench stock.

And the old bolts are still in great shape. so why bother throwing them out

 

ummm, so if the bolts are in great shape, why not put them back in the place they came out of instead of using new ones and charging the customer?

 

it's a long and complicated story, and one I care not dealve too much into. I'll send a PM with the answer Matt. You'll understand a little more.

 

still doens't make sense to me, but I see your point. if they're going to be thrown away anyway, I'd have no problem helping myself as well.

 

I walk over to my parts car, then while im walking away I give it a good wack with my hammer (body is trashed anyway...) for taking so long to get a bolt off...or I dig in my box from my first parts car. hehe.

~Alex