I was thinking about changing out the bolts on my '06 just to freshen up the look of the engine. The 8 year old stock bolts are looking kinda dingy with the surface corrosion on them.
My question is, does anybody have experience with any of the AlloyBoltz ( or any aftermarket ) engine bolt kit? Whats the difference between the $57.00 polished allen bolt kit and the $179.00 Polished grade 8 stainless kit? I mean, I know grade 8 bolts are strong, but whatever grade the stock bolts are is apparantly fine as well. Also, since the $57.00 kit dosen't say "stainless", am I to assume that they sell a bolt kit that will rust if it's not stainless? I find that hard to believe. I'm not looking for anything more than what the engine looked like when it was stock and new. Both kits have the same number of bolts in it, btw.



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Of course there is a major strength difference between a normal alloy fastener and a grade 8 fasteners. Most external engine applications don't require the strength of grade 8 or even grade 5 (except maybe water pumps on Pontiac 400s.)

An alloy bolt is typically plated with zinc or cadmium to prevent rust. The plating can discolor and look like corrosion, or, it can wear through and allow corrosion.

Stainless Steel is a slight anomaly. It's an industry term for Corrosion Resistant Steel or CReS. It can corrode, but it resists it much better than alloy. The problem with CReS is that it requires a substantial heat treating process to get higher strength than alloy steel. That's why this kit is more expensive. CReS is more expensive anyway, but adding the controlled heat treating adds a lot to the cost.

BTW. A normal SS fastener from the hardware store has less strength than a normal grade 5 bolt.

Keep in mind also that cadmium or zinc plating can resist corrosion better than SS when exposed to certain salt, heat or fluid conditions.

In the end. The SS bolts look better, look better longer and are easier to clean because you can abrade or polish them. Polishing a plated bolt will destroy the plating.

SS grade 8 are overkill for strength purposes.

 

Here are the Harley-Davidson part number for the fasteners just in case you want to get them at the dealer. I assume you are referring to the rocker cover fasteners.

3692A--6ea (3 for each cover)
3693A--6ea (3 for each cover)

These numbers are what the parts catalog shows for the 2006 Dyna models.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for all the good info. I just went back to the site and checked again, turns out the cheap kit is 100% stainless steel also, the extra cost for the other kit must come from the grade 8 bolts, which I agree is overkill.
So, what are the stock fastners made from then? Because now I'm wondering if I could just take them out one at a time and polish them up on a wheel for free -- unless they're coated zinc and I'd remove the coating leaving them suseptable to rust.



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The kit I was looking at was an engine kit that included Cam Cover, Timing Cover, Lifter Blocks, Rocker Boxes, Primary Cover, Trans Top, Trans Side Door, Trans Side Cover, Derby Cover, Primary Inspection Cover, Oil Filler, Crank and Speed Sensors, Coil Cover, and Electrical Box.

I figure it'll be a good example of little invisible details making the whole look better.



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I'm not sure what the OEM bolts are. One thing you could do is polish a few of them with a Dremel and see how they hold up over a few weeks. If they stay clean and shiny, the are likely stainless.

I should mention. One great thing about grade 8 hardness is that the hexes and other grip areas are much harder to strip and distort. Many of these OEM fasteners are really soft.

 

I have this kit on my my bike the grade 8 looks awesome polished. Kind of hard to tell with this photo.

 

So, I hear theres no problem with changing the bolts out one at a time but my question is, did you change them according to the service manual's tightening sequence or just go around pulling them out and replacing them clockwise or counterclockwise?




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I picked a bolt pulled it, blue lock tite on a SS bolt, torque to alloyboltz spec and move the the next.

 

I got the cheap set ($57), they are stainless (not grade 8 though) and look great. I believe the show polished set removes the little grooves on the outside of the head of the allen bolt for a smooth polished finish. And then there is the show polished grade 8 set. I don't think you need grade 8 on the engine covers, its over kill, but I did order grade 8 shock mount bolt kit from them and they also look great.