[FIXED] 2002 Pontiac Sunfire Rear Bearing Hub Bolts

above car has the 2.2l ohv engine. My son is trying to replace the drivers side rear bearing hub. He has been unsuccessful in loosening the T50
torx bolts holding the bearing to the axle. I have verified that no way no how are those rusted-in bolts coming out intact. They need to be drilled out.

My question is, where can I get the replacement torx bolts and nuts? The auto parts chains only have the bearing itself, which I already have. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks~ Pop

This is the solid axle setup with bolts pointed inboard, and nuts on the back side, right? After you get medieval on the existing bolts, you could go with some replacement Grade 8 bolts from the hardware store. They don't need to be Torx or anything, unless clearance with the brake shoes is an issue. They just need to be the same thread pitch and diameter.

Tyler, the setup is exactly as you described. We will go with grade 8 bolts from true value!

This is a great forum, Tyler, and you are a huge reason it is great. I really appreciate all your help. If scannerdanner ever has a meetup, I am coming and I will buy you a drink, brother. You rock.

BTW I found a transmission for my 94 Suburban. My 11yo daughter and I are working on the swap out today.

Pop

Thanks, sir! If there's gonna be a meet up, then I better bring a couple cars with me, 'cause you guys are awesome.

You may need to shop around for the right bolts, since GM likes to use aggressive thread pitches on their suspension stuff. If you can find JIS or flanged bolts/nuts, that'd be sweet.

I wish I was swapping transmissions when I was 11. Jealous!

To add to Tyler's considerable wisdom the bolts will likely be M10 or M12 dia.
The normal thread pitches for general purpose bolts are
M10 1.5mm Coarse 1.25mm Fine There is also an extra coarse M10 x 1.75 pitch but it is rare.
M12 1.75mm Coarse 1.5mm Fine There is also an extra coarse M12 x 2 pitch but it is rare.
HT bolts Grade 8 (more or less same as the old 8 .8 ) or Grade 10 (old style 10 . 8 ) will be fine.
Flange head bolts are a good choice if you have room otherwise go for Allen (hex) or Torx. You should be able to find these on eBay

Struggling with seized and rounded bolts is never fun I have a rear suspension job booked in that I know is going to give me major problems with seized bolts.

A little heat even from a propane torch and some pb blaster go a long ways especially if you let it soak.. Good luck!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Well we have smoked the threads on the mounting surface. Helicoil kit the best remedy?

Probably the only way I don't know if other types of thread repair inserts are easily available for that size.
I have a similar problem coming in with a front strut clamping bolt on an Rover 75, in case all else fails what I have done in advance is obtain a junkyard hub to minimise vehicle down time.

Turns out the holes on the mounting surface were not threaded. Bearing held in by compression on of nut/bolt. Got everything back together, and my son is back on the road. We had to drill out all four of the existing bolts.

Calling this one [FIXED]. Did the hardware store help you out with finding fasteners?

Yes Tyler, meant to add that. Got nice fitting grade 8 nuts and bolts from our town Truevalue hardware store. The car sure runs a lot quieter now!

Thank you all once again for the top notch help!

~ Pop

Truevalue got us set up with the proper fasteners!

Forgive me for any multiple posts. Have had trouble posting back to his thread.
Yes, got some grade 8 fasteners from the local Truevalue.

No problem! I think that's a forum problem. Happened to several users.

I had the axact same problem with them hex bolts got stripped out and even broke a bigger hex bolt off in that bolt. Ended up using a angle grinder and cut them out. Was the worst set up that you have to loosen the hub just to get the brakes cylinder out hated it