Bolt dims
Just wanted to check back with you guys. I did some poking around in the wrecking yard over the weekend to look at the ball joint bolts.
It started off with, I have a 93 2wd Ramcharger here and the steering arm is for the most part the same as the “A” bodies with the exception of the ball joint goes through the steering arm and on the “A” bodies the ball joint is part of the steering arm.
Anyway, I pulled bolts off of 1971, 77, 82, 85, 90 2wd Dodge trucks and Vans, ½ & ¾ ton. All the ball joint bolts are the same. They are all 5/8” x 2 1/8” long, fine thread, the non threaded shoulder part itself is only ½” long and they are a grade 8 bolt. They are the same diameter from the beginning of the thread all the way up to the head of the bolt within .001. There was nothing special about them and I would suspect that there would be if it was critical because the trucks and Vans have a higher gvw rating on the front suspension compared to the “A” bodies.
The results are that theses bolts are the exact length and diameter that are needed to install the steering arm onto the steering knuckles of the 73 Duster Disc brakes.
I also stopped by the Specialty Bolt Shop and showed them what I was working with. The only way to get a bolt with a long shoulder is to buy a really long bolt with the longer shoulder and cut the extra threaded portion off.
At this point, since I don’t have an original bolt to look at, and going by what I found in the wrecking yard, I am going to assume that they use a standard 5/8' fine thread bolt.
As previously mentioned, the holes on the steering knuckle are 0.6250 on both sides and on the inside hole of the steering arm (where it attaches to the steering knuckle) it is also 0.6250 and on the outside (where the nut is located) it measured larger (I don’t have the spec with me) which means, (I am going to assume) in the aftermarket world it was either cast like this on purpose or quality control is sloppy and I did not order in several brands to compare diameters.
The link for the ebay listing is only a grade 5 bolt and the shoulder doesn't look any longer than what I pulled out of the wrecking yards vehicles.
If anybody has a 73 and newer disc brake setup laying around, pull the bolt out and show us some measurements.
Just wanted to check back with you guys. I did some poking around in the wrecking yard over the weekend to look at the ball joint bolts.
It started off with, I have a 93 2wd Ramcharger here and the steering arm is for the most part the same as the “A” bodies with the exception of the ball joint goes through the steering arm and on the “A” bodies the ball joint is part of the steering arm.
Anyway, I pulled bolts off of 1971, 77, 82, 85, 90 2wd Dodge trucks and Vans, ½ & ¾ ton. All the ball joint bolts are the same. They are all 5/8” x 2 1/8” long, fine thread, the non threaded shoulder part itself is only ½” long and they are a grade 8 bolt. They are the same diameter from the beginning of the thread all the way up to the head of the bolt within .001. There was nothing special about them and I would suspect that there would be if it was critical because the trucks and Vans have a higher gvw rating on the front suspension compared to the “A” bodies.
The results are that theses bolts are the exact length and diameter that are needed to install the steering arm onto the steering knuckles of the 73 Duster Disc brakes.
I also stopped by the Specialty Bolt Shop and showed them what I was working with. The only way to get a bolt with a long shoulder is to buy a really long bolt with the longer shoulder and cut the extra threaded portion off.
At this point, since I don’t have an original bolt to look at, and going by what I found in the wrecking yard, I am going to assume that they use a standard 5/8' fine thread bolt.
As previously mentioned, the holes on the steering knuckle are 0.6250 on both sides and on the inside hole of the steering arm (where it attaches to the steering knuckle) it is also 0.6250 and on the outside (where the nut is located) it measured larger (I don’t have the spec with me) which means, (I am going to assume) in the aftermarket world it was either cast like this on purpose or quality control is sloppy and I did not order in several brands to compare diameters.
The link for the ebay listing is only a grade 5 bolt and the shoulder doesn't look any longer than what I pulled out of the wrecking yards vehicles.
If anybody has a 73 and newer disc brake setup laying around, pull the bolt out and show us some measurements.
