Volvo RWD 900 Forum

Should I use volvo bolts or go and buy them from Lowe's. the reason, the hitch was free and had no bolts/instructions. Where could I find the instructions? Any help would be great. Also, best place to buy a receiver? Thanks -

Dear 940v40,

Good p.m. and may this find you well. Further to rjk's excellent advice - to use Grade 8 bolts - you can recognize a Grade 8 bolt, as follows:

On the head, there will be six "lines", equally-spaced, running from the edge to the center; in between two of the lines, there may also be a single, small triangle [▴]. Some Grade 8 bolts also have a "gold" color, versus the "silver" of other grades (or no plating at all)

A lower-strength bolt - Grade 5 - will have three "lines". The lowest strength bolt - Grade 2 - will have a smooth head (no lines at all).

Be sure to use Grade 8 nuts. Get a bolt long enough to apply a Nylock outer nut (in addition to the Grade 8 nut). The nylock nut will help to ensure that nothing works loose.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

spook

I'll be doing this myself in a few days when my hitch arrives for my 1994 940, so Kudos on the thread!

Call me crazy, but didn't volvo weld nuts into the body for the express purpose of installing a trailer hitch? If so, I'm not sure I follow spook's meaning regarding using nuts.

He's quite correct about the lines on top of the bolts. I believe that metric bolts use the lines, while "english" bolts just have a number stamped on them.

Regardless, what size should the bolts be? Length, shaft diameter, and head size? Threaded the whole length, or partially? (Just in case my hitch doesn't include bolts either)

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Six Volvos: all wagons.... 1972 145S, 1976 245 DL, 1983 245 GL, 1986 740 GLE, 1990 740 GL, now a 1995 940. Number 7 (a 1967 122S Wagon) is on the way.... Who needs a sedan, when you've got storage compartments in a wagon?

As a follow-up, generally, you can determine if a bolt is authentic if it has a logo forged in the top of the head from which the grading lines radiate. This is the manufacturer's logo. Most cut-rate asian bolts have no logo.

So long as you get an American-made grade 8 bolt, you should be OK (some Asian-made bolts are not what they claim to be as far as strength rating). Ask a local hitch installer (U-haul) what strength bolts they use. A local jobber like NAPA or a good hardware store will have authentic graded bolts. I don't know about Lowes, it might depend on who their supplier was last month but they do have a decent selection there.

You can also try Bolt Depot

http://www.boltdepot.com/DefaultB.aspx

where there is an almost limitless selection at decent prices with a good turn-around time.

If it is a Volvo hitch you are stuck getting the matching part from Volvo. Nothing else is their shape. You should use high strength plated bolts. Best bet is dealer again. Cheap bolts run the risk of breaking and letting your trailer go free.
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'96 965, 16' wheels, rear 18mm bar & Koni + 204HP cams at 124K. Had '85 745 Turbo Diesel for 200K.