Warning - Broken control arm bolt!

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Viperoni

Everybody's said that, but this is the only car I've had this "weak bolts" problem with, and I've been through a few cars... and have done a ton of work on them too.

Probably the best example was with my old 92 Nissan NX2000 that I had before my Echo (which I bought in 2010), meaning the NX was 18 years old at the time, I was able to get control arms bolts, header bolts (at the motor and collector), and some others out reasonably well. No snapping, just breaker barring it out. The car had around 180k at the time and was winter driven by the previous owner.

I have seen far more bolt issues as of late as well, but not just with the Yaris. I was helping a buddy of mine change his rear shocks on his relatively new Jeep and we sheared two bolts in the process. I swear that it has nothing to do with the manufacturers cheaping out on bolts, but rather on these new road salts that are being used.

[Viperoni]

Originally Posted by CTScott

I have seen far more bolt issues as of late as well, but not just with the Yaris. I was helping a buddy of mine change his rear shocks on his relatively new Jeep and we sheared two bolts in the process. I swear that it has nothing to do with the manufacturers cheaping out on bolts, but rather on these new road salts that are being used.

Possible... I don't have it anymore, but just before I got my Echo in 2010, my 1992 Nissan NX2000 that was winter driven in Canada, didn't have any issues removing bolts.
One bolt that was memorable was the bolt that bolted the two rear lateral links (control arms) onto the spindle. I needed to use a 2 foot breaker bar and a 4 foot pipe on an impact socket and *REALLY* needed to put my weight into it.. and I'm over 200lbs. There was at least 500ft lbs of torque going into that 1/2" bolt and it survived fine.

Referencing this thread in particular, even though these front LCA bolts aren't even getting much shear load, mainly tension they're still snapping... which really makes me think it's a metal quality issue.
And my thermostat housing stud snapping issue I just had is another example...

[andulong]

Finally got around to replacing my bolts today. Old ones came right out (with a long cheater bar) and still looked very good. Appeared to have only minor surface rust. I am in Southern CA and am sure that has a lot to do with the condition of the bolts. I will most likely not need to worry about this again. If I didn't have the new bolts ready to go, I would have most likely re installed the old ones. Thanks for everyone's input on this issue.