u bolts

[greasemonkey]

Does anyone know what kind of u bolts I need to get for front and rear suspension on my truck? I need the 4 that hold the lower front control arms to the crossmember, and the two that hold the rear axle to the trailing arms. I can get ubolts at the hardware store, but I don't know if there is a specific grade/type bolt I need to get. I don't want to reuse the old ones, they're kinda rusty and probably weakened from 35 years of use.
Thanks,
John

[Tx Firefighter]

Front ones from GM dealer. Do not use hardware store junk for this. You need top quality.

Rear ones from any spring shop. Look in your local phone book for one.

[greasemonkey]

Thanks Tx Firefighter. I asked at Autozone if they had them, but the old lady (manager) just looked at me like she didn't know what ubolts were.

[chevytruckfan]

Originally Posted by greasemonkey

Thanks Tx Firefighter. I asked at Autozone if they had them, but the old lady (manager) just looked at me like she didn't know what ubolts were.

Yea most of the time they do that, but they dont sell them. For the rear you need 3" ubolt and you can get them from Summit, Jegs, or a local auto shop that specializes in performance or rod and custom shop. As for the front 4X4's use the same thing 3" u bolts. 2wd's the lower a arms are bolted to the crossmemeber with regular bolts. You can get at the local hardware store just make sure they are the same length and are GRADE 8 bolts.

[gutterman01]

bought mine from chevyduty.com 11.95 each for the rear

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by chevytruckfan

2wd's the lower a arms are bolted to the crossmemeber with regular bolts. You can get at the local hardware store just make sure they are the same length and are GRADE 8 bolts.

Fraid not ghostrider. They use U-bolts, not regular bolts. I wouldn't trust my life to unknown hardware store junk. Buy new GM U bolts. They're cheap.

Here's a picture of a lower control arm U-bolt..

[stllookn]

I don't know if your '69 has the 7/16 in front or the 3/8. The earlier '67 and '68 had 3/8" u-bolts and several board members have had them break at the most inoportune times...like going 70 on the freeway. It makes for a very sharp and unexpected turn!!!! I am going to upgrade mine to 7/16" as soon as I can find the time...need to put the new cab on first!