My A4 (2003 3.0) has tire bolts that rust and are very difficult to remove. I typically need to use a breaker bar to loosen up the bolt and even then the breaker bar requires a lot of force. (Last time the bolt stripped clean even though the proper 17mm carbon steel hardened socket was used. That required the bolt to be drilled out)

I live in upstate New York and we got a lot of snow so they use a lot of salt on the roads. The design of the hub where the bolts screw into have open backings, therefore water can just seep around the bolts. ie, The hole where the bolt screws into has no end, its just an open hole) I have worked on other cars that have lug nuts and with those setups, water can not leak through the back and cause rust.

I am curious as to what other audi drivers use to stop the bolts from rusting, a little bit of anti seize? Periodically taking off each bolt?

Thanks

 

i never had this problem but as of this winter i did start using antisieze on just about every bolt and screw on my car since it is getting old (40k shy of the 200k mark) so if i ever sevice the parts i dotn want any stuck surprises.

 

My car has plastic caps that cover the bolts.

 

As SAudi says, anti sieze compound is the best thing to use. Wipe some on the treads of each bolt and it spreads itself whenyou screw the bolt in. I also put some on the back of the wheel where it meets the hub (brake rotor) to prevent the wheel from sticking. This is especially important when using steel winter wheels.

Also, get a good torque wrench and tighten the bolts to the specified torque (I believe 90 Nm). If you take your car to a tire store remind themnot to over torque the bolts. I'd even check them when I got home. Even if you have to backovertightened bolts off and re-torque them, it will be easier than waiting for corrosion to set in and put you through broken bolts again.

 

Thanks for the tips guys, I will take off all the bolts and then apply some anti seize.

As for the plastic caps, they only protect the bolt from the outside conditions on one side of the bolt. I am not sure why the hubs were not designed so that the other side of the bolt had a sealed backing.

 

my tire place just asked me to rotate my tires more often. i guess they had some trouble getting those steely's off too.