Stainless bolts. Was that a mistake?

[emmett518]

When I took possession of my 6 year old Deere 310L, a lot of the bolts holding cosmetic items onto the hoe were rusted to hell. So, I removed them, and replaced them with stainless. I coated the threads with heavy silicone grease before putting them in. The bolts that hold the floor boards, the battery box cover, the plastic trim around the steps.

I knew galvanic corrosion was an issue with boats in a salt water environment, but didn't know that stainless in normal steel was a problem.

Should I pull the stainless, and replace with normal steel? Or pull them every year to examine for corrosion and replace the never seize? Or am I OK with the silicone grease?

 

[hosspuller]

I've had SS fitting seize together when fitted by hand. Since your application is cosmetic and you used grease on the threads, I would leave it. And enjoy the rust free appearance.

 

[Birken Vogt]

Stainless has a tendency to gall when put with other stainless. And totally seize together. But I do not have enough info to know if they seize into regular steel. Still I would not do it. I have had so much misery removing stainless fasteners. Hot dip galvanized are what I use for weather exposed bolts and nuts. Very heavy coating but not shiny.

 

[excavator]

Stainless bolts are also a lot softer that steel, they don't have nearly the same amount of tensile strength.

 

[59 North]

If I recall correctly, there used to be a never-seize type compound for stainless, when assembling.

 

[Tones]

I have just pulled down a marine propulsion water jet unit at hasn't been apart is 25 years that I have owned it. All nuts and bolts are stainless going through Ali, mild steel and fibreglass and never had any problem undoing them. Even the stainless nut on the stainless impeller shaft was easy and no antiseize compounds had been used.
Don't get too hung up about SS.

 

[Mike L]

In my experience stainless hardware is great the first time you install it. If you’ve got to remove it you might as well throw it away and put new in because the second time you’ll pay for it.

 

[Birken Vogt]

Maybe there is a different grade of stainless for marine stuff. The stuff I use in open air, mostly u-bolt clamps and the like to prevent from being rusted by the rain, you can almost count on it to sieze and break and the nut come off with the stud still in it.

 

[John Canfield]

SS and salt water - great combination . We had two different sailboats in salt water for over 10 years, the major issue was dissimilar metal corrosion. Specifically aluminum with SS fasteners, even with anti-seize the fasteners would still get frozen but heat always worked to break them loose. As a landlubber my preference is always using SS fasteners for non critical applications.

 

[JD955SC]

Waste of money for one.

just use a good dab of anti seize on bolts when assembling. When I put undercarriage, belly pan, or any other suspect bolts in I give them the good old copper antisieze coating. It’s cheap and effective although messy. Also any pins I put in i coat the outer bores that don’t have grease fittings with antisieze because when you have a siezed pin that’s normally where they rust and stick vs the greased portion.

And when you do go take rusty crap apart if any bolt gives you the impression it’s not going to come out without a fight torch till glowing yellow and spray it down with penetrating oil then she will usually come out with a lot less argument. I’ve had to use entire tank sets on taking apart decades old rusty undercarriage

 

[JLarson]

We use a ton of stainless in the water stuff we do, we never have problems, we do use anti seize and we do isolate for steel and hot dip in moist/immersion and any chemical environment as best practice.

One of the biggest issues I see people have with SS hardware, especially using nylocs is running nuts with impacts, that's a great way to gall the f**k out of the threads like you welded it.

 

[Tyler d4c]

Around here everything has stainless bolts well and exhaust pipes and lots of other stuff. We like bling. Put neversezz on it it will be just fine.

 

[Old Doug]

I have maybe 200# of stainless bolts i would like to sell i will never use them.

 

[Tyler d4c]

I have maybe 200# of stainless bolts i would like to sell i will never use them.

What sizes

 

[Old Doug]

What sizes

I need to look but 5/16 3/8 up to some 3/4 i think some nuts also. I will look to day i may have close to 400# some are in the trunk of a old car i havent look in for over 10 years.

 

[Birken Vogt]

Once I was working on a radio site and some shiny metal caught my eye. Looking closely there were stainless bolts, nuts, flat and lock washers all over the ground looks like someone threw down from 100' high. Half buried by years and weather. I dug around and collected most. Hundreds of them in a box, like Doug I use maybe 10 a year and the rest just sit there.

 

[Old Doug]

What sizes

Its been raining i hope to look today i walked back to were the bolts are in a car trunk one i had the key but couldnt get it turned the other i couldnt find a key . I need to oil one and drill the other.

 

[John C.]

There was a coal wash plant at one place where I worked. Stainless bolts look good in deck plates and sheet metal. I haven't bought any in years but, when I did they were so much more expensive than alloy Grade 5 and 8. Now days, they would have to be free before I would use them.