Door Hinge Strap Bolt

[Qavion]

Just wondering if anyone has changed one of these recently? My current one is bent. It's the bolt which attaches to a fixture on the door pillar which holds one end of the linkage which stops the door opening too wide. It's an M8 45mm long bolt with a 1.5 mm thread pitch. Google seems to think that this type of bolt doesn't exist (outside the Lotus world)

The DeRoures catalogue shows that they have some in stock, but I ordered this part from a local Lotus dealer and it was too short.

(Lotus P/N A075W2040Z)

Thanks,

Ian

[eeyoreish]

Surely one of the bolt suppliers on eBay must have these?

I'd message a few of them if you can't find any listed. Can't believe its a Lotus only bolt!

[Qavion]

I spent a few hours on eBay and Google looking for one, and all I came up with were taps and dies for cutting this thread.

 

The coarser thread only seems to apply to bolts larger than M8. Oh, and even for regular bolts, some of these eBay companies are charging UKP2 for the bolt and UKP30 for international postage. If DeRoures do have the exact part, they will be the cheapest seller on the market (factoring in postage).

 

Cheers

Ian.

[eeyoreish]

Sorry for the obvious question but have you measured the thread pitch on the bolt to check what it actually is or just taken the info from DeRoure? Just thinking it could be a typo...?

 

No possibility of re-tapping the thread in the plate?

 

Seems odd that they would use such an oddball thread for no good reason, unless it's a part taken from another car. In which case you just need to find out which one.

[Qavion]

The thread pitch on the old bolt can't be measured accurately due to the damage to the bolt. The local replacement bolt seems to match the door thread perfectly. This I measured at 1.5mm pitch (I counted 10 threads in 15mm). There are no pitch specs on the DeRoures' item (also one of my concerns)

I'm not sure what you mean by retapping the door, unless you mean drilling a bigger hole for a bigger bolt. To do this, I would probably have to take the door off due to space limitations.

I'll see what DeRoures send me before going down that path.

Thanks

Cheers

Ian.

[eeyoreish]

Re-drilling and tapping to a larger size would definitely have to be a last resort.

 

Hopefully the Deroure's one will be correct.

 

There's a bolt specialist local to me in Southampton (http://www.thunderbolts.co.uk/index.htm). It may be worth sending them an email to find out if M8s are actually available in a 1.5 pitch if you're out of other options.

[DanR]

Try http://www.mitchellsengineerssupplies.com.au/

 

He should have it.

 

I had the same problem with my bolts bending. I made an additional bracket support so it worked in double shear instead of the weaker OEM single shear design.

[Qavion]

Thanks guys. No response from Thunderbolt yet and Mitchells don't have what I need (but offered to manufacture one... after purchasing dies for the thread.. An expensive solution, however.

 

Cheers

Ian

Edited May 15, 2015 by Qavion

[sanj]

It is a standard M8 bolt (1.25mm pitch). I'm fairly certain there is no such thing as an M8x1.5mm bolt.

[Vulcan Grey]

It's been a long time, but I replaced mine before I bought my car, bought some probably SAE bolts and nuts at a local hardware store while on the test drive in Tennessee...

 

IIRC , it's just a through hole and its a bolt with a nut, so you could also use a 5/16 bolt and nut, or as Sanj says a M8x1.25.

 

[DanR]

Is that the bolt that's bending? I thought you were talking about the other end where it attaches to the anti-intrusion bar.

 

Like Travis says try a 5/16x24 UNF.

[sanj]

He's referring to the vertical bolt in the center of Travis' photo, which is threaded both into the black block and the nut above. It is not a through-hole, so you have to use an M8.

[Vulcan Grey]

ah, ok. I didn't remember the other part (other than the nut) being threaded.

[Chillidoggy]

You know what would help? Some photos of the offending bolt!

[Qavion]

Thanks guys... problem sorted.

 

On my SE, the bolt shown in Travis' photo actually screws into the block above it. I don't know why, but my car doesn't have an open hole. The top few mm's of the block is threaded.

 

The old bolt for some reason is really messed up. Most of the thread is chewed up and it has a distinct arc in it, making it difficult to measure the pitch or the diameter. It's like the bolt has worked loose in the past and the tie bar has been eroding the entire length. My local Repco store has a rack of female receptacles into which you can screw your old bolts to check their sizes. Unfortunately, it would bind in all closest sized receptacles after a few turns (it could have been because of the damage or because the pitch was wrong... I didn't know which). 

 

I was focusing too much on the Parts Manual which said it was a metric M8 bolt. However, finally, I managed to get a suitable 5/8'' UNC (coarse) bolt today and it was a perfect fit.

 

Thanks for your help, guys.

 

Cheers

Ian.

[Qavion]

P.S. Just wondering if this bolt looks original...

 

 

Despite the pic, only the first 3~4 threads are usable

Edited May 16, 2015 by Qavion

[Chillidoggy]

I think they're called banana bolts. The thread is Analusian Goat Herder's Tapir Fine.

[Chillidoggy]

No wait, I think it's Venezuelan Beaver thread. Yes, I'm sure that's it.

[Qavion]

and it was a perfect fit.

 

 

Actually, the new bolt wasn't as perfect as I thought. I just tested the first few threads. The bolt got tighter the more it went into the block. Either the thread has been damaged or it was a weird size to start with. Whitworth?

Edited May 22, 2015 by Qavion

[sanj]

Once again, it is an M8x1.25mm bolt. The one you took out is not standard. The threads may indeed be damaged, but putting the wrong bolt in is not going to help the situation.

[Qavion]

Indeed, Sanj...

 

DeRoures have just sent me an M8 x 1.25mm bolt. I'll have a quick try at fitting that, but I won't push my luck. The current bolt is quite snug and is not going to go anywhere in a hurry.

 

Cheers

Ian.