Sam's Bloggness.: Ford Focus Anti-Roll Bar End Links

So, recently the car has been suffering from a clunk noise coming from the front suspension, usually at low speed and when I turn left. It doesn't seem like a cv joint (phew) and having done some reading online, the first suspect is the front stabiliser end links.

The front suspension is independent but in order to stop it leaning like a thing that leans a lot when you corner, there is a stiff bar connecting the suspension to the chassis. This anti roll bar is connected to the suspension via these collar-bone like links:

Having jacked the car up, put it on axle stands and taken the wheels off, here we can see the original links. I have doused the bolts in WD40 and given it a while to soak in.

Before doing anything, it is always a good idea to check that your replacement is the correct part. This is not an OE part which explains the slight differences.

Getting these off was a bastard. With an 8 year olf car, things that are open to the mud and salt and water that are commonplace on the roads leads to a manky working environment and any bolt becomes difficult to undo. I got them going using my trusty breaker bar only to find the damn bolt section is free to spin! There is a squared section on which you can position a spanner to hold it tight. This was difficult because the squared section was tiny and the spanner kept slipping off, especially as the more you undo it, the more play there is....

The rust on the threads had made the nut progressively harder to undo and I took the rash decision to use a pair of mole grips instead of a spanner. There is a reason for this. At one point, the spanner slipped off and my hand went into pain mode as it struck something. Anyway, I wouldn't recommend this but I felt I had no other option.

Luckily it came off. Before starting the other bolt, I found a wire brush and cleaned up the threads as far as possible before dousing it in more WD40.