Date: 26 Oct 2021
Issue
There are 4 mounting points:
- 2 on the front chassis legs
- 1 on each lower suspension arm
Bushes do go soft and need replacing periodically. There is a bush at each attachment point.
The anti-roll bar exists to assist in getting around corners without losing traction.
Soft bushes result in poor steering as the antiroll bar stiffens up precision of the steering.
Diagnosis
Difficult to diagnose in cars that drive like boats to start with (obviously this comment does not apply to cars modified for rallying and other motor sports).
Repair
Chassis mounted bushes
The bolts on the front chassis may well be heavily corroded as they take a lot of punishment from road spray, mud, puddles and anything else the car encounters when being driven.
When replacing these bushes they may need to be carefully drilled out depending on your luck getting them out.
Also, look at the bush retention brackets and replace it heavily corroded.
My experience removing front chassis clamps
Now, here is my experience of trying to get the bolts out whilst retaining the chassis mounted bolt threads. So I centre punched each bolt, then carefully started to drill using my rather tired power drill. The first two were fine, I managed to pilot drill them, then increase the drill holes to the point where the bolt heads gave up and the bracket and dead bush could be removed – I simply re-tapped the old threads to clear the remaining bolt metal and refitted the bush and bracket. So far so good. The other bolts and bracket on the other hand were a different story. Several snapped drills later I had pilot holes, then when I went to enlarge them with the largest drill the bit jammed in the hole send the full torque of the drill through my wrist and arm (so I let go of the bloody thing), the now free drill whizzed round and clumped me on the chin – you have been warned!
When I had to do this again on the other car – I sent it to a garage with a ramp and bigger weapons.
The other end
I let a mechanic deal with this, but I think you simply unbolt and knock the end out to replace the bush.
Parts
Approximate prices from: 2 Jan 2023
| Part | Description | Supplier | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| ST7 | Steering & Suspension: ST7 – Polyurethane Outer track control arm bush (mk1cortina.club) | Club Spares | £20.42 |
| ST15 | Steering & Suspension: ST15 – Anti roll bar bush front Std & GT(pr) (mk1cortina.club) | Club Spares | £19.20 |
| ST17 | Steering & Suspension: ST17 – Anti-roll bar clamp bracket (mk1cortina.club) – you may or may not need these | Club Spares | £9.36 |
| ST19 | Steering & Suspension: ST19 – Anti-roll bar lock tab washers (mk1cortina.club) | Club Spares | £10.80 |
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