Rear suspension, broken bolt!

Hi everyone!
Yesterday I was driving my D in my neighborhood, when I heard a snap sound, on my rear wheel passenger side.
Today when ai had a better look on what happened, I saw that the m12 bolt that connect radius arm to the chassi was broken!
I was lucky that I was driving real slow!
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2c3c7f01b3.png
Anyone ever experienced such thing?
The problem is that the bolt is stucked into the Radius arm, I have to figure how to remove it.


Fernando Silotto. Sao Paulo - Brazil
Delorean Vin 3772

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by madstudios

Hi everyone!
Yesterday I was driving my D in my neighborhood, when I heard a snap sound, on my rear wheel passenger side.
Today when ai had a better look on what happened, I saw that the m12 bolt that connect radius arm to the chassi was broken!
I was lucky that I was driving real slow!
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2c3c7f01b3.png
Anyone ever experienced such thing?
The problem is that the bolt is stucked into the Radius arm, I have to figure how to remove it.


Fernando Silotto. Sao Paulo - Brazil
Delorean Vin 3772

---

Just for reference, this is the bolt I'm referring
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...5feadc6c00.jpg



Fernando Silotto. Sao Paulo - Brazil
Delorean Vin 3772

That's the infamous TAB, or Trailing Arm Bolt. The originals are weak and eventually they bend or break. It's one of those things everyone needs to check on their cars. The newer ones you can buy from the vendors are apparently much stronger. It's good you weren't travelling at high speeds.

First a safety note as part of this job: take the time to inspect the same bolt on the other side of the car. Your best bet is to assume it is also in need of replacement/upgrade - so plan to order a pair of the Trailing Arm Bolts and replace them both. And do NOT try to use standard bolts for this important suspension connection.

For bolt removal - Some TAB removal methods are detailed here: LINK:http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?1324
Starting at about Post #5....

And grab yourself some.....

Attachment 52682

...sorry...had to....

A well known failure point. It should be inspected at least annually. If you do not see shims (or the correct # of shims) the bolt has loosened and is bending and will eventually fail. I like to write the # of shims on each side right on the frame with magic marker. Each side can have a different # of shims. Because it is difficult to actually inspect the TAB's unless you remove the aluminum shields, they do not get inspected properly or often. Thankfully we often hear of a TAB breaking at very low speeds although it has happened, rarely, at higher speeds.