I removed it thinking about the seal - which actually made it extremely easy to remove the old timing belt as the oil pump pulley came out.
It turned out that the seal is dry as an old hag, so I won't even bother with it. However, I totally forgot about bolt to look it up when purchasing all the other parts, and I really hate to pay shipping just for one single item.

Bentley says to always replace the bolt.
I would love to know why it is necessary to replace it always if there's no galling on the thread.
I tried to read about "torque bolts" vs "torque-to-yield bolts", but plastic state vs elastic state may be too much to get into from my "mechanical" perspective or easy/practical understanding.
Is the TTY about the head of the bolt, or about the thread? Or is it a relationship of the both?

What is the risk to put the old bolt back in with threadlock on it?
Tks in advance, guys.

Here's how my bolt came out:
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Reusing a "torque to yield fastener" may result in catstophic failure! Do you want to risk having a bolt snap off in your crankshaft?
If you don't want to pay for shipping, you could get the crankshaft bolt from an Audi dealer. For a 1996 2.8L AFC engine the crankshaft bolt, 12-point head bolt M18X1,5X85, part number is 078-105-229-D . You may look up many Audi part numbers at www.vagcat.com even though this site is for european Audi.

 

They are put in tight and stretch when removed so you would be able to notice any fractures by eye. Same with head bolts the damage is done removing them. I would need a case of Xanex if that broke off in my crankshaft. If you reuse them most likely you would snap it off next time you go to take it out. The CV Joint bolts are as well. 21.27 from Audi and I'm looking at it right now. Some how I don't think the shipping will be worse than the 200% mark-up.

 

Yep.. it would most likely snap.. but not when you removed it again. It would do it during that 'plus 1/2 turn'.. then you'd be really pissed.

You dont really need to get the Audi bolt, you could get any metric grade 9.8 or higher bolt of the same size and pitch - M18 (size) X1.5 (pitch) X85 (length). Head down to the auto store and ask them to look up any metric grade 9.8 or higher of that size. If its not a T2Y, then go to about 170-175 ft-lbs.

just a fyi:

A metric grade 9.8 bolts have a minimum proof strength of 650 MPa (just under 100 ksi).

SAE grade 8 bolts have a minimum proof strength of 120 ksi so they are somewhat stronger than metric 9.8. They are cheaper too, but wont fit

http://euler9.tripod.com/bolt-database/22.html


edit: looking at it again, you could prolly get away with a shorter bolt but prolly not more than 5mm. Use blue loctite.

 

Thanks much for your help, guys.
I'll check the stores before the ... last resort (dealer). And certainly we don't want to have catastrophic "morons" in this community, do we?

regards, gents

 

It turns out the bolt is not a dealer-only item, thank god (although at the dealer is only $ 15, but way far from where I live).

Several trusty merchants carry it on their stock (ECSTuning, Ariz Autohaus, AllEuropeanAutoParts, etc). Is around $ 13... fair enough.
Thanks again for the vagcat.com suggestion, hcw. At the time I had a brain "blank" about the site. Totally forgot it exists.

 

Couldnt find it close?

 

No....I would have to make a special trip to Springfield or Quad Cities. Peoria is the closest one, but it doesn't have anymore an Audi dealership (SUD's) - prolly they went out of business.

It would have been nice if EcsTuning had free shipping after a certain amount of purchasing, so I think I'll get it from my favorite store (AAz) along with some other nicknacks I may still need.