Your anti-roll bar is a pretty sturdy and heavy-duty piece of metal. Generally, like the chassis and the other major structural components, they’re designed to last the vehicle’s life under everyday use—and do.
When your mechanic or garage tells you there are issues with the anti-roll bar part of your steering or suspension system, it’s far more likely to do with the drop links (also called link rods or sway bar links) or bushes (aka bushings). These are the parts that connect the anti-roll bar in place.
What are anti-roll bar drop links?
Your anti-roll bar joins both sides of the suspension to maintain the balance between the left and right wheels, adding stiffness and eliminating, or at least vastly reducing, the car’s body roll around corners. Anti-roll bars are situated at the front and rear of the car, connecting both sides performance and improving the vehicle’s handling.
Drop links connect the anti-roll bar to your suspension’s damper or control arm.
Given drop links are slimmer and made of several sections—a rod and its end joints—they are more vulnerable to damage and breakage than the anti-roll bar itself. However, we’d still expect them (usually) to last the vehicle’s lifetime.
However, we’d still suggest they’re regularly inspected after the first 50k miles. Even so, unless they’re operating in pretty adverse conditions, we’d expect most of them to carry on performing as required unless some kind of disaster strikes.
What are anti-roll bar bushes?
Bushes or bushings are a kind of rubber or plastic washer or plug fitted between two moving parts, usually metal, smoothing out performance while protecting them from friction and unnecessary wear.
You’ll find bushes throughout every vehicle, and importantly, they are an essential part of the suspension system. Rubber wears and perishes over time, and when it does, this is the most likely cause of the symptoms that are often mistaken for anti-roll bar damage.
Symptoms of damaged or worn bushings and drop links
The typical symptoms of anti-roll bar issues are relatively common throughout all kinds of suspension problems, so it’s often difficult to detect where the problem is while driving your car.
The main suspect for a broken drop link (or even a broken anti-roll bar in such a fateful situation) will be excessive movement and roll when the car travels around corners.
Gaps in between moving parts from worn-out or perished bushes and some damage to the drop links can cause the following symptoms.
- Clunking and rattling sounds from the wheels and suspension
- Knocking within the wheels while driving on uneven roads and surfaces
- Lack of stability while driving
- Poor handling around corners
- Additional body roll while turning
- Clunking and banging when driving over speed bumps
Drop links are far more prone to damage under the poor state of many roads. For example, when a wheel drops into a pothole, the drop link suffers a large shock load. This puts pressure on the end joint (often a ball joint), and in cold, wet conditions, older brittle joints are more susceptible to failure, breaking, or other damage.
Can I drive my car with broken drop links?
You’re unlikely to cause more damage to your car if you need to drive it to the garage carrying out the repair, but y