Jeep JK Wrangler Grade 8 Replacement Bolts - Do I Really Need Them?

YellowJK

New member
That leads me to question how they were "falling out" if they were properly torqued. What specification guide were you using? What kind of torque wrench do you have? Where you using any kind of extension?

The only ones to actually fall out were the right LCA and the sway bar link twice. LCA was on the trail and link was the following weekend somewhere because it wasn't on when home. The ones that were loose were the trac bars and a few arms. Having even used Red some how.

As far as Torque wrench, it's a snap on. On a few I actually was using an extension which if I remember was the trac bar so that probably explains that. The specs were to the lift that I have. All in all, these make me feel better regardless if they were a useless buy. Not having to worry for the last few months is worth the $100 spent.
 

Imchasinyou

New member
I dont regret it

I did go and buy them. I didnt buy the sets sold by others for 80+. I went to a local fastener store here in Columbus. Columbus Fasteners. I gave them the sizes I found listed on the page of one of the vendors and they had them all.

Here is why i chose to do this even though if properly torqued, they should not move by the simple clamping force. When installing my lift, one of the bushing sleeves was pretty worn. That told me the bolt had either not been torqued from the factory, the previous owner in Alaska had taken it out for some reason or a tech had not properly torqued it when he/she did service in this area. These bolts fit perfectly and have absolutely no slop in any direction. I still have my stock bolts in my trail kit. I think I paid about $26 for every bolt. UCA, LCA and both ends of both track bars. The new bolts are as strong, fit better and, well, cant hurt anything. I have them installed, torqued and locked with blue.

I have a RC 4" lift on the JK and that kit called for removing the steel tabs on the LCA mounts to install the cam bolts. Stupidly, I did just that and could never get a good setting on the castor. Once set, they would still move out of the 4* setting i had them at. This made me leery of driving the Jeep at any speeds above 40 as even just a pot hole could knock this castor setting out on me even properly torqued to 125 ft lbs with a Snap-On torque wrench that gets stored at 0 when not in use. Synergy Engineering's eliminator kit and the new bolts have this issue fixed for me. Ive never had to look back at them.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
These bolts fit perfectly and have absolutely no slop in any direction.

Guess you didn't read the thread before chiming in as if you had, you would know that if your bolts are properly torqued, there would be NO "slop". If slop or keeping your untightened bolts from moving around their holes was the only thing that mattered, there would be no need for "torque" specs.

The new bolts are as strong...

This is not true. A metric 10.9 bolt is technically ever so slightly stronger than a grade 8 but really, that's a moot point.

I still have my stock bolts in my trail kit.

Can't imagine why. I mean, the bolts you bought are so much stronger and fit so much better, you should never have a need for weak and sloppy fitting factory bolts.
 

Superfly3176

New member
Just to chime in that so many people believe this. Really if jeep could have fixed this "massive" issue for a few dollars they would have.

Let's be realistic, it's easier and cheaper to fix an issue than to deal with lawsuits.

Therefore I have to figure that this isn't an issue at all.
 
This is the first time I'm hearing this. I put in the grade 8 bolt kit from Northridge about a year ago...no issues yet, bushings are not worn all around. But I'm glad I found this thread because I will pay close attention to these things now. Question would be, if I keep these grade 8 bolts properly torqued on a regular basis, is there any reason to think this will cause my jeep harm? Or do I need to go out and find the factory bolts and revert sooner than later? I don't even know what I did with them honestly...
 

2nd.gunman

Caught the Bug
This is the first time I'm hearing this. I put in the grade 8 bolt kit from Northridge about a year ago...no issues yet, bushings are not worn all around. But I'm glad I found this thread because I will pay close attention to these things now. Question would be, if I keep these grade 8 bolts properly torqued on a regular basis, is there any reason to think this will cause my jeep harm? Or do I need to go out and find the factory bolts and revert sooner than later? I don't even know what I did with them honestly...

