Anti Roll Bar

[Jens]

I have a strange problem. The rear anti roll bar bolts will loose their tension over som time. I have tried to apply some locktite without any luck. Any other suggestions?

[noz]

Hi Jens,

That is indeed a strange problem. Presumably you mean the two bolts which connect the anti-roll bar to each of the rear suspension arms?

I have to ask this: Did you tighten the bolts to the recommended torque?
Have you already tried to use Locktite?

If the answer to these two questions is 'yes' then I'm afraid you have stripped the threads in the aluminium castings and the bolts have nothing to tighten against. In my experience these bolts are ususlly VERY tight and its not easy to get a socket into the head of the bolt closest to the chassis. They are also in a very hostile environment (road salt and water) so the steel bolt and the aluminium casting react together and form a tight 'chemical' bond via the 'rust' film. It is possible that when they were removed the 'rust' film stripped the threads as the bolt was unscrewed.

You have two choices:
'Cement' the bolts into place with Araldite or Plastic Padding's 'Liquid metal' or
Replace the swinging arms with ones from a scrap car

Subject to a dimension check the same swinging arms have been used in the BX, CX, XM S1 and XM S2. There should be plenty around reasonably cheaply.

Sorry for the bad news.

Cheers

noz