New road wheel bolts?

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Wed 16 Jul 2003 14:27
New road wheel bolts? - andrew4
I have a VW Mk2 Golf.

I recently suffered the problem of a sheared brake caliper bolt, I got a garage to drill out the bolt and re-tap the brake housing thread.

The caliper bolt was always tight and I assume that the bolt had weakened due to thermal load and constant undoing and retightening.

Bearing this in mind should I replace the road wheel bolts as these too undergo thermal loads and constant undoing and retightening through the course of time?
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Wed 16 Jul 2003 14:31
New road wheel bolts? - bertj
I wouldn't think so but if you do, make sure that you buy the correct bolts. VW wheel bolts have a rounded taper; most other cars use a flat taper.
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Wed 16 Jul 2003 15:56
New road wheel bolts? - sean
Hi Andrew4,

Your brake caliper bolt sheared not because of frequent tightening and loosening, but because it was seized in place and the strength of the metal was not equal to the strength of torque used to loosen it. I don't recommend putting it anywhere near brake bolts, but Copaslip is used elsewhere to prevent this seizing.

For your wheel bolts, no. Why change them? If you think about each wheel I bet you won't loosen and tighten the bolts more than a dozen times in the life of the car, if that.

Set of tyres every 2 years, maybe? The odd puncture, say every 18 months / 4 tyres = 1 change per set of wheels in 6 years.

Leave them and rest assured, mate.
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