Type 44: corrosion of side impact beam

[Kneale Brownson]

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I had the same conditions in the beam on the driver door of my '87 5ktq.  I
replaced it with the one on my '86 parts car, which was in perfect
condition.  The one on the '87 had been reinstalled with the bolts
reversed, so I surmise the beam was damaged and rigged up just to hold the
molding on by the body shop fools.  The other beams on the '87 are in good
shape.

At 11:25 PM 05/28/2002 -0400, Paul Meyers wrote:

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>The passenger rear side molding on the Gray '87 5K acted like it was coming
>"unstuck" at the rear. I thought it was failing adhesive. It turns out that
>the side molding is held on by two bolts that screw into an embedded side
>impact beam. The beam is an incredibly robust affair that looks to be made
>of forged aluminum in a modified I-beam configuration. To accommodate the
>impact beam, there is a deep groove at the midline of the door, neatly
>covered by the side molding. The bolts are modestly covered by rubber caps,
>making them look like bumpers of some sort. They are readily visible with
>the door open, one on the front and one on the rear of the door abut midway
>between roofline and floor pan. Anyway, I found out that something was amiss
>when I found the bolt laying in the gutter after a child had exited the car
>(slammed the door).
>
>To my utter amazement, on disassembly I found what looked like flakes of
>paper or cardboard or some other material embedded in this pristine forging.
>The flakes just crumbled in my hand. On further investigation, I concluded
>that the flakes were what was left of the forging after years of sacrificial
>anodic corrosion had eaten away massive amounts the impact beam, starting at
>the original rear threaded bolt hole. Wow! The front bolt and bolt hole were
>pristine, as was the forward half of the forging. But no rust on the car!
>
>Since maybe 20% of the original cross section of the beam was left, it's
>safe to say that the beam would not have exhibited its intended performance
>in a side impact crash. Since Audi wants over $100 for a new beam, I will
>try to find a used one.
>
>If your car exhibits a rear molding that seems to be lifting at the rear,
>remove the bolts and inspect it for corrosion. The life you save could be
>...
>
>Paul Meyers
>'88 5KCSTQ Pearl, 128K Mi, 2pc EM, Fuchs, K24, 1.8 bar, Bilsteins
>'87 5KCSTQ Gray, 154K Mi, Fuchs, SJM chip, 1.8 bar, Boges
>'87 5KCSTQA White, 208K Mi, Replica TT wheels, Adjustable WG, 1.8 bar,
>Bilsteins, no roof rack
>
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