Toyota nuts and bolts are expensive.
Ok, I have few problems. Most of them have threads and they’re covered in rust. Some are still usable, only protecting zinc plating is damaged (white rust) while others are beyond any salvage attempt (brown rust).
First of all, Toyota has used JIS standards. Generally, this captain obvious area, but there are some pitfalls. JIS thread is usually same as metric fine thread, no problems there, but the tool size differs:
JIS ANSI DIN M6 10mm 10mm 10mm M8 12mm 13mm 13mm M10 14mm 16mm 17mm M12 17mm 18mm 19mm M14 19mm 21mm 22mm M16 22mm 24mm 24mm
My toolbox is filled with JIS sized tools and I dont feel like using weird 13mm nuts. It would be just wrong.
Also, Toyota has used extensively flange nuts and bolts. In DIN universe, they are called DIN 6921 and DIN 6923. These are the perverse ones requiring weird tool sizes.
JIS names for the flange bolts and nuts are JIS B1189-1987 and B1190-1987. Both of them are hard to come by, but Ive found few netstores who have them. One reason might be the fact that the standard is from 1987. The standard was revised in 2005, but Im unsure what was done and if the newer ones are good to go.
The Toyota grading system is also bit cryptic. It might be just JIS grading, but Im not sure about this either. Im thinking that comparing the torque numbers between DIN grading and whatever Toyota uses would give some info.
Finally, there are also few different plating methods that Toyota has used. Shiny, dull and yellow zinc platings were common. Old yellow zinc bolts and nuts could still be dangerous, because the plating had a carcinogenic part but the bolts and nuts were very durable. Thats what counts, right?
For me, the holy grail is to find modern yellow zinc flange nuts and bolts in JIS sizes and in reasonable price. Of course, for critical areas I would use genuine Toyota ones.
There is one thing though. Im not that brave that I would buy chinese stuff from ebay or somewhere else. I dont fancy having a bolt that is made of cardboard and slightly metallic looking substance that is holding half of my car together.
Leave a Reply