Originally Posted By: Kestas
Except for wheel bolts, I've rarely seen special bolt metallurgy. The only thing special about suspension bolts may be the architecture (or shape) of the bolt.
When I made that comment I wasn't referring necessarily to space age materials science. Instead I meant things like a particular piece being specifically softer than another so any kind of failure is at a specific point. Or, for instance, made from different metals altogether. My suspension hardware is probably aluminum, just like the suspension itself is, because it doesn't rust. It could also have a certain kind of coating on it which looks like aluminum (it's not stainless steel, or zinc plated). The OP was talking about replacement because they were all rusty. Should I go to the hardware store and buy some steel bolts and throw them in? Does the OP know exactly the material and hardness of everything he's looking to replace?
Unless the rust is severe, most of the bolts might be able to be cleaned acceptably. Every suspension procedure I've read tells the mechanic to replace the nuts because they're often one of various kinds of locking nuts that shouldn't be reused. If the OP can clean up the original bolts, replace the nuts with OE (as instructed to) and then do a little rust proofing after assembly he would save a lot of cash versus replacing everything with OE and still have exactly the correct parts.
