156 Drop Links

[spark 0]

Had an odd noise recently which sounds like intermintant grinding from the drivers side on left lock when coming down ramps etc..

So today I took off the drivers side wheel and there is a small area of clean metal on the subframe mounting and the bolt on the lower balljoint of the drop link is worn

Does this mean th ARB is worn and moving or should I be looking else where

upper arms and drop links were replaced about 6 months ago

 

Thanks

 

Mark

[Smaky 73]

I would say that the collar which prevents the ARB sliding sideways has snapped and allowing the bar to move too far, replacing the bar is a fix but a hefty job.

[spark 0]

Hello

Thanks for this my life has finally calmed down enough to try and fix this.

Smaky you don't fancy doing it do you? ;-)

[Gibot123 16]

Right the anti roll bar has a habit of stretching this means that the collar may not be broken. Read a few threads elsewhere on this and the solution seem to be to centralise the arb then measure the gap between the collar and the bush and make a spacer from an old nylon chopping board with a cut in the bottom to allow you to force it over the arb on both sides between the bush and collar same thickness as the gap.

The only othe alternative is to replace the arb these are not cheap . Changing the drop links and bushes regularly helps to reduce the wear on the arb so not causing to stretch so much

Edited July 14, 2013 by Gibot123

[Smaky 73]

Right the anti roll bar has a habit of stretching this means that the collar may not be broken. Read a few threads elsewhere on this and the solution seem to be to centralise the arb then measure the gap between the collar and the bush and make a spacer from an old nylon chopping board with a cut in the bottom to allow you to force it over the arb on both sides between the bush and collar same thickness as the gap.

The only othe alternative is to replace the arb these are not cheap . Changing the drop links and bushes regularly helps to reduce the wear on the arb so not causing to stretch so much

 

Really???

[Gibot123 16]

Yes apparently you cut out a circle like a large washer if you follow me and fit it like a spacer . The guy that wrote the thread had done it using a nylon 5mm chopping board due to it having good ware properties know it sound a bit odd but says its lasted ages and solved a lot of knocking that he couldn't put right when he had changed all the upper and lower bushes including the arb bush and drop links .

The 5mm board was due to the fact that he had a total play of 10 mm. And as the cost of a new arb was a bit pricey this is how he fixed it.

It also stops the drop links rubbing which is normally caused by the arb moving from side to side.

Not sure if this would be a Alfa recommended fix obviously . But seems to solve the problem.

There were other suggestions for fitting collars as on race cars to do the same job but depended on the distance of travel you needed to deal with.

From what I can gather the problem is caused due to the fact that the collars on the arb are really the wrong side of the bush this is why they stretch as much as they do.

[Smaky 73]

No, the underlined STRETCHING was the hint, THEY DON'T STRETCH, they warp twist and buckle but never stretch, placing a "shim" in there is just masking the problem that the collar has clearly moved and if it has shifed once then it will again and having the little spacers there wont prevent this as the collars will contine to move in time, I know things can happen for the first time all the time but stretching ARBs, I think is complete crap.

[Gibot123 16]

Hi I'm not going to disagree as I've not tried this but am I right in thinking that the collars are welded to the bar and that they should not move. If in that case they are still intact and not broken off what has happened?

I am learning and not intending to give wrong info to people and when I read the post it made a lot of sense .

This seems to be a common problem with this particular setup .

[Smaky 73]

Forums are invaluable and full of opinions, mine is, I think quite clearly put above, and with over 25 years experience with these components I would like to think that I have seen all the problems thay can have, but as you ask, no they are not welded on, they are an interference fit, slid onto the bars before they are bent into shape, the bars are cooled and the collars heated to facilitate this, thich is why in time the collars eventually crack and slide or just fall off allowing the bar too much lateral movement, which then allows the drop links to hit either the lower arms or driveshafts.

[Gibot123 16]

Right I had not realised they were not welded now I understand why the problem is occurring and your reason for saying they don't stretch.

Thankyou for clearing that up I was confused because I believed they were welded.

Your reply makes complete sense.

Is it possible to use an after market clamp or is it a straight replacement arb?

Edited July 15, 2013 by Gibot123