Greetings everyone,

I'm in a bit of a conundrum after doing some work on ol reliable. 

Vehicle: 91 Subaru Loyale 

Here's the breakdown: we pulled the motor for a clutch replacement and while we were at it, we also replaced the front axles, outer tie rods, distributor cap/rotor, spark plugs/wires, and both drive belts. It was quite the undertaking, but we managed to get everything back together – or so we thought.

As we were wrapping up the job, I noticed there's one bolt left over, and it's been bugging me ever since. We meticulously accounted for every bolt and nut during disassembly and made sure to keep track of everything. I used plastic bags and labeled with sharpie what bolts went to. However, despite our efforts, this one bolt seems to have slipped through the cracks.

I've gone over the areas we worked on multiple times, inspected the engine bay, and crawled under the car, but no luck. It's like playing automotive detective, trying to figure out where this bolt belongs.

Given the extensive nature of the work we did, I'm a bit concerned that this bolt might be crucial to the operation or integrity of some component. It's not the kind of thing I want to leave to chance.

So, fellow enthusiasts and seasoned mechanics, I'm reaching out to tap into your collective wisdom. Have you ever encountered a similar situation after performing major repairs or replacements? How did you go about tracking down the origin of leftover bolts?

I'm open to any suggestions or insights you might have. It's a head-scratcher for sure, and any help in solving this mystery would be greatly appreciated.

I'll throw in a pic of the bolt. I'm hoping someone with much more experience than myself can chime in! The bolt is 14mm if that helps at all. 

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

https://tinypic.host/image/IMG-2867.D2uiIR

Edited March 5, 20242 yr by TD90_nw

36 minutes ago, TD90_nw said:

 

https://tinypic.host/image/IMG-2867.D2uiIR 

The good news is that I can’t see it being a bolt from a major component like a ball joint or hub retainer bolt as they have captive threads, rendering that nut useless. And it’s too short for a suspension arm bolt.

I’ve had this many times without issue. Keep the left over bits aside in a labelled container incase you find a missing bolt. While they’re off the vehicle consider the effort as weight reduction. 

Cheers 

Bennie

Edited March 5, 20242 yr by el_freddo

Torque rod end bolt at top of engine?

 

 

1 hour ago, czny said:

Torque rod end bolt at top of engine?

 

 

Sadly no the'yre both there. I did run outside to look as soon as I saw your post.

r a clutch replacement - engine to bellhousing ? 
 

and while we were at it, we also replaced the front axles, - only at the knuckle if you loosened to assist axle r&r

 outer tie rods,- not seeing a 14mm bolt there

 distributor cap/rotor, spark plugs/wires, - have all the wire supports if any, back in place?

 and both drive belts. - not timing belts right? 
 

Anything else you may have moved aside to assist access? 
14mm head is a bit sturdy for something like an overflow bottle mount etc . Good mystery. 

13 hours ago, moosens said:

r a clutch replacement - engine to bellhousing ? 
 

and while we were at it, we also replaced the front axles, - only at the knuckle if you loosened to assist axle r&r

 outer tie rods,- not seeing a 14mm bolt there

 distributor cap/rotor, spark plugs/wires, - have all the wire supports if any, back in place?

 and both drive belts. - not timing belts right? 
 

Anything else you may have moved aside to assist access? 
14mm head is a bit sturdy for something like an overflow bottle mount etc . Good mystery. 

Lower control arm inner pivot bolt?

Can't recall at the moment if stock pivot bolt is 10 mm or 12 mm shank diameter.

Strut knuckle bolt maybe?

Edited March 6, 20242 yr by czny

The Factory Service Manuals that are floating out there have bolt sizes and torque measurements in them. What I would do is match the bolt to the bolt/torque sizes in the guide. You could then use the exploded diagrams in the FSM as a map to show you where a bolt that size could have come off on the areas  you actually worked on.

17 hours ago, czny said:

Strut knuckle bolt maybe?

That was one of my thoughts but there’s a captive thread in that so where did the nut come from? 

I’d double check that you do in fact have the ball joint retainer bolt in place on either side and done up appropriately tight. You don’t want one of those ball joints dropping out and letting your hub take its own unplanned trip! 

My other thought was also the engine pitch stopper rod, I wonder if this was replaced with another bolt from somewhere else… 

Being that this was a “we” job - as in we did this and we did that… old mate isn’t stitching you up by placing this Subaru looking bolt in the mix of all your other nuts and bolts? That’s something a good mate might do as a prank!

Cheers 

Bennie

6 hours ago, el_freddo said:

That was one of my thoughts but there’s a captive thread in that so where did the nut come from? 

I’d double check that you do in fact have the ball joint retainer bolt in place on either side and done up appropriately tight. You don’t want one of those ball joints dropping out and letting your hub take its own unplanned trip! 

My other thought was also the engine pitch stopper rod, I wonder if this was replaced with another bolt from somewhere else… 

Being that this was a “we” job - as in we did this and we did that… old mate isn’t stitching you up by placing this Subaru looking bolt in the mix of all your other nuts and bolts? That’s something a good mate might do as a prank!

Cheers 

Bennie

The prank aspect occurred to me too Bennie. Worse yet is the jokester who walks off with your hardware in their toolkit.

Did the OP replace a ball joint while at it?

We don't know, yet.

BUT, sometimes there's a new spare bolt with nut included in ball joint kits.

Edited March 7, 20242 yr by czny

On 3/5/2024 at 2:04 PM, czny said:

I'm really hoping my buddy is just messing with me and it is a prank!  We didn't do ball joints. Good news is the car still is intact and everything seems to be functioning properly. Cheers everyone thanks for the help ill update if anything happens.

 

Edited March 7, 20242 yr by TD90_nw
oops typo

It looks like a bolt and nut to keep with a chain for lifting engines, etc.

14mm old gen bolts:

suspension:  ball joint, cross member. 

Most are 12 but some engine accessory bracket hold down bolts - like A/C bracket, P/S, Alt are 14mm.

bellhousing and head bolts but this isn't one of them. 

as my mechanic mate tells people" just keep on driving until it gets worse"