156 Suspension Bushes
 

What are they and how do I tell if they're on the way out or have
gone?


Neil

Neil G wrote:
> What are they and how do I tell if they're on the way out or have
> gone?

They're like umm.. the rubbery stuff that's wrapped around the umm joint of
the lower A-arm on the suspension.

Pretty easy to replace, although I found the anti-roll bar on my GTV made
things difficult.

Buy new A-arms from ebspares.co.uk ('cause the bush is part of the arm).

Apparently you can get some aftermarket ones.. Pro flex or something, where
you can just replace the bush itself if it wears again.

>What are they and how do I tell if they're on the way out or have
>gone?
>

The achilles heel of the 156. Simple bits of rubber that are allegedly
difficult to replace. On the front suspension, worn bushes will create nasty
squeaky crunching noises especially in dry weather. Eventually it gets loud
enough for pedestrians to hear it. The normal fix is to replace the upper
wishbone arms. At the back, worn bushes result in a wallowy rear suspension
with a nasty sideways movement. Again, the usual fix is to replace the rear
arms which is apparently a more straightforward job than the front ones. If
there is no noise and the car handles ok, leave them alone. They expire
naturally after about 40K miles and will fail an MOT anyway. :-)

Phil 156 V6 1998

On 19 Aug 2004 21:26:44 GMT, (Ppelectron) wrote:

>>What are they and how do I tell if they're on the way out or have
>>gone?
>>
>
>The achilles heel of the 156. Simple bits of rubber that are allegedly
>difficult to replace. On the front suspension, worn bushes will create nasty
>squeaky crunching noises especially in dry weather. Eventually it gets loud
>enough for pedestrians to hear it. The normal fix is to replace the upper
>wishbone arms. At the back, worn bushes result in a wallowy rear suspension
>with a nasty sideways movement. Again, the usual fix is to replace the rear
>arms which is apparently a more straightforward job than the front ones. If
>there is no noise and the car handles ok, leave them alone. They expire
>naturally after about 40K miles and will fail an MOT anyway. :-)

I wonder why Alfa UK replaced the front AND rear ones on my car at 11
months and 9500 miles? All the rears have just been done again at 3
years and 24000 miles. 40000 miles would be nice though!

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email without 'Alfa' in subject are auto-deleted..sorry!)

On Fri, 20 Aug 2004 07:15:48 GMT, Zathras
>, wrote:

>I wonder why Alfa UK replaced the front AND rear ones on my car at 11
>months and 9500 miles? All the rears have just been done again at 3
>years and 24000 miles. 40000 miles would be nice though!

Alfa GB replaced my rear bushes at 9000 ish miles too.
IMO the rubber compound that was used for the original bushes is rubbish.
I will not be surprised if they have to be replaced again in the next few
years. It will probably take 2 or 3 to reach 24K <G>

Pete
--
>
156 2.0 TS (2001) - Proteo Rosso (his)
147 2.0 TS (2002) - Gem Green (her's)

"Pete" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 20 Aug 2004 07:15:48 GMT, Zathras
> >, wrote:
>
> >I wonder why Alfa UK replaced the front AND rear ones on my car at 11
> >months and 9500 miles? All the rears have just been done again at 3
> >years and 24000 miles. 40000 miles would be nice though!
>
> Alfa GB replaced my rear bushes at 9000 ish miles too.
> IMO the rubber compound that was used for the original bushes is rubbish.
> I will not be surprised if they have to be replaced again in the next few
> years. It will probably take 2 or 3 to reach 24K <G>
>

Same here - new bushes (under waranty) at first service!

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 20:40:11 +0100, "Carl Farrington"
> wrote:

>Buy new A-arms from ebspares.co.uk ('cause the bush is part of the arm).

That's a good tip, cheers :-)

Wondered today what offers more fun the money than my 156. Thought
about moving to a 147. Small wheelbase must offer cart-like handling.
But also saw a 2.4JTD 156 Veloce advertised in black with red leather.
*Slobber*