You get what you pay for :-(

[Gold 'N' Brown]

Whilst doing some pre-MOT checks on Fri I found that my rear ARB drop links are totally shot. Bottom balljoint rubbers on both are completely torn.

Why am I humpty about this? Because they replaced for the MOT last year and have only done about 3000 miles! So my first reaction was, that's bloody crap, I wonder if I should contact the supplier and complain. Then I hunted out the receipt. and that's when I realised I'd bought they from Buypartsby.com and they were only £8 each :troutslap So there you go, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys (or something to that effect).

For the record, I usually find Buypartsby quite good and not all their parts are cheap keck from the land of the rising sun. But in future, when it comes to anything involving bushings or balljoints I'll have to think twice about cheap stuff.

P.S. Yes, I know that I've just stated the bleeding obvious. Some may even feel this topic was a waste of internet. Blow me :P

[MoleT-5R]

Whilst doing some pre-MOT checks on Fri I found that my rear ARB drop links are totally shot. Bottom balljoint rubbers on both are completely torn.

Why am I humpty about this? Because they replaced for the MOT last year and have only done about 3000 miles! So my first reaction was, that's bloody crap, I wonder if I should contact the supplier and complain. Then I hunted out the receipt. and that's when I realised I'd bought they from Buypartsby.com and they were only £8 each :troutslap So there you go, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys (or something to that effect).

For the record, I usually find Buypartsby quite good and not all their parts are cheap keck from the land of the rising sun. But in future, when it comes to anything involving bushings or balljoints I'll have to think twice about cheap stuff.

P.S. Yes, I know that I've just stated the bleeding obvious. Some may even feel this topic was a waste of internet. Blow me :P

as you have said, there are various levels of quality and the part you bought from the same supplier previously where better, there new supplier may not be any longer

[Gold 'N' Brown]

Yeah, the main gamble with Buypartsby is that you often don't know what brand you will get. Sometimes you can get lucky and get decent quality stuff at respectable prices, and other times it can be pish.

In the case of drop links, they're so easy to change that if I had to do them every 12 months at £16 a pop then perhaps it's not so bad. It really depends if better quality stuff lasts any longer. I noticed that you can buy heavy duty drop links that are much more expensive, so I presume that the OE stuff must be prone to wearing out quickly if companies have seen a market for HD equivalents.

[MoleT-5R]

Yer, pfs supplied my last drops, cheapies nothing special. They are still good and they do get some serious hammer and still going strong, you get what you pay for i guess

[JamesT5]

I recommend the Meyle HD droplinks, they come with a good warranty and they don't have that stupid hex fitting in the taper end that just rounds off when you come to remove them. Instead, they've got a 17mm spanner attachment on the gaitor side. Much better job all around and PFV have them up for sale at £90 for the full front and rear set.

[JamesT5]

I wonder if anyone has fitted 'fixed' droplinks to their car, i.e. ones without a ball joint on them, that would stop the car rolling even better wouldn't it..........

[MoleT-5R]

I wonder if anyone has fitted 'fixed' droplinks to their car, i.e. ones without a ball joint on them, that would stop the car rolling even better wouldn't it..........

think about what your saying, making them rigid would remove the affect of the anti-roll bar, they need to move to work properly

[JamesT5]

think about what your saying, making them rigid would remove the affect of the anti-roll bar, they need to move to work properly

Yeah but 'Anti-roll' to me means it's trying to stop the roll or else they wouldn't fit them at all and just let the car go all over the place. Making it fixed just makes the roll less, surely....

[claymore]

Yeah but 'Anti-roll' to me means it's trying to stop the roll or else they wouldn't fit them at all and just let the car go all over the place. Making it fixed just makes the roll less, surely....

So, what exactly is the purpose of the ball joint at either end of a drop link? I think I'll do away with my track rod ends as well and mount them solidly, that should get rid of any play in the steering.

[JamesT5]

So, what exactly is the purpose of the ball joint at either end of a drop link?

