Where The Hell Did This Bolt Come From!!!

[EVO-00X]

For the washer to be bent like that it looks like its been run over in the past and most probably pre-existing on the road. Maybe it bounced around inside your wheel arch causing a rattle for a second or so until it flung out and landed onto the road?

I cant recall any spacers on bolts of that size other than the crossmember so its not from the front of the car thats for sure. Then again when dropping the rear diff and tank out I cant recall ever seeing a bolt like that either.

The metal spacer on the bolt must have had a rubber around it as thats why they are used for - to stop rubber from compressing too much when you tighten up the bolt. The threaded end of the bolt also indicates to me that it was a rather difficult bolt to get into place and several attempts have been made to get it in. Therefore I reckon chances are it used to hold up a car's exhaust system and the spacer went through a black rubber '8' mount. People often thread the ends of bolts when doing up exhaust systems as they try to make the hole in the rubber mount align with the thread [whilst strenuously holding the exhaust in the right spot) and end up putting the bolt in on an angle hoping that it grabs the thread after a few dud goes at it.

 

[bazeng]

I was thinking an exhaust hanger bolt, but a 17mm head?

 

[Dean]

im pretty sure it came off my car, it rattled a fair bit.. then just dropped.
exhaust might be a possibility, as is suspension, crossmember, mounts etc etc!!
agggggghhhhhh!!

 

[Dean]

its got a little 7 stamped on the top of it, which is def mitsubishi.
my crossmember bolts have the same 7 stamped on them, which leads me to think jon is correct... i'll suss it out on the hoist.

 

[JAP63]

I still got bets on it being out of the rear cradle assembly, I seen plenty of bolts like this when i took the vr4 cradle out of the car, especially the bolts that hold the main rubber floor mounts.
The 7 on the head proves its automotive, and its likely a mitsi bolt, but like i said earlier and EVO-OOX mentioned, the washer is bent the wrong way, maybe from being run over, but i wont be suprised if it isnt off ur car at all, the way that load washer is bent......

 

[Dean]

oh nah the washer came completely off, maybe when i put it back on i put it the wrong way round.

 

[cblancergsr]

the 7 on the head of the bolt doesnt exactly mean its automotive, that is the strength of the bolt

 

[JAP63]

the 7 on the head of the bolt doesnt exactly mean its automotive, that is the strength of the bolt

As far as i know,markings for bolt strengths for standard industry, not automotive are,

Metric-4.9,8.8,10.9,12.9

I think the 7 refers to being automotive, either its a stamp for strentgth specifically used in automoitive industry, or it refers to the placement of the bolt on the car, or like i said it could be a mitsi thing...ive seen 3 also on my mitsi

 

[cblancergsr]

if you have a look at it most industries have a similar strength needed,
for automotive youll find number 7 bolts on every car depending on where you look but 3s youll mostly find on rockercovers or low torque required bolts
i learnt this in tafe and im pretty sure ive still got the printouts showing all the information its all 1st year mechanic information

 

[JAP63]

if you have a look at it most industries have a similar strength needed,
for automotive youll find number 7 bolts on every car depending on where you look but 3s youll mostly find on rockercovers or low torque required bolts
i learnt this in tafe and im pretty sure ive still got the printouts showing all the information its all 1st year mechanic information

Learn something every day, i work with usual industrial stuff, so '7' is an automotive strength indicator then, as is '3'?

If ive ever replaced a bolt on a car, ive never gone to mitsi to buy it, ive just gone with usually an 8.8 or 10.9

 

[cblancergsr]

yer thats the thing genuine bolts cost too much
soo you can get bolts that are stronger and cheaper at the same time

 

[JSTYLE]

was looking around for something can across this...

hehehe.. its def a rear gearbox subframe bolt!

Jon

 

[Dean]

thats the one!!
ben - GIMQIK confirmed it for me last night aswell, same thing happened to him lol.
Thanks Jon for all your input through my dilemna

 

[JSTYLE]

thats the one!!
ben - GIMQIK confirmed it for me last night aswell, same thing happened to him lol.
Thanks Jon for all your input through my dilemna

no problems.... use locktite or do it up tight..
do you have solid bushes? if so thats what might of rattled it free!

jon

 

[cblancergsr]

use locktite red and do it up FUCKING TIGHT and for a piece of mind double check that the bolts are tight with a breaker bar

 

[JAP63]

Replace the bolt if you can, the first few threads are shagged, and dont reef shit out of it, youll likely damge/snap/stretch threads...The last thing you want is screwed threads in the chassis (read:nightmare)if its 12mm and moderate strength rated, it will go to around 80-90Nm, which is a fair push on say a 1/2 inch ratchet.

Good luck with it.Hopefully you dont have to go backing off the other bolts to get it to line up, and use 222 or 243 loctite if you can, dont go using any other shit like 560 or 680, u'll never get it out again.