I'm about to change the bushes which mount the front anti-roll bar to the subframe. Each bush assembly consists of two rubber blocks, each bonded to a half-cylindrical shell of sheet steel. I'm not sure how the bushes allow the anti-roll bar to rotate - either
a) The anti-roll bar rotates relative to the steel shells. There is metal sliding on metal, so I assume it would be a good idea to smear some grease on the shells before assembly.
or
b) There is no relative movement between the steel shells and the anti-roll bar. The shells rotate with the anti-roll bar, and the rubber deforms to allow this. In this case there would be no metal sliding on metal, so the shells should be assembled dry.
Any ideas which is correct?
405 front anti-roll bar bushes
Moderator: RichardW
405 front anti-roll bar bushes
1993 309GLi Auto 145K
1993 405GLi Auto Estate 218K
1993 405GLi Auto Estate 218K
I fitted the new anti-roll bar bushes today. It wasn't very obvious how to fit them from the Haynes manual, but all becomes clear once you start removing the old ones. The metal shells are fixed rigidly to the anti-roll bar by a clamp with a pinch-bolt , so as Anders said, there is no metal-on-metal sliding. The movement is achieved by twisting of the rubber.
The old ones were badly worn - the bond between the metal shells and the rubber had failed, and then the rubber had worn away. This resulted in a knocking noise over even quite small bumps in the road, and squeaking when going over road humps. The wear wasn't obvious when trying to move the anti-roll bar by hand when everything was connected. I only found it by disconnecting the drop links from the wishbones, and then trying to move the anti-roll bar.
It's much better now. Quite an easy job, except not much room to swing a spanner.
The old ones were badly worn - the bond between the metal shells and the rubber had failed, and then the rubber had worn away. This resulted in a knocking noise over even quite small bumps in the road, and squeaking when going over road humps. The wear wasn't obvious when trying to move the anti-roll bar by hand when everything was connected. I only found it by disconnecting the drop links from the wishbones, and then trying to move the anti-roll bar.
It's much better now. Quite an easy job, except not much room to swing a spanner.
1993 309GLi Auto 145K
1993 405GLi Auto Estate 218K
1993 405GLi Auto Estate 218K