[s-cars] Re: a very rough Audi weekend

[Paul Gailus]

Unfortunately, I've found that even an OEM replacement
fastener with the right part number is no guarantee of
success.  When I replaced an upper rear control arm on
my S4, I used both a new OEM bolt and nut from the dealer
to attach it to the bearing housing. It was a nylock nut,
but I was still suspicious when it was taking a significant amount
of extra torque before finallly smugging up to the final torque
value. After taking the join apart again, I found that the
new bolt (part no. N 040 181 4) was identical to the original
in diameter, length, and general appearance, but the thread
pitch was slightly different. I ended up putting the original
bolt back in with a new OEM nut, and it was obvious that
this was the correct combination. I imagine that most
shops using an impact wrench would have never noticed
the problem.

Paul


----- Original Message -----
From: <JShadzi at aol.com>
To: <mswanson at sonitrol.net>; <quattro at audifans.com>
Cc: <s-car-list at audifans.com>
Sent: Monday, July 21, 2003 10:11 AM
Subject: [s-cars] Re: a very rough Audi weekend


Marc, so sorry to hear about your tough weekend, but so glad to hear you're
ok and the car is not damaged more, I do think you really lucked out on that
ball joint incident, I always replace suspension connectors (critical ones)
with new factory parts BTW ;)

Livin' and Learnin'

Javad

>Well I tried to make it to Waterfest this weekend: overnighted a new
>turbocharger to get the 4ktq ready to go on Friday night and all.
>
>
>So I start out on the 200ish mile trip to Jersey. The car was running
>great even with the lowered boost I was running to break in the turbo.
>
>About 60 miles into the trip my dash lit up indicating the car wasn't
>charging.. looking down at the voltmeter showed this was the case.. so I
>pulled off at the next exit into a hotel parking lot and thought myself
>pretty smart for carrying a jack, spare belt, and a full complement of
>tools ;-)
>
>http://tinyurl.com/hk9x shows the busted belt. Of course the reason
>for the busted belt was yours truly playing monkey lad and not using
>locktite on the nut that holds the bolt which the alternator pivots
>on......
>
>
>So after replacing the belt and borrowing a 13mm nut from the radiator
>side support I was back on my way.
>
>Once I got into NY, things got real ugly in a hurry. I was doing about
>80 and had just rounded a slight curve in the road when tire smoke
>starting pouring from the right front and the car began veering out of
>control. Luckily I was able to keep things pointed southbound and I
>headed for the nearest breakdown lane which in my case was on the left
>(no way was I going to be able to make it to the safer right hand
>shoulder). After my heart began beating at a normal pace again I took
>stock of the situation.. I wanted to go look and see what was wrong but
>thought better of it with cars zipping along and not noticing a disabled
>vehicle until they were right upon me.
>
>I called AAA who then called the NY state authority who is responsible
>for towing vehicles on 95 in NY (AAA is not allowed on the turnpike, but
>they still pay for the tow!!). about 10 minutes later a cop showed up
>behind me looking very nervous and putting flares up to divert traffic
>away from the left lane. I noticed he was standing outside his car
>leaning on the concrete divider.. I'm sure after all of those incidents
>of exploding crown vics from oncoming traffic plowing into the back made
>him decide that was a safer place to be...
>
>So anyway the first truck that shows up is the sling variety. I told
>the guy he can't tow my car with that thing. He takes a look under the
>car and consults with the cop who is not looking terribly happy. I hear
>something along the lines of "get the f'in car off my highway!". Lucky
>for me the driver leaves and comes back with a ramp truck. After later
>talking with the guy he tells me that he saw all the turbo piping and
>didn't want to damage anything. Glad I got a car guy as a tow operator!
>
>
>So now that the car was dropped off at the nearest Home Cheapot lot for
>AAA to come get me I could survey the damage:
>
>http://tinyurl.com/hkdw
>
>
>So apparently all this resulted from my RF ball joint popping out of the
>strut and the strut just slammed into the fender and dragged itself
>along until I managed to slide to a stop. The wheel was so Fubar'd that
>in order to get the thing on and off the ramp truck(s) I had to use my
>jack to raise the right front so the car could roll on the bed. I'm
>really amazed I got away as easily as I did. It could have been worse.
>_A_LOT_ worse....
>
>
>So the question on my mind was now why did the ball joint come out? The
>bolt was still in place! Well, your truly, monkey lad extraordinaire
>decided to use a stainless bolt to clamp the ball joint:
>
>http://tinyurl.com/hkhf
>
>That was well and good since it wasn't the strength of the bolt that was
>the issue.. the bolt didn't break nor did the nut come off. But what DID
>cause the failure was the fact that I used a fully threaded bolt.... In
>essence the threads on the bolt slowly wore away at the lip on the ball
>joint until it had enough clearance to pop out of the strut causing all
>this mess on Saturday.
>
>A $300 tow later (AAA only covers 100 miles and I was 160 from home...
>at $5/mile :-( ) and the car is back in my driveway so I can fix it when
>I have the energy. I haven't touched it since Saturday but I'll likely
>deal with fixing it this week. I'm thinking at least a grand to fix the
>damage (fender, rocker panel, fender liner, ball joint, and axle) plus
>another grand or two in stuff I'm going to want touched up if it is at
>the paint shop anyway.
>
>Live and learn.... I'll be using shouldered bolts on my ball joints from
>now on.
>
>
>more pics at:
>
>http://tinyurl.com/hkgk
>
>--
>-Marc
>87' 4ktq
>88' 90q
>www.mswanson.com/audi
>
>
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