I've recently done a complete suspension rebuild on my 1998 C2, but there's one item that's not gone quite right - there seems to be a lot of stiction in the front anti-roll bar mounts.
When I took it off, the anti roll bar had rust creeping under the paint, so I wirebrushed it back to bare metal and repainted it with epoxy primer and black smooth hammerite. In the new bushes, I was able to rotate the bar, but only with a lot of initial effort, so it would move around in jumps (usually banging my knuckles in the process). I put some silicone grease on the bushes to try to smooth things out, but I can hear the clunks of the bar moving when I pull away, brake etc as the front moves up and down. I'm fairly sure that this can't be good for the drop links, so I want to smooth out this movement somehow.
In contrast, the bushes for the rear anti roll bar are snug but nowhere near as tight, so the bar can rotate without effort.
So, did I make a mistake in adding the silicone grease to the bushes - should I have just left them dry or is there a better material, or perhps are the bushes the wrong size (too tight)? Unfortunately I'd already binned the old bushes before this issue came to light so I can't compare old to new (rookie mistake).
I've jacked up the car to take a look at the bushes/roll bar and I could hear the clunking as the front end came up - the noise came from the area of the bushes so I'm 99% certain that's what's making the noise.
When I took it off, the anti roll bar had rust creeping under the paint, so I wirebrushed it back to bare metal and repainted it with epoxy primer and black smooth hammerite. In the new bushes, I was able to rotate the bar, but only with a lot of initial effort, so it would move around in jumps (usually banging my knuckles in the process). I put some silicone grease on the bushes to try to smooth things out, but I can hear the clunks of the bar moving when I pull away, brake etc as the front moves up and down. I'm fairly sure that this can't be good for the drop links, so I want to smooth out this movement somehow.
In contrast, the bushes for the rear anti roll bar are snug but nowhere near as tight, so the bar can rotate without effort.
So, did I make a mistake in adding the silicone grease to the bushes - should I have just left them dry or is there a better material, or perhps are the bushes the wrong size (too tight)? Unfortunately I'd already binned the old bushes before this issue came to light so I can't compare old to new (rookie mistake).
I've jacked up the car to take a look at the bushes/roll bar and I could hear the clunking as the front end came up - the noise came from the area of the bushes so I'm 99% certain that's what's making the noise.