You won't have any issues with the grade 8 bolts if properly torqued. It's just that they are a totally unnecessary "upgrade".
 

still in school

New member
Newbie here.. Just wanted to chime in and say that I'm thankful for encountering this thread before hitting the "pay" button on the bolts.

I had the death wobble going into work yesterday and I about to order these bolts. Instead, saw this thread and went home and sure enough, my track bolts were loose. +1 for wayalife!:rock:
 

dillard09

New member
Newbie here.. Just wanted to chime in and say that I'm thankful for encountering this thread before hitting the "pay" button on the bolts.

I had the death wobble going into work yesterday and I about to order these bolts. Instead, saw this thread and went home and sure enough, my track bolts were loose. +1 for wayalife!:rock:

Rite on! I bet that stoked ya, fixed problem and saved money.
 

Ddays

Hooked
Ironically I came across an offroad shop's website today while I was entertaining myself while stuck at a trade show all day. This is actually directly from their website;

"It does not take much for your 07-11' Jeep Wrangler JK to develop steering and ride quality issues. Simple bolt on suspension upgrades like a budget boost or leveling kit have been known to cause bump steer and death wobble. This is caused by a number of reasons, and simply adding a heavy duty steering stabilizer/dampener isn't the right solution.

The right way to fix this often difficult to troubleshoot problem can be as simple as a Grade-8 Hardware upgrade."

I won't say the shop name because that would be 'Rebel lious' of me, but to me, this is irresponsible. Yeah I know it says "can be as simple as" but the average guy that just shit his pants having experienced death wobble for the first time would come across this & think what a great deal this was. :naw:
 

swampdog

New member
Ironically I came across an offroad shop's website today while I was entertaining myself while stuck at a trade show all day. This is actually directly from their website;

"It does not take much for your 07-11' Jeep Wrangler JK to develop steering and ride quality issues. Simple bolt on suspension upgrades like a budget boost or leveling kit have been known to cause bump steer and death wobble. This is caused by a number of reasons, and simply adding a heavy duty steering stabilizer/dampener isn't the right solution.

The right way to fix this often difficult to troubleshoot problem can be as simple as a Grade-8 Hardware upgrade."

I won't say the shop name because that would be 'Rebel lious' of me, but to me, this is irresponsible. Yeah I know it says "can be as simple as" but the average guy that just shit his pants having experienced death wobble for the first time would come across this & think what a great deal this was. :naw:

Yeah, it's pretty shitty marketing angle for sure. It says a lot about the company.
 

JKbrick

Active Member
Yeah, it's pretty shitty marketing angle for sure. It says a lot about the company.

Don't remember the company but a friend was having bump steer and he sent me a link for a "death wobble kit" and ask me if he should buy it. We did a drag link flip and checked all his bolts and after an alignment it's perfectly fine
 

Tomb1957

New member
Funny, this non-issue and thread is what led me to becoming a member here. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience at your finger tips. Also, the way the Trolls get handled is priceless.
 

xman4602

New member
Ok after reading all this, I admit to buying into the grade 8 craze. That being said my build is still pending completion. I have these bolts in place but have not tightened them yet. Would you guys recommend actually removing them in favor of the stock bolts or since they are there now would you tighten them and rock n roll?


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
 

GraniteCrystal

New member
Ok after reading all this, I admit to buying into the grade 8 craze. That being said my build is still pending completion. I have these bolts in place but have not tightened them yet. Would you guys recommend actually removing them in favor of the stock bolts or since they are there now would you tighten them and rock n roll?


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
If they didn't cost that much, I'd just tighten them and go. Not hurting anything, just not needed.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Build thread: http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=32769
 

WJCO

Meme King
Ok after reading all this, I admit to buying into the grade 8 craze. That being said my build is still pending completion. I have these bolts in place but have not tightened them yet. Would you guys recommend actually removing them in favor of the stock bolts or since they are there now would you tighten them and rock n roll?


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app

If they didn't cost that much, I'd just tighten them and go. Not hurting anything, just not needed.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Build thread: http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=32769

Agreed. Tighten them up.
 
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