Switch lanes, snap a toe link bolt. The hell? - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

bthomp01 · 10-09-2014, 07:41 PM

It's not supposed to look like this, is it?

So a couple days ago I was getting onto the highway, the person on the on-ramp was going exceptionally slow. As soon as I could get two lanes over and get around them I made the move and gunned it... no big deal. I noticed a little ways down the road that my car was pulling to the right a bit, but no noticeable vibration or noise. I got to work, got out and did took a look around at the car, front and back and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

This was yesterday. I called the dealer and decided to wait til I could kill a Saturday and made an appointment. I changed my mind and I'm VERY glad I did... I got home yesterday fine, still pulling to the right but nothing obvious.

This morning was a FAR different story, on the way to the dealership it was pulling a little more, but it just felt... odd. I felt like I was hydroplaning the whole way to the dealer. On the way, service stabilitrak came on, I threw on the hazards and crawled the final half mile.

I got out, took a quick look and still couldn't see anything obvious. The fronts looked like they were fine, the rears looked fine. I drop it off, and get this text from the dealer:

The toe link bolt is completely effing sheared off at the knuckle.

The car is lowered on BC Racing coil overs with rear cradle bushings, sporting 20x10 wheels with 275/40R20 Nitto Invos. There's no way the lateral force from the quick lane shift should have been enough to take this bolt down, is it? I've got less than 40,000 miles on it, the vast majority of which have just been highway.

PEW-PROFESSIONAL · 10-09-2014, 08:57 PM

WOW, That seems like there was a flaw in the bolt, luckily not much to damage, just need to get the rest of the bolt out and replace it.

X25 · 10-09-2014, 11:43 PM

It might just have been over-torqued at the alignment shop. They use air guns on everything.

Apex Motorsports · 10-10-2014, 06:24 AM

That bolt was definitely compromised.

JDP Sales · 10-10-2014, 11:30 AM

Never seen that happen before. Definitely a bad bolt!

Best regards,

Tyler
888-308-6007

bonesrn27 · 10-10-2014, 03:43 PM

Great excuse to slap some BMR trailing arms n toes on there!!!

bthomp01 · 10-10-2014, 08:34 PM

I got the car back today and it feels fantastic. I'm not sure if this was a lingering issue and it finally gave, but the car feels 100% tighter than it did before the issue. I had issues with riding over pavement seams, it felt like the car was moving laterally when turning on a pavement seam.... no more.

Total cost including a synthetic oil change and some wiper blades: $680. I just so happened to be at the time for an oil change and had it taken care of while they had it... I feel like this could have been an absolutely catastrophic repair. I'm from Detroit, so here's some ruin porn:

Looks like the knuckle was destroyed, that bolt ripped out a good quarter inch of threads.

L99CAMA2011 · 10-10-2014, 09:14 PM

Just for safety sake i'm replacing my bolts. I had a Whiteline toe are brake st 10mph.

Dexman1349 · 10-13-2014, 11:42 AM

Damn

I've had several of these bolts out when doing my own mods. Hope they are still ok...

10-09-2014, 07:41 PM	#1
bthomp01 Drives: 2010 2SS/RS IBM M6 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 359 View My Garage	Switch lanes, snap a toe link bolt. The hell? It's not supposed to look like this, is it? So a couple days ago I was getting onto the highway, the person on the on-ramp was going exceptionally slow. As soon as I could get two lanes over and get around them I made the move and gunned it... no big deal. I noticed a little ways down the road that my car was pulling to the right a bit, but no noticeable vibration or noise. I got to work, got out and did took a look around at the car, front and back and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. This was yesterday. I called the dealer and decided to wait til I could kill a Saturday and made an appointment. I changed my mind and I'm VERY glad I did... I got home yesterday fine, still pulling to the right but nothing obvious. This morning was a FAR different story, on the way to the dealership it was pulling a little more, but it just felt... odd. I felt like I was hydroplaning the whole way to the dealer. On the way, service stabilitrak came on, I threw on the hazards and crawled the final half mile. I got out, took a quick look and still couldn't see anything obvious. The fronts looked like they were fine, the rears looked fine. I drop it off, and get this text from the dealer: The toe link bolt is completely effing sheared off at the knuckle. The car is lowered on BC Racing coil overs with rear cradle bushings, sporting 20x10 wheels with 275/40R20 Nitto Invos. There's no way the lateral force from the quick lane shift should have been enough to take this bolt down, is it? I've got less than 40,000 miles on it, the vast majority of which have just been highway. __________________ 2010 IBM 2SS/RS - T BRUTAL Matte Black Bumblebee Stripes - Unpainted Heritage Grille - Blacked Out Bowties - Stainless Works S-Tube Catback - CAI, Inc. Cold Air Intake Whiteline Rear Cradle, Rear Differential, Front Radius Rod Bushings - BC Racing BR Coilovers - Installed by Whiteside Customs

