Carrier bearing has died 4 times What's wrong?

[yoshimitsuspeed]

In the four years I have had my car the front carrier bearing on the front axle has fallen off four or five times . I think once both bolts broke, and if memory serves me right twice one bolt fell out and the other broke which happened to me again yesterday. I searched and found people who have found this problem once but no one talking about multiple accounts. Maybe that's just because after it happens once they know haw to fix it.
I also talked to a dealership and they said they never see this problem, let alone being a reacurring event. I usually torque bolts with my mental guessometer which is pretty acurate unless it's an important or sensitive part so I probably didn't actually torque these most of the time but I did once with the same problem. I also used locktite a couple of times which didn't help.
I would guess one is working it's self loose allowing the other to brake but it still doesn't seem to me the carrier should be experiencing enough force to brake a bolt. I would also think if the axle or something conected was out of balance or something causing a bad enough vibration or stress would be noticibal at high speeds.
Another crazy thing is I was under my car three days ago checking up on things and took a look at the bolts because I know they can be a problem. I probably should have made sure they were tight, but they were both in there and both looked tight.

 

[Below Ambient]

grade 10 allen head bolts do wonders... ive used them on driveline stuff on several occasions.. you can grab em at6 just about any hardware store...

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

How come no one else has had this problem though? I have run OE bolts every time up untill now. Today I used 8.8 bolts from Home Depot since the dealership didn't heve them in stock, it will be a temp fix untill I get OE bolts or harder bolts. My fear though is that if they break they will be that much harder to drill and easy out. Getting in there is the biggest PITA and I even have my AC removed. Will grade 10 bolts fix the problem?
It seems to me the only thing that could cause something like this would be a bent axle or something but wouldn't I feel some vibration at speeds? What else could cause this?
I realized today they were both sheered off, I origionally thought one might have fallen out allowing the other to sheer which would make more sence.

 

[ACM]

You mention you have the a/c removed - have you added a spacer behind the inner bolt ?

The carrier does not bolt flush to the block, one side is about 5mm away and requires a spacer between the bracket and the block. Lacking this spacer would produce the problem you describe.

Charles

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

I had two AC brackets so I cut the piece off one that slides in there. I actually measured it out at about 8mm. Since the old piece fell off when it broke I have fender washers in there which are around 8.25 - 8.5 mm. The first two times it broke the AC was fully installed.

 

[Kurt04]

Sorry for bringing back a very old thread but the shop just said that my carrier bearing bolts are snapped off to. They are going to replace the bolts and the axle just to be safe. Did yours fit this description when they were broke...

Vibration through out the whole car. 4th or 5th gear at 3500-4000 rpm. Not while accellerating, only when coasting or light throttle. Tires and wheels in good shape and balance with correct pressure. Front end alined. Vibration feels and sounds like you are running over a rumble strip on the highway.

Also it pulls to the left and that is the side that they said it was broke on.

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

Yes the vibration is your axle smacking your oil pan and fire wall. I don't think you would need to replace the axle but at least make sure the CV boot is okay. I don't see any way this would make it pull. It never did for me.
The only way I could see them related is if you ran into something bending your controll arms or steering linkage or something and at the same time breaking the bolts.