By that logic, they should be re-named, 'Roll Reduction Links' and the 'Roll Reduction Bar'. Basically stating reduction of roll rather than insinuating eradication of roll or attempt thereof.

[MoleT-5R]

Yeah but 'Anti-roll' to me means it's trying to stop the roll or else they wouldn't fit them at all and just let the car go all over the place. Making it fixed just makes the roll less, surely....

It works as the body tries to roll it presses down on the one side, the bar then transmits this pressure to the other side and pulls the body down to keep the body flat to the road surface, if you make them rigid the bar will not be able to move thus rolling movement would result in wheels lifting and bad handling

[JamesT5]

It works as the body tries to roll it presses down on the one side, the bar then transmits this pressure to the other side and pulls the body down to keep the body flat to the road surface, if you make them rigid the bar will not be able to move thus rolling movement would result in wheels lifting and bad handling

It's ok, some people drive like that anyway. :haha:

[MoleT-5R]

It's ok, some people drive like that anyway. :haha:

why don't you remove them and have a drive about, then you can do a comparison of the pros and cons of drop links

[Sharkey R]

I wonder if anyone has fitted 'fixed' droplinks to their car, i.e. ones without a ball joint on them, that would stop the car rolling even better wouldn't it..........

Why don't you weld yours then James and then post a thread of the benefits of fitting fixed Links. I remember you saying a while back that manufacturers spend millions of pounds developing cars. Surely if fixed anti roll bar links worked, wouldn't they fit them from the factory?? Are you dunking some funky cookies in your tea today??

[JamesT5]

why don't you remove them and have a drive about, then you can do a comparison of the pros and cons of drop links

Good plan.

[cookiec70]

I wonder if anyone has fitted 'fixed' droplinks to their car, i.e. ones without a ball joint on them, that would stop the car rolling even better wouldn't it..........

Is this a real question? If your going to do that then your springs and shocks will be redundant so may as well take them off too while your at it, save a few kilos at the same time, bonus! :rolleyes2

[ExternalError]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_liGnV3PTiQ

[Sharkey R]

Is this a real question? If your going to do that then your springs and shocks will be redundant so may as well take them off too while your at it, save a few kilos at the same time, bonus! :rolleyes2

Oh it's a real question alright. Lmao

[M-R-P]

A fixed anti-roll bar link on the front would hamper steering somewhat... :yikes:

[Sharkey R]

A fixed anti-roll bar link on the front would hamper steering somewhat... :yikes:

Go on James, do it, then go and test your car on the steep Brecon roads then let us know what the outcome is.

[Ettienne]

QUOTE=Sharkey R;734168]Go on James, do it, then go and test your car on the steep Brecon roads then let us know what the outcome is.[/QUOTE]

He could liquid metal them :rotfl:

[Redbrick]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_liGnV3PTiQ

Forget the sway bar description he needs to explain WTF has happened to his left arm!

[Redbrick]

What an amazing thread. James you need to engage brain before hitting the keyboard. ROFL

It's almost like you enjoy the attention!!

[JamesT5]

Is this a real question? If your going to do that then your springs and shocks will be redundant so may as well take them off too while your at it, save a few kilos at the same time, bonus! :rolleyes2

Welding the whole front end together. Ahhh, no need for any more Powerflex Black Series then! :D

[JamesT5]

What an amazing thread. James you need to engage brain before hitting the keyboard. ROFL

It's almost like you enjoy the attention!!

Amazing thread? Cheers buddy! :D

[weedeno belfast]

the effect of puting solid droplinks in would be the same as them sizeing they just break the weld at the shock so do it james im sure someone has a set of shocks on here they wud happly part with lol (btw i know this cus mates mazda did it lol)

[Gold 'N' Brown]

Back on topic - every cloud has a silver lining!

