What are the rear stabilizer struts. Car anti-roll bar. Structure and purpose of racks

A suspension stabilization system is essential in any car. Moreover, such a system should be in the front and rear suspension. Another thing is how it is constructively executed.

An anti-roll bar is used in passenger cars. On the front suspension, his presence is mandatory. It is difficult to remember a car brand where the stabilizer was not installed.

But on the rear suspension there may be different options, in particular, on old domestic car models. For example, in the VAZ classics, the role of a stabilizer is played by jet thrust. On the Volga, the rear suspension is a sprung rear axle, the stabilizer as such appeared only on the GAZ-31105. But now the production of "Volga" has stopped.

The anti-roll bar of a passenger car is a long and straight iron bar with rounded edges. Its length is usually slightly less than the width of the car itself. There are lugs on both sides of the rod for attaching the stabilizer struts. In turn, the stabilizer struts are connected with their other side to the steering knuckles (on the front suspension). The stabilizer is usually attached to the front beam with two clamps through rubber bushings. The rod is made of high strength springy steel. By itself, it is very durable, as it works under heavy loads.

What is the anti-roll bar for?

The word "stabilizer" speaks for itself. Due to the stabilizer, the car feels confident and stable on the road, it does not shake from side to side. Especially the importance of the iron rod increases when the car moves on sharp turns at high speed, when there is a risk of flying off the road and even turning over. Of course, the stabilizer is not the part without which it is generally impossible to get under way, but driving without it is quite problematic.

Stabilizer's pole

The stabilizer struts play a role in the stable movement of the car on the road, no less than the stabilizer itself. Without them, an iron rod like zero without a wand means nothing. Therefore, malfunctions of the struts also have a detrimental effect on traffic safety.

The stabilizer stand can be structurally made in different ways. The most common type is a thin rod with two hinges at the ends, it looks like a steering rod. You can often hear the expressions: stabilizer rod, stabilizer bracket, stabilizer bone, but the essence remains the same. We are talking about the same device. If we return to the same "Classics", then on the front suspension it has struts of a slightly different shape. There are no hinges - a simple stem with threads at both ends. The role of the hinges is played by rubber bushings. On some foreign cars, the stabilizer struts with hinges are made of plastic. True, the plastic is very durable.

Like steering tips, stabilizer struts can be symmetrical or unbalanced. Asymmetrical racks are only suitable for their side. That is, the left stabilizer link will only fit on the left side, and the right link will only fit on the right side.

Stabilizer struts malfunction

There are characteristic signs in the behavior of the car on the road, according to which it can be assumed that the stabilizer struts are faulty:

- the car is unstable when driving, especially on sharp turns,
- the car shakes when turning the steering wheel,
- when passing uneven sections of the road, a knock is heard in the suspension,
- the car is pulled to the side if you release the steering wheel.

The shock absorber struts can become unusable for several reasons. Racks are considered consumables, they must be changed after a certain number of kilometers traveled - approximately after 20 thousand. These parts carry a high load and are subject to rapid natural wear and tear.

The stabilizer struts fail due to the poor condition of the roads, from colliding with an obstacle and from impacts.

If you suspect that the stabilizer rods are faulty, they can be easily checked in three simple ways. In general, in this case we are talking about the front stabilizer struts.

1. At the car, you need to unscrew the wheels to the stop in any direction. Grasping the stabilizer bar with your hand, pull it firmly. Even if a small backlash is determined, the part must be replaced - under load when moving, the backlash will be more noticeable.

2. From either side, the stabilizer bar is disconnected (for example, from the steering knuckle), it is not necessary to completely remove it. Turning the part from side to side, we check for backlash and free rotation. The more wear on the part, the easier the rotation is given. To check the second strut, just rock the car vertically. A bad stance will make a knock. For such an inspection, an inspection pit will be needed.

3. In this case, too, you cannot do without a pit, and you need two people - one behind the wheel, the other in the pit. Someone behind the wheel gets under way on the car back and forth, someone below - puts his hand to the stabilizer bar. At the moment of starting the car, a blow will be felt in the hand. Inspectors should be careful to avoid injury.

The front and rear stabilizer strut (they are also called rods, bones, less often - links) are hinge elements located at the ends of the stabilizing beam and ensuring their connection with moving parts of the suspension (fists, hub, levers). With their help, the body and suspension of the car seem to be combined into one whole, while the dynamic characteristics of the car are improved.

In cars of previous generations, the stabilizing bar (anti-roll bar, SPU) was rigidly attached to the lower suspension arms. There was no need for such mechanisms in the stabilizer struts - its ends were pressed with brackets, and vibrations were damped by rubber bushings.

In a modern chassis, it will not be possible to rigidly fix the SPU, in it the fists and hubs turn simultaneously with the wheels.

