I took my FSTB off yesterday to paint the plates on the strut towers. After about an hour of Liquid Wrench, pliers, wrenches, and some serious frustration, take a look at the bolt which holds the plates to the strut bar. This is the original bolt, now replaced with a real bolt with some anti-seize grease.





How about that for some $hit?

 

had same problem when installing the bar
you are lucky they broke those bolts are hardened steel . I went through two saws all blades cutting them off

 

you know what....a member suggested me to take those bolts off and buy better ones from hardware stores...thoes are really light compared with the ones from hardware store.

 

That is if you can get them off
good luck

 

Is it jus the Courtesy FSTB, or do other generic ones use similar bolts?

 

the bolt that connects the plate and the bar? those are easy-off...well, before it turn into that(the pic on top).

 

Hmm.. I have similar looking bolts on my FSTB (directcarparts) and haven't had problems yet *knock on wood*

although, they do look scratched already.

as far as changing them, would the peeps @ home depot know what i'm talking about? is there a proper name for this bolt?

 

My original set of Courtesy bar bolts did the same. They were replaced with generic. When I swapped the Courtesy bar for a Stillen there was no problem with the hardware store variety bolts. It was a hassle if nothing else.

 

I seen it happen to a friend as well. Looks like the courtesy bolts are chromed or treated and this makes them weaker.

We broke them trying to take the FSTB off to install springs.

 

I replaced them with good steel bolts and nylon ring lock nuts.

 

I did the same thing to one of my Courtesy FSTB bolts when I was removing it.

 

Don't buy it it Home Depot. Go to an auto parts store (Pep Boys is good if their bins are in stock) or fastener supplier and ask for a graded fastener... for this application grade 5 is ok, grade 8 looks to be overkill.

It's an allen head socket screw, can't tell the size so take the old one with you to match it. The unthreaded shoulder isn't important, but you might try to match that too. Threading is UNC from the looks, but that doesn't matter because you should get a nut to match the bolt. If you don't get a self-lock nut be sure to also get a lock washer. The lock washer goes under the nut, not the bolt head.

Try to get CRES (Corrosion REsistant Steel, stainless) if you can (it looks good without the cheap chome plating that friction welds) but you'll probably just find oxide (blackend and rusts easily) or cadmium plated (gold/yellow in color).

A piece of advice for anyone replacing automotive fasteners... stay away from Home Depot. The ones in my area at least do not sell graded high strength fasteners, only low strength fasteners. You'll find out when you try to put a torque on one.

BuddyWh

 

Same thing happened to me. If your getting new bolts you have to get carbon steel ones the will never strip or sieze.

 

A graded bolt will have obvious lines, and sometimes a letter/number combination on the head. Generally, the more lines, the stronger the bolt.

Be aware that there are 'graded' bolts coming out of asia that are *not* hardened, but marked as if they were. Go to a quality automotive/aeromotive supply store.

(I can scan a page with the marking on 'em if someone wants it. I can't find a link online. The page is from ANSI B18.2.1-1981, Appendix III.)

 

It's a 3/8 x 16, match the length, hex or allen head. Stainless with never seize would be a good choice. The problem is one of show rather than go - chrome plated hardware is a no-no! (Note, NASCAR banned chrome plated steel wheels because they were brittle enough to break during a race!) Actually, the Courtesy bolts work fine - once!

 

Same exact thing happened to me, and I have a generic "no-name" FSTB.
And yes, bolts look just the same.

 

How long did you have the FSTB on before the bolts broke?

 

I can't remember the exact timeframe, but my car just has over 10K miles on it and I took the FSTB off about six months ago to work on the struts/springs.

 

the exact same thing happened to RU4real when we installed his AGX's. we couldn't get them off and we finally just pulled till it broke. what a cheap hunk.

 

They don't break until you try to take them off.