10-09-2014, 11:43 PM	#3
X25 Drives: '16 C7 Z51 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Redmond, WA Posts: 3,056	It might just have been over-torqued at the alignment shop. They use air guns on everything. __________________ '16 Corvette C7 Z51 1LT (Build Thread) '14 AGM 1SS 1LE [COTW 11/17/14] (Build Thread) (SOLD) '13 Mazda MX-5 Club (Build Thread) '17 RAM 1500 Crew Cab 4x4 Night Edition '15 Nissan Rogue S AWD

10-10-2014, 08:34 PM	#7
bthomp01 Drives: 2010 2SS/RS IBM M6 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 359 View My Garage	I got the car back today and it feels fantastic. I'm not sure if this was a lingering issue and it finally gave, but the car feels 100% tighter than it did before the issue. I had issues with riding over pavement seams, it felt like the car was moving laterally when turning on a pavement seam.... no more. Total cost including a synthetic oil change and some wiper blades: $680. I just so happened to be at the time for an oil change and had it taken care of while they had it... I feel like this could have been an absolutely catastrophic repair. I'm from Detroit, so here's some ruin porn: Looks like the knuckle was destroyed, that bolt ripped out a good quarter inch of threads. __________________ 2010 IBM 2SS/RS - T BRUTAL Matte Black Bumblebee Stripes - Unpainted Heritage Grille - Blacked Out Bowties - Stainless Works S-Tube Catback - CAI, Inc. Cold Air Intake Whiteline Rear Cradle, Rear Differential, Front Radius Rod Bushings - BC Racing BR Coilovers - Installed by Whiteside Customs

10-13-2014, 11:42 AM	#9
Dexman1349 2010 2SS/RS M6 Drives: 2010 2SS/RS M6 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Auckland, NZ Posts: 1,482	Damn I've had several of these bolts out when doing my own mods. Hope they are still ok... __________________ 2/7/2014: 419 hp, 419 tq Cosmetic: ZL1 front w/mailslot, painted stripes, powdercoated SS rims, tow hook, and full chrome delete Suspension: Pfadt subframe bushings, Pfadt rear UCA bushings, Z28 Upper control arms, Spohn trailing arms with BMR trailing arm & differential bushings, ZL1 Toe Rods and springs, Prothane radius arm inserts & steering rack bushing, Pfadt Sport front sway, FE4 conversion w/ DS rear sway, Pfadt strut brace Drivetrain: RMCR tune, CAI intake, Kooks headers, hi-flo cats & exhaust, VMAX TB, ZL1 fuel pump, LSR Tri-Ax shifter Bumblebee Racecar Build

10-09-2014, 08:57 PM	#2
PEW-PROFESSIONAL Drives: 2014 Chevy Camaro 2SS Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 324 View My Garage	WOW, That seems like there was a flaw in the bolt, luckily not much to damage, just need to get the rest of the bolt out and replace it.

10-10-2014, 06:24 AM	#4
Apex Motorsports Drives: 2000 Camaro SS Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Louisville, Ky. Posts: 25,179	That bolt was definitely compromised.

10-10-2014, 11:30 AM	#5
JDP Sales Drives: Chevys at the limit Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: SLC, UT Posts: 9,621	Never seen that happen before. Definitely a bad bolt! Best regards, Tyler 888-308-6007

10-10-2014, 03:43 PM	#6
bonesrn27 Drives: 2010 Camaro SS Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Fla Posts: 61	Great excuse to slap some BMR trailing arms n toes on there!!!

10-10-2014, 09:14 PM	#8
L99CAMA2011 Drives: One of the baddest handling Gen 5s Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Masachusetts Posts: 4,177	Just for safety sake i'm replacing my bolts. I had a Whiteline toe are brake st 10mph.