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Posted by Matt Wilson [173.74.0.32] on Wednesday, July 04, 2012 at 17:58:37 :
I saw some posts farther down from several days ago and I responded, but not sure if anyone saw it, so I'll repeat here. Maybe it'll help someone.
You guys might be interested to know that the original bolts that held the ring gear to the differential case were close to Grade 8.
I had one of bolts hardness tested in the metallurgy lab at the company where I work. The Rockwell "C" hardness was 31, which is approximately equivalent to 141,000 psi ultimate strength (some sources say as high as 145,000 psi). Grade 8 is 150,000 psi, while Grade 5 is only 120,000 psi, so the original ring gear bolt looks to be only a touch lower than a Grade 8 bolt in terms of strength. Also, if I recall correctly, the torque specs for the original bolts are very close to those of Grade 8 bolts.
Just thought this might help those of you who are trying to decide which bolt type to use in this application. Just take care not to overheat the bolt when cutting off the part of the head to make it fit next to the ring gear, or else you'll degrade the heat treat and lose the benefit of the high strength.
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