subframe bolts

[cobram at juno.com]

NEVER, EVER, reuse ball joint bolts or nuts.  ALWAYS replace with new
ones.  On two occasions where I reused them, a few months and a year or
so down the line the ball joints popped out because of overly
stretched/worn bolts.  Luckily one popped out at a stop sign with the
wife and kids in tow, and the other while pulling out of a parking spot
in the same load configuration.  I still cringe at the thought of what
might have happened if the ball joint had popped out at highway speeds,
BUT have never tipped off the wife to what could have happened.  I think
she suspects though....as I paid the towing without a complaint.  Audis'
type 44 ball joint/control arm design leaves much to be desired in my
book, and lends itself to failure from stretched/worn hardware.  A
stretched bolt, even slightly stretched, will allow some play between the
ridge of the ball joint and the bolt, eventually eating away at the metal
to the point of catastrophic failure.  BTDT X 2.  If you've reused ball
joint hardware and nothing has happened, consider yourself lucky and
throw a few extra bucks in the Sunday collection plate next time around.

As for the subframe bolts, I would have to agree, these are a very
noncritical fastener that even if stretched will perform as designed, and
if one should fail...so what...it'll manifest itself with a noticeable
"clunk" which allows for plenty of procrastination before definitive
repair.  But, pragmatically speaking, with the relatively low comparison
cost of replacing this hardware, is it really worth it??  Especially if
you do your own work?

BCNU,
Cobram at Juno.Com
http://www.geocities.com/cobramsri/index.html


ed armstrong <edshred2000 at yahoo.com> writes:
> Konstantin,
>
> Are they really "always replace" ?! I plan on reusing
> my old ones since they look in to be in fine shape. I
> find that in many cases Audi is overly conservative
> with their "always replace" nuts and bolts policy. For
> example how many of us have a had bad experiences with
> "always replace" control arm bolts, ball joint bolts
> or axle bolts. I have always reused mine. The only
> thing I would not reuse would be things like head
> gasket bolts and connecting rod bolts and nut. Just my
> opinion here. Are there others ?
>
> In any case your subframe bolts will be fine if only
> two hours "new."
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