JPA1

It started with some small vibrations and I thought first that the shock absorber was having a problem but then it felt like there was no damping effect at all, and when I took the last curve left before arriving home (100 feet away), it felt the whole front right suspension collapsed... in the garage I look below and there was some hydraulic fluid... The wheel in itself looked OK, so I took it off and ...voila...: the whole lower arm bolt/nut was missing! how on earth this thing can unscrew? As I walked back toward the last curve before my house, here it was: I found the bolt on the road but not the nut; I replaced the nut (found one similar at ACE and a lock washer, but I already ordered the genuine one(s)) and the fluid is from the front differential (it's a C4S)... Other than that, no major damage, I think I have to re-do an alignment ? also I saw on ECS that they have these competition bushings that can adjust the camber, maybe it is a good opportunity to change these one as well, after all this grandma is 100Kmiles... although an hour before that, she was still doing 120mph... I just imagine what would happen if the wheel flies off at this speed.... Anyway, I guess I am going to re-check all these suspension elements on all the car, otherwise I'll get a bit nervous at speed...


front differential oil.. not much lost, but how can I check if the level is still ok?



OMG!



Here it is, found it back on the road!

JPA1

Also , someone knows the value I should torque these nuts?

sullivas

I discovered mine was loose because I heard noise when going over certain bumps/depressions.
Purchased new nut and bolt and tightened to I think 90# but a Tech at an Indie said I should/can tighten it more because the bolt takes a lot of torque when cornering. So I think I went up to 120#.
If the ear mounts are ovaled from the loose bolt wearing out the hole you want to make sure it's tight. So far mine has stayed tight, don't think I had ovals. I don't DE the car. The ears are part of the under carriage, and if you have to replace the under carriage I think the job is 2-3k. An alignment is a good idea after replacement.

Johnny DB

Why would the front diff leak oil because of the missing bolt?

nwGTS

This is not as uncommon as you might think. This happened to me too but I caught it before it backed completely out. I posted about this in the race/DE section. Here are the links with some comments:

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...acked-out.html
https://rennlist.com/forums/racing-a...on-common.html

JPA1

I think this is because when the right wheel turned and the lower suspension link snapped off due to the missing bolt, the front right axle exerted a pull and maybe slightly unlodged the bearing or unseated the right seal/boot and hydraulic oil leaked...

How do you check front diff. oil level to see it is ok?

JPA1

Thanks for your feedback! I'll torque it (and the other ones) to 120# !

JPA1

Thanks! great advice on this thread... Also maybe the fact that I have 20" wheels with ultralow profile tires put the suspension under greater stress that standard ? plus I almost always run in sport mode...

caslca

torque spec is 121NM/89ft-lb

sullivas

Ok but remember I did this on my own, I *think* it was 120 IIRC, it was a while ago. The spec is 89 so if the threads give, don't hold me in contempt! Also you don't want to bend/damage the mounting ears. Maybe do 100-110 and see if that holds for you?

Ducati_John

Check that the oil level is at the bottom of the fill plug hole. If it's below the level of the hole, add more until it starts to run out.

Johnny DB

I thought I read that the oil should be 7mm below the fill hole?

Ducati_John

Not according to the manual.

Johnny DB

Okay, sorry. I guess it's different for the Turbo.

Ducati_John

Depends on the year maybe, but at least for 07 and 08 the turbos are the same.