Broken Bolt FYI

[scootter]

Just an FYI for something to check.

The other day my wife said the car was making a clunking noise by the rear end ( she has to tell me the noise's the car makes since I can't hear sh?t). Had the car up on stands since I was changing the oil and knew to check the bracket on the rear end since the bottom two bolts came loose before. All was good so figured she was hearing something else. Went to go get gas the night before our road trip when she told me again ( thank god she went). So I took at my ear plugs and could hear it. Put he car up on the stands again and was a bit confused when I looked up on top of where the rear third member bracket hooks to the frame. The top bolt was sticking out about an inch. No problem. Pound it back in and put a nut on it. NOT! The end of the bolt was sheared off. Mind you, this is a M12 8.8 5" long bolt. Try to find that late on a Thursday night, let alone early Friday. The third supply house had a 4 1/2" long one that barley got me by to do the trip. I did order a new one with a longer shoulder from Mc Master Carr that is 5" and will have no thread in the bushing or bracket to hopefully cure the problem.

The car has 34k miles with a lot of spirited driving. So remember to check those bolts. I hate to think what could/would have happened if it came all the way!!!

Scott