ARB bushes

racerboy59 · 16 Jun 2010 at 11:03

How do I know if my anti roll bar bushes have failed? On visual inspection they look ok, all in place and holding the anti roll bar securely in position. But i'm experiencing a clunking sound when going over speed bumps and rough roads.

LEK-89 · 16 Jun 2010 at 11:40

You will most likely be able to hear knocking coming from one side of the car, also if you jack the car up and try to move the wheel and see if there is any excessive play/movement. Is it on the front or the back that you can hear clunking? What car have you got?

Also have a look at your suspension bushes as these can fail on older cars as well and cause these symptoms. Depending on your car put one of your hands on the car's axle and then try to move the axle, if you can move the axle slightly or feel any excessive movement then the bushes are knackered. also look at the shock absorbers & whishbones etc.

Liam

matkeys · 16 Jun 2010 at 11:44

poor road handling too

hohum · 16 Jun 2010 at 11:59

I had the same problem with my car recently, turned out to be knackered ball joints.

LEK-89 · 16 Jun 2010 at 12:01

That reminds me on my Focus I have got a knock coming from the front suspension when going over speed bumps and on my current MOT it was noted that the N/S lower ball joint had some play and would need replacing soon.

Liam

racerboy59 · 16 Jun 2010 at 12:11

I have a Mazda RX8. It's done 47,000 miles and first registered May 2004. I find that the sound disappears if I drive over the speed bump with only the right wheel, whilst keeping the left wheel flat on the ground. The noise happens as soon as the left front wheel hits a bump. This leads me to believe its something in the front suspension.

LEK-89 · 16 Jun 2010 at 12:14

Yeah sounds like one of the things mentioned about to me, try and see if you can have a look yourself or otherwise take it your car in to be looked at.

Liam

Dogbreath · 16 Jun 2010 at 12:25

The ARB bushes don't usually cause clunking (unless they have totally disintegrated), this symptom is most often down to worn drop links.

racerboy59 · 16 Jun 2010 at 12:33

Ahh well heres the thing. I've been experiencing this problem for a few months and after it being originally diagnosed as droplinks, i got them replaced. But the same problem remained.
I think if the ARB bushing has gone soft then the ARB itself might be making contact with the chassis, therefore causing the clunking over bumps. I've ordered powerflex bushes anyway. We'll see what happens after I get them fitted.

B@Th*nG · 16 Jun 2010 at 13:33

LEK-89 said:
You will most likely be able to hear knocking coming from one side of the car, also if you jack the car up and try to move the wheel and see if there is any excessive play/movement.

the knocking sound could come from both sides if the arb bushes are that far worn. Also, you won't be able to detect the play of the roll bar bush by doing that - the other bushes perhaps.

Dogbreath said:
The ARB bushes don't usually cause clunking (unless they have totally disintegrated), this symptom is most often down to worn drop links.

they don't have to be totally disintegrated and do clonk when they're worn.

you can check visually, take the wheel off, find the bush and look at the bar going through it - can you see any space for movement in there? grab the bar and push and pull it up and down, does it move a lot inside the bush clamp?

If the answer to either of these is yes then replace the bushes, it's rarely a difficult job and it's probably worth getting some powerflex ones for arb bushes. it won't make the ride any harder and will firm the car up a tiny bit, plus you shouldn't have to replace them again really.

if the arb bushes are fine do the wheel grabbing and moving thing (you should probably do that before taking the wheel off anyways).

B@