Can Lock Nuts Be Reused on Trailer Suspension Bolts After Being Removed

Updated 11/14/2010 | Published 11/13/2010

Question:

Can the shackle bolt locknut be reused after being removed for replacing the shackles?

asked by: Daniel L

Expert Reply:

You may be able to reuse the same shackle bolts provided that they are the correct size, are not severely rusted, and are not cracked or otherwise damaged, but not the lock nuts. If you think your bolts might be rusted, cracked, or damaged I would definitely change them out for new ones. When used with lock nuts, the bolt threads could be compromised and I would recommend replacing them. The lock nuts cannot be reused.

There are essentially 3 kinds of bolts and 3 kinds of nuts. First is the regular straight bolt. There is also a wet shackle bolt that have a zerk fitting that allows grease to be injected. And there are equalizer bolts that are used to suspend equalizers. For nuts, there is a regular nut that threads on the bolt and can be reused. There is also a lock nut that has mismatched threads. These cannot be reused. And finally there is a castle nut which is held into place with a cotter pin.

I have included a link to our double-eye suspension main page that talks about bolts about half way down the page. I have also included a link to our suspension bolt main page.

expert reply by: Michael H