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One more reminder to tighten your suspension bolts

34K views 91 replies 45 participants last post by  Jetblast 
#1 ·
This past weekend the two upper control arms bolts sheared on my right rear corner. It sent me into an immediate high speed snap spin. Looking at the parts, I think one of the bolts had started to back out, setting up a vibration and shear forces.

No serious damage to the car, but on several of the other corners it would have likely resulted in a rollover. I got lucky, and it'll be back together this weekend if I can get the right fasteners. While I'm at it, I plan to dissasemble the entire suspension and put it back together with Locktite. Also thinking seriously about safety wire.
 
#6 ·
I think it is, if you had someone move/change the bolts and not use loctite.

AND... you are not in the habit of checking them.
 
#9 ·
Yes, the bolts & nuts have locking tabs, but I found that on my car they were not very well bent over and their locking ability was in question. The torque on my bolts was still fine though, and I bent the tabs further to ensure they did their job.

See this thread for more information on this control arm issue:
http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40858
Pictures from my car (poorly bent tabs, but no failure) are in post #31.
 
#12 ·
He is either talking about the upper control arm MOUNTING bolts, where the whole shebang mounts to the chassis, or he is talking about the hub carrier bolts where the camber shims go.

In either case it's happened before.

xtn
 
#16 ·
I still wonder how people actually do this. One of my projects this winter will be to look at this, one bolt at a time, to figure out what sort of tool is needed to actually gain access to every bolt to torque them. I found that common tools are inadequate for the task, there just isn't adequate access to most.
 
#15 ·
-eek-
Glad you and the car are alright:). I'll be taking an extra careful look over my Cartoon Car before I head to MSR this Saturday. Thanks for the head up:clap:...
 
#17 ·
I've started to ask my dealer (Rothrock) to check/tighten the suspension every time I have it in.

I just had them do this again today, when they were putting my snows on. I was feeling the back end wiggle a bit more than I remember when it was new. Could be normal -- I know the front end will tramline, but shouldn't the back end be pretty stable? Has anyone who's had a failure experienced this?

In any case, Rothrock checked/tightened it for me for no charge (still under warranty), and on my drive to work it did seem tighter. :up:
 
#19 ·
I just had them do this again today, when they were putting my snows on. I was feeling the back end wiggle a bit more than I remember when it was new. Could be normal -- I know the front end will tramline, but shouldn't the back end be pretty stable? Has anyone who's had a failure experienced this?
Snows?
-eek-

Might check the rear toe - the back end will wiggle around a lot over uneven pavement if the rear toe is off.
 
#23 ·
I'm curious

JeffR, When this happened did the car just immediately spin? I had the rear of my car become unstable, and feel like it was swaying left and right just before it went into a spin. Granted I might have handled it better but it was disconcerting that this happened very quickly on straight, flat, dry road. Just curious.
 
#27 ·
JeffR, When this happened did the car just immediately spin?
Oh my yes. It was an immediate and violent snap spin. The rear wheel was not controlled in any direction, and slapped around hitting the wheel well (no serious damage). Data logs show that I went from -1.4 lateral G to +.9 in about a 1/4 second. -1.03 is the normal max for that corner.
 
#24 ·
SERVICE BULLETIN Date: 24.08.06 2006/21
Model: Elise/Exige/Europa

TITLE: Ball joint plinth security.

REASON: To ensure that ball joint plinths are properly secured after camber adjustment.

ACTION: On both front and rear suspension, if the plinth for the top swivel ball joint (combined with steering arm on front) is released from the hub carrier to facilitate adjustment of the camber shim plate pack (or for any other reason), it is essential that the correct procedure is followed when reassembling.

Refer to Service Notes section CI (front suspension) page 5 & 9, or DH (rear) page 5 & 9.

See also Service Bulletin 2004/08
- If a steering arm or ball joint plinth bolt is disturbed or removed, the locking action of the thread adhesive will be lost. The bolt must then be completely removed and the old adhesive cleaned from the thread using a wire brush, before finally degreasing with acetone. The bolt holes in the ball joint plinth should also be cleaned.
- If necessary, re-assemble dry to check geometry adjustment.
- On final assembly, Permabond A130 thread locking compound (A912E7033V) should be applied to the bolt thread following package instructions, before fitting and torque tightening.
- In March 2004, the 8.8 grade cap head bolts securing the steering arms to the front hub
carriers, and the top ball joint plinths to the rear hub carriers, were commonised with the uprated 10.9 grade versions used on motorsport cars, with a corresponding increase in torque setting from 45 Nm (8.8 grade) to 68 Nm (10.9 grade). Check the marking around the cap head to establish the grade and appropriate torque setting.
- The 10.9 grade bolts may be used as service replacements on any car fitted with forged steel hub carriers. Caphead Bolt, 10.9 grade, steering arm forward fixing, M10x40 A117W7211F 2 off Caphead Bolt, 10.9 grade, steering arm rearward fixing, M10x60 A117W7213F 2 off Caphead Bolt, 10.9 grade, rear ball joint plinth, M10x50 A117W7212F 4 off

If for any reason a bolt is found to have become loose, and the car has been operated for any period in this condition, the bolt should be renewed as a standard precaution and related components carefully inspected for hole ovality or wear.
 
#26 ·
...the locking action of the thread adhesive will be lost. The bolt must then be completely removed and the old adhesive cleaned from the thread using a wire brush, before finally degreasing with acetone...
Interesting, mine weren't Locktited from Lotus. I removed the bolt shaft by slotting the end and turning it with a screwdriver. The threads were completely clean. Oh well, they lasted >30k miles (including >8k track miles) before failing. The car has held up surprisingly well.
 
#30 ·
I had my left rear wheel come loose while making right turn. Luckily it was low speed and not much damage.
The car had gone only 1500 miles since last service (total of 6870 miles).
Doublecheck your damage assessment. In your pic it looks like the wheel has been cracked in two places. Could be an illusion, but definitely check it while its off.
 
#29 ·
Anyone know the correct torque setting for the 12.9 bolts? I'm assuming they need a certain stretch to stay put or are we just relying on loctite?
 
#34 ·
No ideas.
This is not new. I was checking these very bolts (and every other bolt in suspension, not just toe-link bolts) each time when doing self-service on my 2005 red Elise at 3750mile intervals (took me ~ 8hours to go over all check points, oil-change, etc).

If this thread(s) does not make you do so I don't know what will :crazyeyes
 
#35 ·
apkom, was there previous alignment or camber/shim work done on your BRG car? I know you mention checking your red Elise often...but what about this one? If you didn't do any changes, did you buy the car used or new?
 
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