In addition to providing a movable connection, the stabilizer struts have another important function - due to their mobility, the SPU in the assembled state turns out to be slightly twisted, which increases its rigidity, and the efficiency of the stabilizer increases when cornering.

Stabilizer strut design

The main elements of the stabilizer

The anti-roll bar is a metal rod, 5 to 25 cm long (less often a metal plate acts as the central part of the rack), with fasteners at the ends. The latter can be made either in the form of lugs with bushings, or in the form of hinges.

The rods differ depending on the location (on the front or rear stabilizer), as well as on the type of fastener combinations.

There are combinations of hinge-bushing, bushing-bushing, hinge-hinge, hinge-thread.

The rear stabilizer bar is usually shorter than the front. For modern auto manufacturers, the highest priority is a double-pivot rack.

The articulated front pillar is available in three versions:

with two hinges at the ends, located symmetrically;
with a ball pin installed on one end of the rack and threaded on the other;
with two hinges at the ends, rotated at a certain angle from each other.

The hinge joints are protected with rubber polishers, which are specially lubricated. It softens the work of the components of the mechanism, and prolongs its life.

Symmetrical struts are equally suitable for the left and right sides of the axle, other types of struts are strictly individual, each is designed for a specific wheel, which must be taken into account when repairing.

Location of the part in the car

The stabilizer struts, as mentioned above, are located at the ends of the front or rear stabilizer and connect it to the movable suspension elements of the car, therefore, they need to be looked for directly at the wheels of the car, from the inside.

Malfunctions of stabilizer struts

The stabilizer link works on the principle of a damper that dampens high multidirectional forces. Under the constant influence of blows, with the passage of various irregularities, the hinge joints are gradually destroyed and the parts become unusable. There are a number of main reasons why the racks have to be replaced:

Poor quality pavement, holes, speed bumps.
Sloppy or extreme driving, sharp cornering and braking.
The low quality of the racks themselves, the use of cheap components instead of high-quality lubricant (many manufacturers use useless technical Vaseline to reduce the cost).
Lack of care. The struts, like any other part of the car, need to be looked after. To do this, you should purchase a good lubricant from the store and periodically lubricate the hinge joints.

Signs of a problem

It is quite simple to determine the malfunction of the bones. They are especially pronounced when driving on uneven road surfaces. The most obvious are the following:

Heavy roll of the machine to one side (especially when cornering).
The appearance of uncharacteristic knocks when passing even small obstacles.
The car "leads" to the side, it loses its directional focus, "walks" along the road.
The body sways a lot when braking and cornering.

To confirm the malfunction of the racks, you can independently carry out elementary diagnostics.

Turn the steering wheel as far as it will go to one side, thereby freeing up space for access to the part.
Find the middle section of the rack and try to swing it.
If the backlash is noticeable, an urgent replacement is required.

Driving with damaged rods is dangerous, the car loses control, becomes subject to a high risk of rollover, and behaves unpredictably when braking.

You can replace the racks in a car service, or you can do it yourself, this process can be done even by a novice car enthusiast.

To replace the bones with your own hands, you should purchase the necessary tool:

Spray WD 40.
A set of wrenches, head, ratchets (for the lower bone), spanner wrench (the size of which can be found in the instructions for the car).
Wheel chocks.
Actually, the racks themselves.

Usually the rods are changed in pairs.

The procedure for replacing the front stabilizer struts:

We tighten the handbrake, install wheel chocks under each wheel.
Raises the front of the vehicle with a jack.
The connecting elements are sprayed with WD-40 spray.
With a hexagon or a ratchet head, it adheres to the semi-axis (from the end).
The nut securing the thrust is unscrewed, the old part is removed.
The installation site is cleaned, a new rack is installed.
The nut for attaching the bone is being channeled.
The car is lowered.
The nuts are tightened to the end.

Replacing the rear struts (if they are provided in the design) is done in a similar way.

After a run of two to three hundred kilometers, it is necessary to check and tighten the fastening nut.

How to "extend" the life of stabilizer struts: useful tips

16 october 2016

In Soviet-made cars, the elastic bar of the anti-roll bar was attached to the arms and the body rigidly, on brackets. In the modern design of the front suspension, which has undergone modernization, an intermediary has appeared between the moving elements and the rod - a strut with hinge pins. It will be useful for every motorist to know why it is installed there and what role it plays, since this part has to be changed often.

Structure and purpose of racks

The stabilizer, which is an elastic metal rod, connects the car body and front suspension elements on both sides - steering knuckles or hubs (depending on the car brand). Its function is to prevent the suspension from acting out of order when cornering and in this way to prevent the roll of the car body.

In older multi-link types of suspensions, the cross bar could be rigidly attached to the lower arms, which only oscillate up and down. In such mechanisms, the stabilizer struts were not needed, since its ends were pressed with brackets, and rubber bushings served as dampers.

