Technical Wheel Bolts

[TwyRob]

Hi,

Fitted some punto wheel trims last week. Went on well and look great! However, be careful with your wheel bolts. One bolt sheared clean in half! I did not overtighten it either, just made it finger tight and then as soon as I turned the wheel brace it broke. My partners father (an engineer) says that the bolt was too brittle in the centre of the metal, therefore faulty. It was not easy to get the end out either! Took a mechanic half an hour with a blowtorch to heat the metal and dismantling the brakes etc.

Replacements can be found at scrap yards, not doblo bolts (cos they never die!) but same size etc.

 

[RichDoblo120]

Was it an original Doblo bolt?

 

[TwyRob]

Yeah, it was an original wheel bolt - four years old. The replacement looks different but the thread, depth of the bolt and the size of the head are the same as well as the angled section close to the head. Identical in those terms, just not colour.

It was a bit worrying so I bought four to be on the safe side!

 

[RichDoblo120]

That is a bit worrying. Never heard of a wheel bolt breaking that easily

 

[TwyRob]

It was probably just a bad bolt/batch. Shouldn't be any worry for you, mine is an '03 reg so much older.

The replacement I used seems to be a little heavier or something. Car's pulling slightly to the left sometimes. Dunno if the centrifugal force of a heavier bolt spinning would cause any problems or not.

I'm determined not to loose faith in my Doblo, all the things that go wrong are just little and somewhat annoying, compared to other cars I've had this one's a saint!