Mondeo anti roll bar

Ah, that would be an ecumenical, ummm I mean tribology, matter. It's not unusual for the harder of two rubbing surfaces to wear faster. Hardened steel gudgeon pins wear faster than the soft aluminium of the piston they run in. The process requires debris which the softer material embeds into its surface and becomes what's called in engineering terms a "lap".

In an anti-roll bar the debris comes from road grit and starts to get into the gap when excess wear has already taken place in the bush. If the bush isn't then changed in good time the bar starts to wear too.

Can't answer your question about how to remove the bar though.

If your car is diesel then the bushings are 18mm (i think) part # 7177204 If it is petrol the bushings are 16mm (i think) part# 7177202 I have fitted the petrol bushings in the diesel cars to eliminate play. The anti roll bar is a very poor design as it has a hard plastic sleeve that wears away.

JK

In message , JK writes

Yes it is a diesel and the bar is 18mm. I was aware of the size difference and had measured the bar diameter before ordering.

The idea of fitting 16mm bushes seems a good one. Can I assume that the outer diameter is the same as the 18mm ones and that the same clamps can be used?

Cheers,

In message , Dave Baker writes

Thanks for the explanation Dave.

Paul - if you don't mind me asking how did you know your anti-roll bar bushes were gone? Did you get the clunking sound driving over speed-humps etc, or did the handling go off? The reason I ask is that my

100K Mondeo seems less stable on the roads these days, and is easily unsettled by changes in the road surface. This is particularly noticeable moving out of lane 1 on some of our motorways where the lorrys have worn a deep groove. I have just changed to Goodyear NCT 5 after a lifetime use of Continental eco-contact. I think this is making things slightly worse but I'm sure something else is wrong...

It's just passed an MOT but of course that doesn't mean much.....

TIA

Kev

In message , Kevin writes

I was under the car having a look and I rattled the anti roll bar and could see the play in the bushes. I should have been suspicious when I saw fairly fresh copper grease on the clamp bolts which are normally quite tight. Someone has replaced the bushes in the last year but the wear has been in the bar and not the bushes.

Indeed. So had this one.

No need to establish if the bushings are gone...... If it's a mondeo ....they're gone !!! Yes the outer diameter of the bush is the same... same u-band clamp too.

JK

In message , JK writes

Thanks for that. I'll pop down and get some 16mm bushes and give them a try. Hopefully I can avoid having to replace the anti-roll bar for a year or two.

Cheers,