In the MacPherson-type undercarriage, installed on most new cars, it will not be possible to fix the traction motionlessly, because the hubs and knuckles rotate with the wheels. The hinge elements that connect the rod to these moving parts are what the stabilizer struts are.

The part is a metal rod with a length of 50 to 200 mm (depending on the car model) with hinge joints welded at the ends. The latter are similar in structure to ball bearings, only of a smaller size. The threaded part of the upper ball pin enters the mating socket of the steering knuckle and is screwed on with a nut. The bottom of the rack can be attached to the stabilizer in the following ways:

using the second hinge;
on the silent block included in the traction eye.

Two such elements are used in the chassis of a car - one on each side. Moreover, in some models they are made of different lengths and therefore cannot be swapped. The design of the racks is also different:

with two hinges located symmetrically;
with a ball pin on one end and a thread on the other;
with hinges rotated at a certain angle relative to each other.

A healthy car must confidently keep a straight line during acceleration and deceleration. , what the racks affect. If deviations appear in this respect, then it is necessary to diagnose these elements and replace them in case of wear.

Parts Failure Symptoms

It is not enough to understand what the stabilizer struts are, you need to detect their malfunction in time, because inoperative elements negatively affect the controllability of the machine. Deterioration of parts can be determined by the following features:

The body of the car begins to roll more strongly in turns.
It becomes noticeable that the car makes a large arc when driving around an obstacle.
With intensive acceleration or hard braking, a slight body skid is felt.
With a sharp rotation of the steering wheel or the passage of "speed bumps", a dull knock is heard from the front of the suspension.

One of the most reliable ways to diagnose racks is to conduct a "moose" test... The bottom line is to go around the unexpectedly appeared obstacle - the conditional "moose" at a speed of 40-50 km / h. You need to choose a platform free of movement and put a couple of plastic bottles in a convenient place. Then accelerate to the specified speed and try to go around them sharply.

If during the execution of the maneuver the front of the car rolls strongly and "yaw" to the sides, and a clear knock is heard from the chassis, then the struts must be replaced immediately. In some cases, the car makes such a wide arc during the detour that it can skid.

You can make sure that the stabilizer struts are needed for replacement by using the traditional diagnostic method - manually swinging the parts. To do this, you need to perform the following actions:

Fix the machine with a hand brake.
Turn the front wheels all the way so that you can reach the right or left pillar with your hand.
Grasp the rod near the ball pin and actively shake it in different directions. To be sure, it is worth prying the hinge with a mounting blade, so the backlash inside the bushing is revealed.

If a noticeable backlash is found, the element must be replaced.... Due to bad roads in the territory of the post-Soviet countries, the racks constantly experience high loads and rarely serve more than 20 thousand km. Fortunately, these parts are inexpensive and change quite quickly. If you wish, you can put new parts on your own, having the usual set of locksmith tools, a jack and a puller for pressing out ball pins.

Worn out stabilizer struts do not impede further movement, but only worsen the controllability of the machine. Even a finger that has jumped out of the bushing allows you to move on under its own power. This is used by negligent motorists who do not pay attention to the suspicious behavior of the car and the knock of the suspension. Driving in this manner is dangerous and at high speeds can lead to loss of control and accidents with unpredictable consequences.

When the car moves in corners, its body tilts to the side. The angle of inclination, correctly referred to as the roll angle, depends on the magnitude of the centrifugal force as well as the structure and spring of the suspension. The load on the left and right suspension elements can be distributed equally, and then the roll angle will decrease. The element that transfers force from one rack or from one spring to another is the stabilizer. More details about the device of such stabilizers are described below. Their design, in theory, consists of an elastic bracket and two rods. And the rods are also called "racks".

What is the anti-roll bar for?

Stabilizer's pole

The stabilizer stand can be structurally made in different ways. The most common type is

a thin rod with two hinges at the ends, outwardly resembles a steering rod. You can often hear the expressions: stabilizer rod, stabilizer bracket, stabilizer bone, but the essence remains the same. We are talking about the same device. If we return to the same "Classic", then on the front suspension it has struts of a slightly different shape. There are no hinges - a simple stem with threads at both ends. The role of the hinges is played by rubber bushings. On some foreign cars, the stabilizer struts with hinges are made of plastic. True, the plastic is very durable.

Stabilizer struts malfunction

There are characteristic signs in the behavior of the car on the road, according to which it can be assumed that the stabilizer struts are faulty:

- the car is unstable when driving, especially on sharp turns,
- the car shakes when turning the steering wheel,
- when passing uneven sections of the road, a knock is heard in the suspension,
- the car is pulled to the side if you release the steering wheel.

The stabilizer struts fail due to the poor condition of the roads, from colliding with an obstacle and from impacts.

If you suspect that the stabilizer rods are faulty, they can be easily checked in three simple ways. In general, in this case we are talking about the front stabilizer struts.

