Hi,
I know this issue has come up before, but I always thought, "never happen to
me" so I didn't pay close attention. Well, it happened to me, driving down
the Garden State Parkway headed for a week at the shore. Fortunately, the
lower studs had only pulled partway out when I noticed excessive camber on the
RR wheel after arriving in Cape May. A previous owner apparently had
helicoiled all 6 studs, which held since sometime before I bought the car in
1982
until last week. I tried drilling a little deeper and adding new helicoils.
That seemed to hold, but for insurance I drilled a 1/4" hole all the way
through the casting from the bottom stud hole, hogged out some of the
protrusion
on the back side to make room for a nyloc nut, and through-bolted with a 1/4"
grade 5 hex head bolt. Got home yesterday with all intact.
I have spare trailing arms I got for free some years ago. They seem fine,
but I wonder.
What is the best way to check the studs for security.
What would be the best approach to strengthening the hold that the studs
have in the aluminum?
Is there a better thread replacement than helicoil, or one that will work in
a hole where helicoils have pulled loose?
Is there any reason, other than originality, not to through-bolt at the
bottom as I did in my shadetree repair?
Is there a hot setup that solves this problem for autocrossers, who must
surely have faced this issue more frequently than sedate (relatively) street
drivers like me?
Thanks in advance for any advice the list can offer,
Jim Knight
_jimandruthhome@aol.com_ (mailto:jimandruthhome@aol.com)
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