The Story of Lori, Chapter 2

[Lori Dee]

Are these fasteners of the required stress specs?  Some cheapo bolts cannot carry the load.
But perhaps you do not need tank strength!

Yes, I got the specs from the dealership parts department. They could order them for me at $8.42 per bolt. I looked online and could get them for $4.42 per bolt. The home improvement guy helped me find what I needed. The specs only call for 20 ft/lbs of torque, so they will work. As @davina61 can tell you, 20 ft./lbs of torque equals two clicks of your elbow while tightening.

😄

[Maid Marion]

Sometimes you want low hardness bolts that will bend rather than break under the stress.

Sometimes it is a mistake to replace a cheap bolt with an expensive bolt that is harder and more brittle.  A brittle bolt is more likely to break.

[Lori Dee]

Sometimes you want low hardness bolts that will bend rather than break under the stress.

Sometimes it is a mistake to replace a cheap bolt with an expensive bolt that is harder and more brittle.  A brittle bolt is more likely to break.

Thanks, MM. That makes sense. The specs called for stainless steel, but I think that was to prevent them from rusting since they are on the bottom of the vehicle.

[Maid Marion]

The issue with stainless steel is galling when both the nuts and bolts are both stainless.
You won't be able to get them apart!  They become cold welded together!
Best solution is to use different materials for the nuts and bolts.  Or use an anti-seize compound,.

[Lori Dee]

The issue with stainless steel is galling when both the nuts and bolts are both stainless.
You won't be able to get them apart!  They become cold welded together!
Best solution is to use different materials for the nuts and bolts.  Or use an anti-seize compound,.

In this case, it is just the bolts. They screw up into the undercarriage. The alignment studs are black, so I don't know what metal they are, but they have washers and nuts to hold them from wobbling side to side.

[ChrissyRyan]

Lori,


I knew you would need just the bolts because clearly you are not nuts.

With off-road driving, you certainly want the bolts to be strong enough and tight to handle all the bounces.  Perhaps on pothole ridden public streets too!


Chrissy

[Lori Dee]

Lori,


I knew you would need just the bolts because clearly you are not nuts.

With off-road driving, you certainly want the bolts to be strong enough and tight to handle all the bounces.  Perhaps on pothole ridden public streets too!


Chrissy

These are "performance" rock rails. They serve as a small step to climb up into the Jeep, much like a running board would. They protect the area below the doors from rocks, gravel, and potholes, as you said.

Being performance rails, they are very heavy-duty for when four-wheeling over boulders. As the front wheel goes over the boulder, the Jeep could come down on it between the doors. This rail spreads the weight of the vehicle out along its length so no damage is done.

The rail can hold the entire weight of the vehicle if needed, like if there were boulders on each side and the front wheels rolled over them, leaving you in a high-centered situation. This allows the Jeep to slide over rocks, preventing getting stuck.

Sometimes, rock rails are called rock sliders for this reason.

[davina61]

I used stainless fasteners on the Countryman but in low stress areas like wing (fender) and other stuff. Allen heads as well just to "bling" it up a bit. Stainless has a different strength rating to normal bolts, 8.8 is used on most metric but it goes up to 10.5 for suspension stuff (I think thats right of the top of my head) for normal hex head bolts.