Types of stabilizer struts

The struts themselves (rods, links) can be completely symmetrical (Fig. 1). Then they can be "flipped" and also rearranged from left to right. In the design of most cars, asymmetrical racks are used, which, nevertheless, are allowed to be rearranged from left to right. And the most "difficult" option is when the left and right racks are different (not shown in the photo).

It is clear that the most vulnerable part of the stabilizer is its struts (rods). In some cars, their resource is 20 thousand km. It is recommended to inspect and check these parts more often - every 10 thousand km. But a breakdown can occur in the middle of this interval.

When replacing the rods, the threaded connections must be treated with machine oil. Well, rubbing parts, that is, bushings and axles, are best covered with a layer of CIATIM-201 or LITOL. But be aware that this option is not suitable for rubber grommets. A special lubricant is used there, or it is absent altogether.

What is stabilizer struts has been fully explained, but where to look for them in the car, we will consider right now.

Replacing the stabilizer struts in the BMW E39 with your own hands

To understand how the stabilizer works, it's easier to study its design right away:

Suspension stabilizer in modern cars

Couplings 6 allow the tubular bracket 5 to rotate freely. The bracket, in turn, is connected to the shock absorbers, but not through couplings or hinges, but through the struts 3. Each strut or rod is the stabilizer strut that was mentioned in the name.

Not everyone understands why the front and rear stabilizer struts are needed, and why it is impossible to connect the bracket to the shock absorbers directly. The answer is simple: if you do this, the shock absorber rod will not be able to move in the longitudinal direction. Draw the whole diagram, and you will understand what it is about.

Note that the shock absorber strut plays an important role in the design of modern suspension. The shock absorber itself not only dampens vibrations, but is also a guiding element. Roughly speaking, the whole suspension "walks" along the shock absorbers, but if you remove the stabilizer links, little will change. Unless the roll angles observed in corners will only increase. There were cases when the thrust burst on the move, and the owner did not notice the deterioration in handling.

Types of stabilizer struts

When replacing the rods, the threaded connections must be treated with machine oil. Well, rubbing parts, that is, bushings and axles, are best covered with a layer of CIATIM-201 or LITOL. But be aware that this option is not suitable for rubber grommets. A special lubricant is used there, or it is absent altogether.

What is stabilizer struts has been fully explained, but where to look for them in the car, we will consider right now.

How to find racks in the car itself

You can take and see what is under the bottom of the Lifan crossover. The struts of the two stabilizers, front and rear, are not covered by anything here:

In general, such an option, when the racks are not protected, is atypical. Moving units are usually covered with anthers, corrugations, covers. But the symmetrical rods shown in the photo contain a pair of anthers right in their design:

Bellow, symmetrical stabilizer bar

Loss of tightness of the boot is not the most common defect. However, this option cannot be ruled out either.

What racks look like in Chinese cars

It is necessary to remember a banal rule: the rear stabilizer struts are never symmetrical, unlike the front ones. For example, here's what the rear link looks like in a Lifan X60 car:

Rear left link

It is impossible to rearrange such a node from the left side to the right, and it is even more impossible to turn it over during installation. These "prohibitions" do not apply to the A-pillars. But they, that is, the front struts fail more often. So, everything is logical.

In the spare parts catalog, each of the racks is designated by one number. That is, it counts as one part:

Car name	Front right	Front left	Rear right	Rear left
Lifan solano	B2906200	same	–	–
Lifan X60	S2906210	same	S2916260	S2916210
Lifan smily	–	–	F2916210	same!

The Solano sedan has springs at the rear, and there are no struts in the stabilizer structure. They are not present in the front suspension of the Smily car - the bracket is "threaded" here into the lever couplings:

Smily front suspension design

Each of the couplings, designated as 10, does not interfere with the longitudinal movement of the bracket. This option is suitable for small cars.

We identify all faults ourselves

It has already been said here that the most unreliable, most "fragile" part of the stabilizer are the struts. This is done on purpose in order to get the least damage in the event of an accident. Let's name the main symptom accompanying the breakdown of the struts or stabilizer rods. This is a dull knock that occurs when driving through any irregularities, pits, and even small pebbles. And sometimes the car starts to get out of the roll worse - conclude that one of the struts has already been torn off. But the knock will be observed in 90% of cases! It can come from both the front and rear suspension.

Let's say there is a bushing in the design of the stabilizer struts (photo 2 in chapter 2). It will then be more difficult to identify the defect: even if the bushing is destroyed, knocking does not always occur. More often the sound will be muffled, quiet, in general, it is difficult to hear it.

Squeaks and crunches, especially in corners, usually indicate the destruction of the anther. But the defect itself, we repeat again, is rare. The hinge shown in the photo will begin to deteriorate over time. And then the creak should turn into a grating.