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Grade 5 bolts v Grade 8 bolts

daddycreswell

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Jul 30, 2011
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Lebanon, TN
I'm installing new seat belt cables, the stock ones are a little short. Only bolts I can find are grade 5 to replace them with locally. Will grade 5 work or should I order some grade 8 bolts?

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 

br0nc0xrapt0r

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Sep 28, 2007
Messages
5,437
I'm installing new seat belt cables, the stock ones are a little short. Only bolts I can find are grade 5 to replace them with locally. Will grade 5 work or should I order some grade 8 bolts?

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Depends on size vs force against it, most would say grade 8. I tend to agree.
 

dunacn1

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Apr 25, 2013
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Holland, PA
I was looking to order some grade 8 bolts and this video popped up. The impression I get from this video is the 5 is as good as the 8. I am going to run to TSC before I order some, but thought it was interesting none the less.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVndKEtazNg

The only thing that would have made this "experiment" more scientific, is if the guy with the hammer wore a lab coat.
 

bmc69

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Considering that the rated load for either grade in the size range for seat belts (3/8" to 1/2") would be enough for the belts to fail first....or cut you in half...before the bolt(s) fail, I typically use good quality Grade 5 bolts in most places without any reservation (and because that is what we stock in the shop..I'd have to go purchased Grade 8s)
 

asinor

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May 13, 2011
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Tulsa, OK
The seatbelt will cut you in half far before either will fail.

Seatbelt bolts are generally very specific bolts. 7/16 fine (thank you for the correction) BHCS with a Torx (I think T50) and a specific shoulder.

Lowes or Home Depot should have a standard grade 8 Hex bolt that will work.

Unless I want a specific failure point, I use Grade 8 whenever I can. Example: I'd rather break the bolts holding my winch on than ripping the frame horns off.
 
Last edited:

okie4570

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The seatbelt will cut you in half far before either will fail.

Seatbelt bolts are generally very specific bolts. 7/16 fine (thank you for the correction) BHCS with a Torx (I think T50) and a specific shoulder.

Lowes or Home Depot should have a standard grade 8 Hex bolt that will work.

Unless I want a specific failure point, I use Grade 8 whenever I can. Example: I'd rather break the bolts holding my winch on than ripping the frame horns off.

^^^^^This. Here's an example of the force a grade five can take. Each plow bottom has a sheer bolt that will break, letting the plow pop up out of the ground if it hits something too hard. Rarely does a grade five ever break, and that's dropping a plow in the ground 13" deep, going a little over 6mph..............that's a lot of force on a 7/16 bolt too.
 

asinor

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Have a car dealership with a parts dept?
7/16 fine thread is pretty much a standard size front floor board mounted seat belt bolt across domestic vehicles.
 

bobscott

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Mar 18, 2013
Messages
310
I hear what folks are saying about the stronger the better but in this case I think Gr5 is just fine. This may be a bit eggheaded but I am an engineer. Please forgive my mashing up of numbers, kinda a hobby.

The bolts are not repeatedly loaded so you don't need to worry about fatigue. The difference between Gr8 and Gr5 is that Gr8 has a ultimate strength of 150,000 psi where Gr5 is 120,000 psi in 1" of less diameter. Say you use 1/2" bolts the Gr5 bolt is good for 23,500 lbs, where the Gr8 is good for 29,500 lbs (in tension). So if we take this further and put into real world terms, say you are a 250lb fella. If your entire body weight was taken in tension on the bolts in a crash you would be looking at the difference of the bolt breaking at 92g or 120g. 92g is decelerating from 206mph in 0.1 seconds where 120g is decelerating from 260mph in 0.1 seconds. Either way you are a quivering pool of mush so I don't think the bolt will be a concern.

PS, in case anyone is wondering how to visualize what the 1 trillion we spend on stimulus would look like, picture this. The White House has a plan area of 55,000sq.ft. If you stacked up 1 dollar bills in the WH footprint it would be a stack 729' tall. Sorry, like I said eggheaded.
 

00gyrhed

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Aug 3, 2006
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2,428
I buy all my bolts at tractor supply. Well at least when they have a size I can use. They sell all their bolts by the pound and by color. Doesn't matter how many or what size you get. silver is G2, green is G5, gold is G8. Just throw them in a bag and go pay by the pound.

Grade 5 is actually good for almost everything you would do on a Bronco. There are some that will tell you a Grade 5 is actually better suited to an impact load than a G8. I'm not going to argue that either way. I tend to buy almost everything G5 these days but sometimes I buy G8 a lot of grade 8 1/4-20s because I use a lot of them fabbing things up that could probably be better done with G2 5/16, but I like the smaller bolt heads.
 

blubuckaroo

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Jun 11, 2007
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11,795
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Ridgefield WA
The world has gone grade 8 and stainless crazy. There's a lot of salesmanship here. I'll only listen to a real engineer with the sheepskin to prove it. Grade 5 can flex more before it breaks. ;)
 

Fireball05

Bronco Guru
Joined
Oct 7, 2012
Messages
1,822
The OEM bolts have a nice shoulder that allows the belt to pivot around. I doubt you can find something similar at a local parts store or even HW store. 7/16 fine thread, yes. 7/16-20 with a shoulder, very doubtful.

This may or may not matter depending on what type of belts you're putting in.
 
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