Replacing front anti-roll bar drop links

[sproutdreamer]

Our 04 T Spirit has just passed its MOT but with advisories that the bushes are worn on the drop links. Knowing that these parts are only about £10-20 a pair I was inclined to have the garage do it but was surprised that they quoted £69+VAT per side to do them. They acknowledged that the parts were cheap but said that sometimes the parts are siezed and need some heat  to free them. I know track rod ends can be stubborn but the worst case (or best) is that the stud heads sheer off?

So I will do them myself after liberally dosing with penetrating oil for a few days. Any particular tips or trick to be aware of when replacing these drop links?

[Madasafish]

I did mine on our 2003 T Spirit two weeks ago.

 

Took 35 minutes a wheel.

 

Angle grinder if   anything stuck. Or reciprocating saw.

I bought two of these:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-Yaris-MK1-1-4-D-4D-Genuine-Febi-PROKIT-Front-Drop-Link-Anti-Roll-Bar-ARB/362051213220?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

See  below for method (parts look slightly different)  Two jacks required.

 

 

[flash22]

£70+ seems a bit steep, for what is a quick job up on a ramp

Febi make some decent links that are not too expensive

[TonyHSD]

If you cut them with reciprocal make sure the neighbours won’t call the police that someone is cutting catalytic converter from your car 😂👌

Now serious:

The video is helpful however the stabiliser bar bushes should never be greased and when changing them to set the right tension the car should be lifted with wheels on the ramps and not in the air., also i believe he over tightened the nuts on the links which may cause a premature wear of the bushes and or damage to the links, plus some road vibrations. Good quality aftermarket as mentioned Febi or Blueprint, First line, or best oem. 

[sproutdreamer]

Thanks for comments and the video.

[sproutdreamer]

All done-only about 2 hours to do both sides once I had stopped trying to undo rusty nuts. I used an angle grinder to cut off all 4 nuts, quite easy to do with an angled cut at the base of each nut. Watching U Tube videos of mechs doing this was interesting as some link kits had 2 large cup washers with a recess for the bush and some only seemed to have 1, apart from the 4 small cup washers.

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[Madasafish]

22 hours ago, sproutdreamer said:

All done-only about 2 hours to do both sides once I had stopped trying to undo rusty nuts. I used an angle grinder to cut off all 4 nuts, quite easy to do with an angled cut at the base of each nut. Watching U Tube videos of mechs doing this was interesting as some link kits had 2 large cup washers with a recess for the bush and some only seemed to have 1, apart from the 4 small cup washers.

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Well done.

 

Yes .. I noted that...