After 16 years and 200K miles, the front ARB bushes seemed to be due for replacement - no excessive movement in the anti-roll bar, but visible splitting in the rubber bush. Besides, drop links, top mounts, damper, springs and lower arms had all been replaced (in some cases more than once) over the years and the front suspension still crashed over speed bumps and potholes.
Rather than buy a whole new ARB with it's bonded bushes, I thought I'd try to retrofit the older non-bonded bushes. The brackets are not interchangeable between the two styles of bush, but they do fit the same bolt holes into the sub-frame.
I removed the ARB, removed the rubber bushes bonded to it; quite easy as most of each bush had become unbonded over the years. From Autodoc I bought the old-style ARB brackets, part numbers FEBI 40443 and 40444 and bushes for a 21mm bar - FEBI 23902 x 2.
A spot of cleaning up, repainting & re-fitting and the front suspension is back to being reasonably quiet - potholes & speed bumps now back to causing a muted 'thump'. I doubt that the replacement bushes will last as long as the originals, but I can't see myself keeping the car for another 16 years.
A downside, the squeaky driver's seat is now much more noticeable and getting very annoying. Looks like that's the next job!
One oddity: the brackets for bonded ARB bushes are identical and have the same part number. The non-bonded versions have separate part numbers and are marked 'L' and 'R' but are identical in all other respects.
Brackets for the bonded ARB bushes on the left, Febi replacements on the right.
Ian.
Rather than buy a whole new ARB with it's bonded bushes, I thought I'd try to retrofit the older non-bonded bushes. The brackets are not interchangeable between the two styles of bush, but they do fit the same bolt holes into the sub-frame.
I removed the ARB, removed the rubber bushes bonded to it; quite easy as most of each bush had become unbonded over the years. From Autodoc I bought the old-style ARB brackets, part numbers FEBI 40443 and 40444 and bushes for a 21mm bar - FEBI 23902 x 2.
A spot of cleaning up, repainting & re-fitting and the front suspension is back to being reasonably quiet - potholes & speed bumps now back to causing a muted 'thump'. I doubt that the replacement bushes will last as long as the originals, but I can't see myself keeping the car for another 16 years.
A downside, the squeaky driver's seat is now much more noticeable and getting very annoying. Looks like that's the next job!
One oddity: the brackets for bonded ARB bushes are identical and have the same part number. The non-bonded versions have separate part numbers and are marked 'L' and 'R' but are identical in all other respects.
Brackets for the bonded ARB bushes on the left, Febi replacements on the right.
Ian.
