Possible lateral link bolt replacements: Grade 8, 9/16-12 x 10-1/2" (photos) & metric or std threaded rod. And some pinch bolt notes.

Some thoughts on the large lateral link bolt, since there were previous posts here and on other Chrysler car goups on people trying to find them. I think all this is right, but please correct any mistakes.

The now discontinued (4) rear lateral link bolts are metric class 10.9 M14 x 2.0 - 270mm (a really big bolt). Now very hard to find. Sometimes they are rusted on the shaft and so should be replaced. It is obviously a critical part and you don't want to junk your LH car because you can't find a bolt.

Mopar Part Numbers:
6502389 (original parts catalog number):
Supersession(s): 06502389; 6506115AA

or ACDelco p/n 45G7006

These same bolts were also used on some tractors and heavy equipment and show up in their parts lists under a New Holland p/n 87363478 (expensive, like $80 I think).

My bolts were in good shape, but of course I should have bought spares when Rockauto and others had the ACDelco bolts for $10.

While Mopar and ACDelco have both discontinued these, a few Mopar dealers are still showing availability (I spent an hour recently Googling the part numbers). However, it is possible if you email or call, you'll find out there are actually none in stock (the dealer websites are terrible about showing what's actually in stock or orderable). But I suspect there is a box of them somewhere on the back of a dusty dealer's shelf.

Of course if you can still find a rust-free LH car at a junkyard, that is probably the lowest-cost source for the bolts. The inner one next to the gas tank on the driver's side is the easiest to pull; the ones in the spindle are more likely to be held more firmly, and the inner one on the passenger's side may also be easily pullable if the interfering gas tank is gone. Obviously if needed use PB Blaster or similar and tap out with a big brass drift punch and small sledge/mallet or (easier) a brass-head hammer. (BTW Amazon has a good 20 oz. brass head hammer in stock now for $20; most hardware stores don't anymore). May also need a smaller drift punch to push the bolt through. You may want to put a sacrificial M14 nut on the end to prevent hitting the bolt off-center and distorting the end threads and having to grind/file those down. To prevent this don't whack on the bolt; just tap it firmly, alternating with turning the bolt head back and forth to break any light rust. Then obviously check for any deep rust pitting. Clean the bolts well and use anti-seize on the shafts when installing.

One creative alternative mentioned in another thread is using class 10.9 M14-2.0 threaded rod (with washers and nuts on both ends obviously), which is available from some online and local fastener vendors like Fastenal - I think the new high inflation cost would be about $30 per length, with three rods cut from the available 1m lengths . (Cut long enough for nuts & washers on each end; and cut with some sacrificial M14 nuts installed to turn off and help clean up the cut edges; then sand the burrs). Often, only the two bolts in the spindle will be badly rusted and need to be replaced.

However, another possible cheaper alternative I thought of is to use a British/SAE Grade 8 9/16"-12 x 10-1/2" bolt (dimensions comparison beloIw) or else Grade B7 9/16"-12 threaded rod (Fastenal has the B7 rod). With the rod, the cost would be about $15 per length, with three cut from a three-foot length; or they also have six foot length where you can cut four for about $18 per length (with two free extras). You can check if you have a local Fastenal store or other industrial fastener supplier that will sell retail and save on shipping.

Here's a website comparison of Grade 8 bolt strength (105 kpsi yield) to B7 threaded rod (130 kpsi), so I think it should be strong enough (any thoughts?). Not sure if any threaded rod comes in Grade 8 like bolts or just B7.

Yes, online info indicates the Grade 8 10-1/2" bolts do exist, and are hard to find; but probably not as hard as the discontinued bolt. Most of the online fastener stores don't have the 9/16" bolts in that long length, but here is one that carries it (currently out of stock, generic photo is of shorter bolt):

I believe some local tractor or heavy equipment supply stores may also have them.

The 9/16" bolt is only 0.3mm (0.01") larger in diameter than the M14 bolt, and 10-1/2" long is 267mm. At the bottom of this post are some photos of the 9/16" bolt going through a lateral link and the spindle. However you need to use a round wire brush to get out all the rust from the spindle hole or give it some light passes with a rat-tail file until the 9/16" bolt slides smoothly through. Then clean it out and use anti-seize on the bolt shaft. You also obviously need to use Grade 8 9/16" nuts and washers.

My good local independent hardware store only has the Grade 8 up to about 9" (the one shown in the photos below) but I am going to go to the tractor supply stores sometime to see if anyone has the 10-1/2" length bolts in stock or can order them.

By the way, the same thing applies to the rear strut knuckle pinch bolt. If you have to remove the spindle to carefully drill out a snapped bolt (procedure described by members in some previous posts) and can't find metric class 10.9 M10 bolt/nuts/washers of the proper length (75 or 80mm?), you could use a Grade 8 3/8" coarse thread bolt and nut/washers since 3/8" dia.= 9.53mm. Photo below is of:
-intact Mopar removed pinch bolt, derusted (yes, had the usual ordeal of propane torch, PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench, electric impact, cheater bar lightly back and forth, but also eventually used CRC Freeze Off spray instead of last resort dry ice [neat stuff])
-hardware store class 10.9 M10 x 1.50 x 60mm bolt
-Monroe class 10.9 AK53 replacment pinch bolt (two per kit, from Rockauto or even Amazon sometimes)
-Grade 8 3/8" course thread 3" long bolt w/ washers and nuts (thankfully did not have to drill out pinch bolt and use).


Notice that the Monroe bolt is longer than the Mopar bolt, but has a slightly reduced unthreaded diameter, probably so it can thread in knuckles of slightly different sizes and not interfere with the threads. The thread engagement with the Monroe bolt is OK, because it goes all the way through the knuckle whereas the Mopar bolt doesn't quite reach the end of the knuckle threads. I used the Monroe rather than relying on the hardware store bolt. Be aware that for these smaller bolts some class 10.9 or Grade 8 hardware store bolts may not be the best quality (lots of stuff of varying quality from the PRC). If you want to be sure of strenth, pay a bit more and get them from Napa (Rockford bolts?) or a good fastener supplier like Fastenal. Lots of info on varying bolt quality from the PRC online.

Below photos of the possible 9/16" bolt substitute fiting through the lateral link and spindle, and also washer/nut comparison with Mopar M14 & 9/16." (BTW the rusty trailing link is gone; all stuff was replaced with closeout Carquest/Moog parts from Rockauto and KYB struts).