They may have failed in less than 12 months but at least it meant they were easy to replace. No rusty seized nuts this time (unlike last year). I've been seriously hacked off today as what should have been an hour absolute tops to change the front drop links turned into ~5.5 hours of fighting cross threaded old nuts. Started on the NS, top nut seized half way, managed to cut it off with a dremel. Bottom nut seized right from the start, managed to hacksaw the back off but stupid me did it wrong so ended up with the stump left in there. Spent ages trying to cut away with the dremel, going through oodles of discs, all the while trying not to cut into surrounding metal (I don't have any chemical metal see). In the end I thought ££££ it, phoned the garage and told them I'll leave it for them (it'll only take them 15 mins).

But then for me to drive it safely, I was going to have to disconnect the OS drop link too (worried that movement on the OS might twist the ARB in to contact with the NS steering rod). Bottom nut on the OS came off as easy as peas. Top nut started the same and then half way seized. £££££££. So cut that off the same way as the other side.

This is why I can't be arsed with spannering these days. Such a simple job made really unpleasant by sodding rusted nuts.

And to top it off I left my ignition on and ran the battery flat. Not had a good day :-(

[JamesT5]

Back on topic - every cloud has a silver lining!

They may have failed in less than 12 months but at least it meant they were easy to replace. No rusty seized nuts this time (unlike last year). I've been seriously hacked off today as what should have been an hour absolute tops to change the front drop links turned into ~5.5 hours of fighting cross threaded old nuts. Started on the NS, top nut seized half way, managed to cut it off with a dremel. Bottom nut seized right from the start, managed to hacksaw the back off but stupid me did it wrong so ended up with the stump left in there. Spent ages trying to cut away with the dremel, going through oodles of discs, all the while trying not to cut into surrounding metal (I don't have any chemical metal see). In the end I thought ££££ it, phoned the garage and told them I'll leave it for them (it'll only take them 15 mins).

But then for me to drive it safely, I was going to have to disconnect the OS drop link too (worried that movement on the OS might twist the ARB in to contact with the NS steering rod). Bottom nut on the OS came off as easy as peas. Top nut started the same and then half way seized. £££££££. So cut that off the same way as the other side.

This is why I can't be arsed with spannering these days. Such a simple job made really unpleasant by sodding rusted nuts.

And to top it off I left my ignition on and ran the battery flat. Not had a good day :-(

OE droplinks and even standard aftermarkets like the Delphi ones are crap. The problem I had with mine on the T5 was they seized and wouldn't budge, why they designed them like this is beyond me.

The Meyle HD ones overcomes this of course with those spanner points. Much better.

[Gold 'N' Brown]

OE droplinks and even standard aftermarkets like the Delphi ones are crap. The problem I had with mine on the T5 was they seized and wouldn't budge, why they designed them like this is beyond me.

The Meyle HD ones overcomes this of course with those spanner points. Much better.

It's actually not that unusual for drop links (in general) to have the flats on them for a spanner, so this isn't exclusive to expensive uprated products. Whether they tend to be missing from most V70 drop links I don't know as I've not seen any other than those I've just removed.

Likewise it's not unusual for nuts and bolts to seize when they are exposed to the elements. Though I agree that having to rely on a ~5.5mm allen key in a corroded and dirty hole to hold the joint while you try and wind the seized nut off it usually a recipe for disaster.

Final word on whether OE/Delphi etc are crap - the fundamental design of them is fine, they are a simple part and are really no different to most drop links, but having the flats for a spanner is a bonus. My front ones that have only now just failed (split boots) are about 6 years old going by the receipted history of the car (though they may have been replaced in the interim and the receipts not kept of course). They certainly look a good few years old with the paint gone and the bodys rusted.

[LeeT5]

I wonder if anyone has fitted 'fixed' droplinks to their car, i.e. ones without a ball joint on them, that would stop the car rolling even better wouldn't it..........

Absolute belter!! :rotfl:


Yeah but 'Anti-roll' to me means it's trying to stop the roll or else they wouldn't fit them at all and just let the car go all over the place. Making it fixed just makes the roll less, surely....

To be fair James, your not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, so we can forgive you for this. :uglyhamme...Quality!


:hihi:

Oh it's a real question alright. Lmao

:hilarious