Hello. I have a 2003 C230 Sport sedan and discovered a sheared bolt lying next to my driver's front wheel. Anyway Does anyone know the name of this bolt? Excuse my mechanic ignorance, but it came from the driver's front wheel area where there is a long metal tube going from the wheel up alongside the fender. It seemed to have sheered off.

Is this a common problem? Is it unsafe to drive? Anyone have this problem or knows what could have caused it? Also, how much to fix?

 

Strut mount? Post a picture of the "missing area" please...Or some one will chime in!

Good luck,
Jake

 

Just got done trying to get a pic of the area. Here it is:







Thanks for replying!

 

Please DO NOT drive the car until that bolt is replaced!

 

Thanks BF JC230 and Splinter! That was fast. I won't drive it till it's fixed.

Any idea what could have caused it? Weak bolts or something else? I have not hit a curb or done anything else that could have stressed the bolt to break at the head. Would you recommend replacing both front wheel strut mounting bolts?

 

Can’t speculate on what caused the failure. Had that happened at speed while supporting a hefty lateral load - well, not too pretty as you can imagine.

Noticed that while installing my new struts, that particular bolt has been revised from a hex head to an external torx. Don’t know why. They have not been known as prone to failure, or the NHTSA would have mandated a recall long ago.

I’d respectfully suggest all three lower attaching bolts be replaced in case the other two that didn’t break have been overstressed. Also, have the other side checked to verify its (perhaps precarious) condition.

 

I second that...

Good luck - Please keep us posted!
Jake

 

wow, I have never seen that before. Real good advice above. It may be the best isea to replace al the bolts, left and right. A proper alignment may be needed as those bolts hold the suspension geometry intact.
Has there been any service done to the car recently?
Has the car ever been in a colision?
Somebody from above was looking out for you when they let you find that bolt when and where you did.

 

Splinter is right on as usual and you should follow his advice. I would suggest replacing the 3 on BOTH sides, as a precaution.

It appears that there is some corrosion on the bolt near the socket head end. I suspect the corrosion may have had something to do with the failure. But more likely IMO, is that bolt was probably over torqued at some point.

 

I'm having it towed in a little while to a shop that will fix it. (Dont have the towing eyelet either so hopefully it's a universal one the tow driver has) While there I'll have them do the cam sensor thing as preventive maintenance. You are right, someone was watching from above. Thank God my wife and 2 children (or me) weren't driving while it happened. I thought the rusted bolt was weird too, but it does have 57,000 miles on it.

 

contrary to my earlier post you may not need an alignment as a result of replacing these bolts. The above post has a clear part number on the bag of replacements and I would advise your shop to use these bolt kits. proper torque should also be applied as the abundant use of impact wrenches in shops these days (especialy on chassis work) could have caused this in the first place.
I am still curious if this area of the car has received service in the past. Maybe a past owner, or if you are the original owner, there may have been a reason for this. Based on your milage, I would not suspect a failure of this bolt. I quess it could happen but I have never seen it in 22 years as a Mercedes/Porsche tech.

 

Yes - This is a "strange" failure - That should not brake with no signs of great stress...

To replace your tow hook eye it is a 1" x 8 thread count bolt...
P/N 220 -628-01-35

Good Luck,
Jake

 

The mechanic checked it out and said everything else on both sides looked fine. It was just that bolt. Since the car has no history of getting hit, he thought, like many of you have pointed out, that the bolt was either torqued too much, or it was a faulty bolt to begin with.

I really appreciate all your support, diagrams, etc..It really gave me peace of mind and knowledge when discussing this w/ the mechanic. I love this site! If I can be of help to anyone else, I will.

 

Thanks for the kind words. We are here for you man. I hope you have a good shop and especially a good tech. Find a guy you can trust and develop a relationship with them. Its very important with these cars. A bad wrench can ruin the joys of ownership over night.

 

I hear ya Whalebird. This is a local shop I found/researched, who's rates are cheaper than the dealers, works only on high end cars, has been in business for over 20 years w/ the same mechanics, and came highly recommended. I hope this is the one.

 

I hear that - Just the other day when my Dad and I were installing the Smoker Delete Console Tray and the new Digital AAC it took a few minutes to truly insure that the self tapping OEM torx screws were going back into their original thread races...we had to start them, feel them out - and then set them once they were in - Anyone else may have just rammed them in and cut new threads in the plastic - which over time / or night would have caused a loose non-factory fitted part and feel!

I share this picture with you - every fall the car chassis is painted, inspected and cleaned / lubed...The jack stands are not supporting the car - they are there to save me if needed – I hope not!

Take care!
Jake

 

I didn't know you can change our climate controls to digital. What's the part# and was it easy to install? I will send you a PM.

 

Do you have to have the dealer "code" the new control unit?

 

Got the car back and it is great. I also have piece of mind knowing that the cam sensor thing is taken care of, seeing that I already have 57,000 + miles on the car right now.

 

Please see the THREAD "NEW MODS" started by RW C55 in the AMG w203 forum...

Thanks,
Jake

(Too much to type...and copy paste...)