Fasteners for drive shaft

**Tony Radford** · January 21st, 2006, 04:22 AM

Can someone give me the size of the four fasteners that secure the drive shaft to the rear end? Alan mentioned grade 8 and 3/8". Is that standard 3/8-16? What is the length. Flat and split washers? I've only got two holding it right now and I'd like to carry the car and hardware to a shop with a lift for installation.

**Brent** · January 21st, 2006, 07:29 AM

They would be 3/8-24 fine thread

Grade 8 for sure

No split washers!!

Use flat washers on both sides with RED Locktite

Length is around 1" if I remember correctly.

**Poorboy** · January 21st, 2006, 08:24 AM

They are 3/8 X 1 1/16 S.A.E.. Jag did not use any washers. They used a self locking nut like a Nyloc. The stock Jag bolt has a shoulder that extends thru the drive shafe flange into the differential flange. It is 7/16 from the underside of the bolt head to the threads. I found that on a 3/8 X 1 3/4 bolt the shoulder is 9/16 which will work, you have to cut the bolt off at 1 1/16. The shoulder is 3/8s of an inch in dia. the threads are not which will allow the flange to work back and forth and loosen. I have attached a couple of pics. the bolt I cut in the picture is a standard thread, the other one is an orignal out of a Jag drive shaft.

**Tony Radford** · January 21st, 2006, 09:03 AM

Can't ask for more details than that. Thanks guys. I'll break out the hacksaw and do some bolt modifyin'!

**Jim Harding** · January 21st, 2006, 09:49 AM

Hate to disagree with Brent, but do not use RED thread locker on anything that you might want to disassemble "easily". Whether made by Loctite or Permatex, this red stuff requires applying heat and a long breaker bar/socket to disassemble it... every time! The red is considered a "permanent" locker, and is recommended for use on things like rocker arm studs, body bolts, and other things that probably will not require disassembly during it's normal life. Better to use the blue stuff.... it'll lock the threads and can be loosened easier just with normal hand tools.

**Brent** · January 21st, 2006, 11:21 AM

Don't "hate to disagree" with me. My wife certainly has no remorse about it. (-:

You are correct that blue will probably perform the task just fine and red may be overkill.

**Jim Harding** · January 21st, 2006, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by Brent

Don't "hate to disagree" with me. My wife certainly has no remorse about it. (-:

I must have married her sister.............

**ralphscott** · January 21st, 2006, 04:24 PM

My Gosh Triplets! the third one is my wife Gayle.

Ralph

**eliminator** · January 23rd, 2006, 02:12 PM

Make sure the Nylok nuts are grade 8 also. The flat washers need to be hardned flat washers, not just a flat washer. The flat washer will insure the torque value is true. I would recommend using them.

**Tony Radford** · January 24th, 2006, 09:19 AM

You guys are killing me. Now I'm going to have to go to NASA to some drive shaft bolts. The Lunar Escape Module only uses Grade 5.

**nolastyankee** · January 24th, 2006, 11:25 AM

If you are buying grade 8 at a specialty fastener store you may want to look into stover nuts instead of nylock. A stover is a locking nut that doesn't use nylon to stay on the fastener. This is the same type as used on the Jag rear end at all critical points such as the pivot arms and to hold on the rear drive shafts and rotors onto the center section. They're impervious to heat and the nylon will not degrade over time. (although the driveshaft area is not really bad for heat...)

BTW...That over-engineering comment from another thread applies here too. Our car is full of stover nuts...

**JeepSnake** · January 24th, 2006, 04:03 PM

Brian - re: "stover" nuts.

Is this the name for the nuts that seem to be "pinched," so that the threaded hole almost appears oblong?

Just curious, as these are the type nuts used on nearly all of the suspension bolts on the Chevelle. On some of them, you can even pick out a pair of marks, similar to center punch marks, on opposing flats of the hex where the nut has received this "pinched" treatment to make it lock.

Just curious, as I don't guess I've encountered them anywhere but on a car.

**nolastyankee** · January 24th, 2006, 05:13 PM

Zach,
I have seen the 'pinched' nuts that you refer to, and a Stover is different. They have a slightly disrupted thread at the tail end of the nut that does the locking. They are most easily identified by the 'taper' at the end of the nut...I'll try to get a picture tonight.

**nolastyankee** · January 24th, 2006, 06:03 PM

See picture below...Grade 8 stover lock nut, standard nylon lock nut, standard grade 8 nut.

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