so I was working on RX last night and was assembling front struts to ball joints. and everything was going way way to smooth. then out of blue I could not find either of the 4 bolts that hold the struts to the lower arm on the ball joint.

both sides are missing, I rember them dearly they are two different sizes one long and one shorter. cannot find those 4 bolts anywhere.

anyone have theres apart to measure or know what size I should go out and get.

thanks

 

What year and build?

 

the nuckle is from a 1979 SA and the struts are from 85 GSL-SE.

so I need the bolts for them I guess for the 85 gsl-se

 

Checked the parts fiche; the bolts from 79-85 are all the same; the rear bolt is longer than the front.

Mazda part references 997811225 (front) 997811235 (rear).

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a reference to the actual measurement... but Black Dragon does list them in their latest online catalog (around page 62, 63) for about $3.00 each.

So if all else fails, you can get them there. or maybe your mazda dealer can look up the specs for you.

 

If you have the car (and you do since you were working on it -- right?), you can thread a bolt into the hole that fits, then take it to your hardware store to get the diameter and pitch. As for the length, measure from the flat on the bottom of the ball joint mating flange to the top of the strut housing mounting flange. Add about 5mm to be safe. You'll want to use lock washers under the head to prevent loosening.

What you can't measure is the grade of the missing bolts. Since this is a suspension part, you want to use fasteners that are equal to or stronger than the originals. For that reason, I'd lean toward getting some OEM bolts (either new or from a junk yard) or finding an OEM bolt so you can read the numbers on it.