Escort front suspension

Why the hell would spraying WD40 onto something thats supposed to hold something rigid help?

Eh - suspension is not meant to be rigid?

Lubricating a suspension bush, which is actually a moving part, the anti roll bar rotates withing the bush!

I don't see the problem - anyway, WD40 is hardly going to do any hard is it.

If the bushes are made from plastic, maybe not. OTOH, if they are rubber based, spraying them with WD40 isn't a good idea. Oil and rubber is not a good mix. I accept that WD40 contains little oil, but you did ask. Mike.

Err the bushes are - thats why modders/race teams replace the stock rubber ones with solid ones. If you've got play in any of the bushes they're knackered.

And? Its not going to stop the knocking is it? It'd stop a squeak for about 10 seconds but not a knock.

Oil breaks down rubber bushes...

Check the anti roll bar vertical links as well. They went on mine and made a horrible sound till I changed them. Put your fingers on one and bounce the front of the car (make sure you don't trap a finger in the process). You'll be able to feel if it's them that are worn...

HTH,

Iain

No play - but they seem soft, but then I don't know what the originals are like.

OK, I'll have to accept that - but what happens to engine oil seals?

Oh well, its done now - but if they're worn or soft, I didn't think I could do any harm by putting a bit of WD40 on them?

From WD40

The message from TDh270 contains these words:

Different rubber. Some rubbers are not capable of standing up to oil - some are.

For example, I once had an exhaust snap on a Mini 'cos the leaking rockerbox gasket dribbled oil over the top engine mount rubber, which allowed the engine to move too much so the downpipe snapped off.

The message from TDh270 contains these words:

Latex?

I've often used WD40 to try to track down suspension noises in the past. It's never caused me a problem. IMHO, anything under the front of a car ought to be pretty much unaffected by anything petroleum-based. I have also used old brake fluid for a similar purpose on a number of occasions, again with no ill effects.

Tracking down these noises can be difficult. I was on holiday in Yorkshire once when my Escort developed a noise that I was sure was a CV joint on the way out. It had the classic tap-tap-tap when cornering and accelerating. The only puzzle was that the noise was intermittent. A local garage spent half an hour trying to find it without success. The only fault they could find was a small bit of play in a bottom ball joint. With my agreement they poked a tiny hole in the rubber and sprayed some grease in. The noise went away instantly, and was still not there when I changed the lower arm 1,000 miles later.

Let the group know how you get on.

Chris

Very solid to the feel.

There is more than one type of rubber compound.

No but if you've got a knock on them, it won't make any difference.

Cheers Chris - I haven't needed to use the car much since I did the WD40, I'm hopeful it'll do something.

Even if it doesn't - it will make me feel better.

No, maybe not.

The idea was to make sure the turning force on the anti roll bars wasn't being impeded by the bush.

I read about this solution online somewhere - maybe it wont work, but it was chaep and worth a shot IMO

The idea of an antiroll bar is that it resists turning forces. In fact its supposed to apply an opposing turning force of its own, tring to force the lower arm downwards.

Except that no engine oil seals are made of rubber. They're made of Nitrile, or similar plastics, which are impervious to oil. Mike.

The message from "Mike G" contains these words:

Yes, sorry, I was using a sloppy generic term to describe things with a rubbery texture.