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steel bolts vs stainless steel for attaching axles

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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=12868
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Topic: steel bolts vs stainless steel for attaching axles
Posted By: Happy Tripping
Subject: steel bolts vs stainless steel for attaching axles
Date Posted: 23 May 2019 at 5:28pm
Does anyone know if there is any information/recommendation out there concerning replacing the regular steel bolts that attach the axles to the frame with non-rusting stainless steel ones??



Replies:
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 23 May 2019 at 6:23pm
Not all stainless steel is the same.  You have to be sure you are getting bolts with adequate tensile strength in addition to corrosion resistance.  

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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost


Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 23 May 2019 at 7:20pm
+1
In addition to tensile strength, Stainless Steel seems to be a little more subject to galling and seizing of the threads. I've had stainless steel nuts seize on the bolts.


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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS


Posted By: Toyanvil
Date Posted: 23 May 2019 at 9:54pm
All Stainless Steel bolts and nuts need lube before assembly. Stainless Steel bolts do not have the tensile strength you need for an axle, use grade 8 steel bolts and paint them with good paint.


Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 24 May 2019 at 6:19am
Originally posted by Toyanvil

All Stainless Steel bolts and nuts need lube before assembly. Stainless Steel bolts do not have the tensile strength you need for an axle, use grade 8 steel bolts and paint them with good paint.

SS bolts might be strong enough for the application but I agree with Toyanvil. This is not a good place to use them. Grade 8 steel bolts are stronger and won't gall. 

If you use steel bolts then there won't be a dissimilar metals galvanic corrosion problem between them and the axle and chassis steel brackets. If you use stainless you will be setting yourself up for galvanic corrosion of the brackets because they will be anodic to the stainless steel. 

I'd much rather just paint the steel bolts, inspect them occasional for corrosion, and replace them if necessary than risk corrosion of the brackets, which would be much harder to repair. 



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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold


Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 24 May 2019 at 7:27am
My '48 Buick has regular steel bolts holding the suspension on.. I see no reason to use SS if the grade 8's are going to last 70 years to begin with....

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Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 24 May 2019 at 8:00am
Originally posted by furpod

My '48 Buick has regular steel bolts holding the suspension on.. I see no reason to use SS if the grade 8's are going to last 70 years to begin with....

Depends where you live. Here on the Outer Banks with a hot, humid, salt spray environment, nothing metal short of gold lasts 70 years. More like 10-15 for steel if you're diligent about flushing with fresh water, painting, and using a water displacement material to fill all exposed cracks and crevices. I spray the bottom of my vehicles with Fluid Film a couple of times a year and that seems to help quite a bit. 


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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold


Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 24 May 2019 at 8:45am
Another thing that puzzles me regarding the use of SS bolts:  The brackets are still regular steel and are pretty thin, and are welded to an even thinner trailer frame.  Seems to me that the brackets and such would still fail from oxidation and all you're doing is moving the point of failure to a different location, kinda like putting one SS link in a steel chain.  I could be wrong, but most steel bridges and such, certainly exposed to the elements, use steel bolts.  I should call one of my friends at Iron Workers 377 to check.  

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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost


Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 24 May 2019 at 9:11am
Originally posted by lostagain

Another thing that puzzles me regarding the use of SS bolts:  The brackets are still regular steel and are pretty thin, and are welded to an even thinner trailer frame.  Seems to me that the brackets and such would still fail from oxidation and all you're doing is moving the point of failure to a different location, kinda like putting one SS link in a steel chain.  I could be wrong, but most steel bridges and such, certainly exposed to the elements, use steel bolts.  I should call one of my friends at Iron Workers 377 to check.  

+1. That was exactly my point. You're creating a dissimilar metals corrosion problem where there wasn't one, and that problem results in the trailer and axle bracket steel now being sacrificial to the SS bolt. Since those are big bolts connecting to relatively thin steel its not good. 


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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold


Posted By: Happy Tripping
Date Posted: 24 May 2019 at 11:48am
Thanks to all, this is very useful information.


Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 24 May 2019 at 5:53pm
+2 to OffGrid.

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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."



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