Broken spring bolts.........
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Pro
Joined: Mar 2005
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From: Walton KY
Broken spring bolts.........
I own a couple of "quick lubes", one of which is near I 75. We get a lot of travelers with problems. Well when I came back from lunch today I had a near perfect 1995 coupe in the bay. Hoping for some good conversation I rushed in only to find the rear of the car SLAMMED down. I climbed under the car and found the left spring was ON THE GROUND and the mounting bolt sheared off with only about 1/4" of thread showing. This car was BABIED....31,235 miles, lives in a climate controlled garage under a cover. This thing was perfect...white with black interior, glass top, AT. His record book showed the dealer he uses has flushed the tranny, rear diff, the cooling system...ALL TWICE. The owner told me he was on a trip to Bowling Green for work and decided to take the Vette and visit the museum. We had rain today and he told me this is the first time the car had seen rain in SIX years!!!!! I know this car has never been beaten. I felt awful for the guy so I called a good shop with a roll back to come get it. Breaks the heart to see such a beautiful machine being towed away.
Have any of you guys ever seen this before? The bolt breaking, not the exceptional care......
Have any of you guys ever seen this before? The bolt breaking, not the exceptional care......
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,952
Likes: 2
From: Little Rock Arkansas
I've never seen one of them break; they're pretty big, 12mm I believe and are hardened...But, it's a mass-produced component and there's always a possibility for failure. You know what they say: $h!t happens!!
-Jeb
-Jeb
Team Owner
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 24,337
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From: San Diego , CA Double Yellow DirtBags 1985..Z51..6-speed
It's happened on here before, but that was because they unthreaded the nut past the cotterpin hole to lower it.
If the rubber bushing in there gets out of place, the metal sleeve on the spring can eat into the bolt. Also, that area tends to hold water, so even him washing the car, and not driving it much, would leave water sitting in there.
If the rubber bushing in there gets out of place, the metal sleeve on the spring can eat into the bolt. Also, that area tends to hold water, so even him washing the car, and not driving it much, would leave water sitting in there.
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Originally Posted by jburnett
I've never seen one of them break; they're pretty big, 12mm I believe and are hardened...But, it's a mass-produced component and there's always a possibility for failure. You know what they say: $h!t happens!!
-Jeb
-Jeb
