Re: [DML] Re: Trailing Arm Bolt Concerns

[Mike Substelny <msubstel@xxxx>]

David Swingle wrote:

> Funny you should mention this. Take a look at:
>
> http://www.dmcnews.com/Techsection/rollover.html

Ouch! This picture shows many unfortunate things for the car's owner, yet omits another
thing that is unfortunate for the rest of us. It does not clearly show what happens to
the back wheel when a trailing arm bolt fails! In the picture, both rear wheels appear
to be straight and normal.

For those who have never seen it, even without an accident a DeLorean with a failed
trailing arm bolt is a sickening sight. Imagine one of the rear wheels twisted back into
the wheel well in a pigeon-toed fashion, with the stainless cutting into the tire's
tread.

Does anyone have a photo of that?


David Teitelbaum wrote:

> > Failure of this bolt has caused some cars to lose control as told
> > in this list, fortunatly it seems to happen at low speeds but I don't
> > see why it couldn't happen at highway speeds.

When cruising on a straight, flat highway there is not much stress on the bolts. They
are most likely to fail when turning or accelerating. In a moment that combines both
turning and accelerating, your TA bolts are especially vulnerable. Moments like that
usually happen at lower speeds, thank goodness, as in pulling out of a driveway or
parking space.

- Mike Substelny
VIN 01280, 8 years, second set of TA bolts