Effects of a knackered anti-roll bar?

Discuss Suspension, Brakes, Wheels and Tyres
Post Reply
Tahrey1043
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 5184
Joined: Thu Sep 18, 2003 1:15 am
Location: Birmingham! Enjoys: The pseudo-G-Smiles provided by a 1.6 Megane Sport valver...
Contact:

Effects of a knackered anti-roll bar?

Post by Tahrey1043 »

I'm trying to work out the current slight handling shift in the car, wondering if it's a sign of something going wrong, or maybe it's just the heavy carpetting i put in the boot :)

What's the symptoms of a knackered ARB then, if it can actually go wrong without snapping completely and dragging on the ground? I know the car has one, despite being a 1-litre...
Either that or the girder-like wishbone strut at the rear that joins the two stub axles.

I'll not say anything on the symptoms immediately bcuz i want to see what's said :)
User avatar
Josh_PoloGTi
Site Admin
Posts: 2782
Joined: Wed Oct 09, 2002 8:32 pm
Drives: BMW E85 Z4 3.0i
Location: Sheffield, UK
Contact:

Post by Josh_PoloGTi »

I know our front suspension setup is very different, but when my ARB Link broke, it made a clunking noise and made the front end feel a bit loose.
chubbster
Silver Member
Posts: 396
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2003 11:50 pm
Location: The Wirral Drives: 1.4 16v (6n)

Post by chubbster »

could it be ur bushes? or a leaky shock?
Tahrey1043
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 5184
Joined: Thu Sep 18, 2003 1:15 am
Location: Birmingham! Enjoys: The pseudo-G-Smiles provided by a 1.6 Megane Sport valver...
Contact:

Post by Tahrey1043 »

Steering feels vague, car more oversteery than it used to be, body roll seems a bit excessive...

(plus the guy who gave me a lift home in the rocket propelled metro? he dropped the polo off.. and commented on how horrible it felt to drive :( )

there does seem to be a small chunk missing on the front nearside shock mount..... i dunno..... not really sure how to describe these things.

If it is the bar, then it's probably more bent/fatigued than broke... last time the suspension got an unexpected hammering though, a clunking break of bar could have been hidden inside the noise.

(( I could solve all this by looking under the front, i know :D ))
Tahrey1043
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 5184
Joined: Thu Sep 18, 2003 1:15 am
Location: Birmingham! Enjoys: The pseudo-G-Smiles provided by a 1.6 Megane Sport valver...
Contact:

Post by Tahrey1043 »

Hmmm...
ARB and rear supports look fine, and the split thing on the front seems to be just a rubber protector-type thingy.

Tread and bolts are fine on all the wheels as well.

Maybe just an unrealised change in driving style :roll:
(that or the handbrake light coming on when the handle gets knocked upwards over bumps is a sign that the rears are coming on a lot of the time, rather than the switch being out of adjustment)
Post Reply