Tow hook bolts

[rots]

Hi,

I posted here a while back about getting a tow hook. After a little negotiation on price, I bought one from varaosahaku and it arrived today and looks reasonably OK. Bit of rust on the plate that holds the electrical connector, but I'll brush that down and give it a quick spray of something protective.

Now I need to sort a key for it (I've emailed the importer as suggested) and keep an eye out for the nice 9-3 specific cover, or otherwise a generic Bosal one.

Before all that though, I need to put the thing under the car, and that looks pretty easy, except that I'm missing two bolts.

One of them is one of the two that hold the hook holder to the frame. A bit of a pain, but I guess pretty much anything the right size from Motonet or Bauhaus should do the trick.

More of a problem is that I'm also missing one of the two bolts that hold the frame to the underside of the car. It looks like these are somehow self-tapping (since the instructions don't show any nuts), but it also doesn't look like any sort of standard bolt.

Anyone have any suggestions on where to find one in the Espoo area?

Thanks!

E-

[lentäväsaabisti]

You mean the number 6 bolt on page two of this pdf ? https://www.dropbox.com/s/ihj5ddsm3dalh ... I.pdf?dl=0

It does look like a standard bolt to me, maybe an M8 or M10. Just buy various lengths and sizes from i.e Motonet, they don't cost that much.

[AZP]

Not knowing what rating the original bolts have, I'd play safe and get bolts with 12.9 rating. You don't find them in Motonet or Bauhaus, but will get them cheap from a bolt shop. They're 50 % stronger than regular 8.8 rating bolts.

[rots]

Not knowing what rating the original bolts have, I'd play safe and get bolts with 12.9 rating. You don't find them in Motonet or Bauhaus, but will get them cheap from a bolt shop. They're 50 % stronger than regular 8.8 rating bolts.

Thanks for the tip! I popped by Motonet before seeing it and picked up a coupe of bolts, but they're indeed rated 8.8. Happily, Motonet's bolts are cheap.

The originals are marked 10.9, so it's not a shocking difference (and 8.8 really ought to be enough) but I'll see if I can pick up replacements. The thread indeed appears to be 'normal'. I thought it might be different because the bolts that fit on the bottom of the car (so not on the bumper) do not require nuts, but I guess there is some thread under all the grime underneath

[rots]

So a quick update - the bolts are indeed all standard.

Getting the thing fitted was quite easy - biggest pain is getting the rear bumper shield off.

Another challenge I hadn't anticipated was that I had to take the tow hook off in order to re-fit the bumper shield. Since I don't have a key (yet), this also means removing the block that holds the hook. No problem, right? Only you can't fit a socket wrench over the top bolt once the bumper shield is back in place. Oh well - need to replace that bolt anyway.

Tip for anyone buying a used hook: replace the bolts. The 'original' bolt for under the car refused to 'bite' in one of the hotes, but a new bolt went in perfectly.

Next trick will be to try to find a cover once I get a key. If I can't find one for a reasonable price, I may try to make something. The hole is small, but pretty ugly.