Re: [DML] Re: Symptoms of bad TA bolts

[Martin Gutkowski - DMUK Ltd <martin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The original poster asked for an easy way to test for loose bolts. 
Assuming the car is regularly driven, it's an early warning that they're 
coming loose. Of course you need to look for other road users before 
doing it, I like to credit those who read my posts with some 
intelligence :-)

Also, you're wrong about the shims. They are a very specific shape 
designed to "click" over the bolt, and in the case of one that has never 
been removed, the shims should stay on the bolt even when the bolt's 
loose. Theory and parctice don't always meet in the midle though.

If the bolt is frozen in the arm, then you won't be _able_ to torque the 
head..... as you suggest. You mean that it doesn't matter how much you 
put on the nut, the critical joint will be loose, or at the very least 
at a lower torque than necessary.

Yes, I agree driving on known loose bolts is a bad idea - in my case I 
was taking the car slowly down to the workshop to do the job, and 
literally swapped ends on a wet road while pulling out of a junction. It 
happenned so slowly that I realised that doing a full 180 would be 
preferable to stopping parked across the road, so I kept the pedal down 
and slewed it round. I'm sure it didn't help that the car was using 
original NCT's but I gave it a lot more respect the rest of the way!

Ultimately, David, we're singing from the same hymn sheet. In the real 
world, checking the TABs visually is a great idea, but simply not 
practical in a lot of cases. You can see a good example of a bad bolt here

http://www.delorean.co.uk/DMUK/newparts1.html#tabs

I cut that sod out. That was fun....

Martin








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