A Guide to Suspension Components
Tom Vondrasek | 10th May 2024| 4 minutes to read
Suspension components by nature need to be able to move up and down so your wheels can follow the road surface. This means the pivot points need to have some sort of bushes to stop them wearing out prematurely. Besides giving the suspension pivot points a longer lease of life they also help cushion the impacts of small bumps and vibrations from the road’s surface.
Control arms usually have suspension bushes in them and hold the wheels away from the body work. They attach to the body on a fixed point at one end, while the other end normally has a ball joint and moves up and down, following the contours of the road.
Sway bar links normally link the sway bar to the control arm and restrict it moving when cornering due to the tension in the sway bar.
All of the above come in all shapes and sizes to suit different vehicles. They are consumable items and will get worn out and need to be changed. The suspension bush and the sway bar link use rubber or polyurethane to reduce road vibrations and bumps being transmitted through to the body to make the ride more comfortable.
Picking a Faulty Suspension Bush, Control Arm, or Sway Bar Link
There are a couple of ways to pick a faulty suspension bush or sway bar link. Both can make a clunking or squealing noise as the bushes wear. Uneven tyre wear is another factor to look at. On the front suspension you may feel a vibration through the steering wheel.
A visual inspection can help. Is the rubber cracked or are there pieces missing or, in the case of a sway bar link, broken. Sway bar links are easy to inspect, while suspension bushes are often buried in brackets or control arms. Being underbody components, they can be covered in gunk or simply hard to inspect. Sometimes removing them is the only way to properly inspect them.
There are other methods like using a pry bar to check for excess movement and this may require jacking up the vehicle and removing the wheels. Make sure you use axle stands when you do this for added safety.
You place the pry bar between the body and control arm and gently push on the arm to check for excess movement. A good test is to do the same bush on the right and left side of the vehicle. They should be the same. Don’t be heavy-handed with the pry bar as it is very easy to damage components.
Control arms are normally very sturdy and rarely fail. If you have hit an object or deep pothole on the road or have accidently driven into the scenery, they may get bent.
Getting a Suspension Bush, Sway Bar Link, or Control Arm
Luckily, because they are a consumable, replacements are readily available for most vehicles. Your local Repco store will be able to help you out. Kelpro offer a wide range of suspension bushes, sway bar links, and control arms that all come with a 2 year or 40,000-kilometre warranty.
Kelpro replacement parts are designed to meet or exceed OEM parts in terms of fitment and durability and they’re often a lot cheaper, making them a solid option in many cases.
Changing over a Suspension Bush, Sway Bar Link, or Control Arm
This is not straightforward as it will vary greatly from vehicle to vehicle. Things like sway bar links are usually easily accessible and a simple job. A suspension bush or control arm may require a lot of work to remove and replace it and you may need to realign the suspension once it has been completed. Some suspension bushes require a press to remove and replace them.
This is the reason control arms are becoming increasing popular. Most control arms may have more than one suspension bush as well as a ball joint. If you need to remove the arm and use a press to remove and replace the bush it is very time consuming, plus you need access to a press.
The increasingly popular choice is to simply replace the whole control arm.
This way all the bushes and any ball joints are replaced, saving a lot of time and no press is required. It has the other advantage of renewing all the old consumable components which also may have been close to failure.
When it comes to underbody component replacement a hoist or jack and axle stands will be mandatory as well as removing wheels.
If you’re not confident in performing the replacement yourself, contact a professional to handle it for you, as taking on major auto repair jobs can be dangerous if you are lacking experience.
