clunky anti-roll bar
Discussion
S1 111s, sound inside car like contracting and expanding pipes occasionally when moving. Have traced to front nearside antirollbar, because if you load suspension up by sitting on that corner, then pull the antiroll bar sharply, you get a sudden creak-clunk which sounds very similar.
Do I need a new bush or something more, or can I somehow work some grease or something into it (or would that just make things worse by attracting grit etc). It is the most annoying clunk yet and isn't going away. Any ideas folks?
Do I need a new bush or something more, or can I somehow work some grease or something into it (or would that just make things worse by attracting grit etc). It is the most annoying clunk yet and isn't going away. Any ideas folks?
Take the roll bar out.
Sand the paint off where the anti roll bar bush fits around it.
Grease up the bush.
Re-fit.
If they haven't ever been changed then now is a good time to do it. If you get the nylatron ones from Elise-parts make sure that you put grease in them otherwise it will carry on making the noise when it dries out.
It's easy to do this and shouldn't take long.
Sand the paint off where the anti roll bar bush fits around it.
Grease up the bush.
Re-fit.
If they haven't ever been changed then now is a good time to do it. If you get the nylatron ones from Elise-parts make sure that you put grease in them otherwise it will carry on making the noise when it dries out.
It's easy to do this and shouldn't take long.
JBanx said:
Take the roll bar out.
Sand the paint off where the anti roll bar bush fits around it.
Grease up the bush.
Re-fit.
If they haven't ever been changed then now is a good time to do it. If you get the nylatron ones from Elise-parts make sure that you put grease in them otherwise it will carry on making the noise when it dries out.
It's easy to do this and shouldn't take long.
thanks - any links as to how to take the roll bar out? Do you reccomend the nylatron ones, or is there something different that maybe wouldn't need maintenance? Seems from a quick bit of research that the nylatron ones are for a thicker ARB from later S1s, whereas you need rubber ones if it is an earlier thinner one. I have no idea which one mine has (1999). Sand the paint off where the anti roll bar bush fits around it.
Grease up the bush.
Re-fit.
If they haven't ever been changed then now is a good time to do it. If you get the nylatron ones from Elise-parts make sure that you put grease in them otherwise it will carry on making the noise when it dries out.
It's easy to do this and shouldn't take long.
It is where the ARB joins the hub assembly 'spigot' that it makes its clunk, not the ARB mounting on the front of the chassis, so not sure if we are talking about the same bush?
edited to add it is lotus sports suspension upgrade if that makes any difference. Maybe the 'drop links' as they seem to be called have worn and need replaced. Will have a better look this weekend.
Edited by zebedee on Friday 25th March 18:46
jack the car up,
take the front undertray off
it will be obvious what to do from there
if the drop links are worn then change them as well. they are not that expensive. mine did exactly the same as yours and i fitted the nylatron bushes and sanded the paint off. Has not made a noise since.
The clunk doesn't always come from the area that is the cause. I changed loads of bits on mine and greased up everything i could find that moved to try and solve it. The guy who runs elise-shop gave me some advice in the end (as well as SELOC) and it's been fine since. It drove me nuts and sounded like the car was cracking in half!
I imagine that your S1 111s will be the same as mine in which case yours will be the later type ARB bush. You can tell by looking at how they are mounted.
If the lower front wishbone bolt goes through the mounting bracket for the ARB then it is the early one. if the ARB bush bracket is mounted to the front of the chassis with it's own bolts then it is the late type.
It will be much more obvious which you have when you take a closer look. don't worry though it's a simple fix.
If it was mine i would change both the droplinks and ARB bushes at the same time (elise shop / elise parts is your friend).
take the front undertray off
it will be obvious what to do from there
if the drop links are worn then change them as well. they are not that expensive. mine did exactly the same as yours and i fitted the nylatron bushes and sanded the paint off. Has not made a noise since.
The clunk doesn't always come from the area that is the cause. I changed loads of bits on mine and greased up everything i could find that moved to try and solve it. The guy who runs elise-shop gave me some advice in the end (as well as SELOC) and it's been fine since. It drove me nuts and sounded like the car was cracking in half!
I imagine that your S1 111s will be the same as mine in which case yours will be the later type ARB bush. You can tell by looking at how they are mounted.
If the lower front wishbone bolt goes through the mounting bracket for the ARB then it is the early one. if the ARB bush bracket is mounted to the front of the chassis with it's own bolts then it is the late type.
It will be much more obvious which you have when you take a closer look. don't worry though it's a simple fix.
If it was mine i would change both the droplinks and ARB bushes at the same time (elise shop / elise parts is your friend).
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