Replacing front stabilizer bushings on Lada Vesta

Why do stabilizer bushings creak?

One of the unpleasant features of the front suspension, elements of which were borrowed from Renault, was the creaking of the anti-roll bar bushings. It occurs for several reasons:

• Poor quality material used to make parts.
• Dirt caught on rubber elements.
• Poor tightening of bushings.
• Damage to the stabilizer itself.

The result is damage to important suspension components. The Lada Vesta stabilizer bushings have to be changed.

Principle of operation

Stabilizer bushing
The operating principle of this suspension unit is quite simple. A torsion bar is used, the middle of which is fixed to the car body, and the ends, directly or through special rods, are connected to the suspension arms. Due to its elasticity, it reduces the roll that occurs when the center of gravity of the car shifts to one side or the other. The vehicle's stability and controllability on the highway improves.

DIY replacement

Replacing the front stabilizer bushings of a Lada Vesta with your own hands is not a very difficult task. A person even without special skills can cope with it. For this he will need:

• Lift or inspection hole. You can't get by with a jack here. Unobstructed access to all parts of the structure should be ensured.
• A driver and a set of socket heads, among which there must be a 16mm head.
• Sets of open-end and spanner wrenches.
• TORX bits.
• Lubricant that does not destroy rubber and plastic.

It makes no sense to indicate the exact sizes of the keys, since the manufacturer reserves the right to make changes to the design. You'll have to find your way around. You can assess the complexity of the upcoming task by watching videos posted online.

Stabilizer - features

To better understand how to replace bushings with your own hands, you need to become familiar with the most common causes of their failure, be able to see signs of a malfunction and understand how the unit in question generally works.
The design of the front suspension mounted on the Lada Vesta was roughly copied from a similar Renault unit, but the domestic version turned out to be less advanced than the French prototype.

The torsion bar stabilizer is made from steel with high springiness. It itself is a rod that has a specific bend that helps reduce the lateral roll of the vehicle during turns at relatively high speeds. Without this element, the described maneuver may cause the vehicle to roll over.

In the case of Vesta, the stabilizer is installed exclusively on the front axle. The rod itself is fixed to the subframe with steel clamps and rubber bushings. From the edges the element is attached by levers to the suspension itself.

The operating principle of the stabilizer installed on the Lada Vesta is quite simple. The element distributes loads arising from any side evenly over the entire suspension. So, if the car begins to roll to one side, then the stabilizer rods change position. On the side where there is a critical slope, the node rises, and on the opposite side, on the contrary, it lowers.

The bushings that hold the front of the element allow it to rotate. This makes it possible to adjust the position of the body as the vehicle moves along the road. The stabilizer has another additional, but no less important function - improving the grip of the wheels on the road when entering a turn. Thus, the bushing takes on quite large loads, which contribute to the rapid failure of the part. Because of this, replacement (either with your own hands or in a car service) has to be done relatively often.

Which stabilizer bushings are suitable?

As already noted, the original parts are not of high quality. A worthy replacement should be found for them. There are several options to solve the problem:

• Some enterprises are already producing polyurethane bushings for the Lada Vesta stabilizer. This material has better mechanical and chemical resistance than rubber.
• Install stabilizer bushings from KIA on Vesta. These parts fit true to size and are of satisfactory quality. Whether these are original Kia components or analogues does not matter.

Bushings for Kia and Lada Vesta
Both options give good results. Which one to prefer, you will have to decide for yourself. Buying the necessary components is not a problem. But it is not recommended to mount stabilizer bushings from Niva to Vesta. Like original parts, they may be of poor quality.

Important!

When purchasing parts from KIA for Vesta, you should make sure that their external and internal dimensions match! Otherwise they may not fit.

How to get rid of creaking stabilizer bushings on Lada Vesta

There are two ways to eliminate the squeak:

• contacting a service station if the car is under factory warranty;
• Do-it-yourself repairs, regardless of whether there is a warranty.

Both methods do not guarantee the disappearance of the annoying sound. The reason lies in the material from which the bushing is made.

In most service stations with a defect using a metal-rubber aerosol. In the best case, they use a Litol type lubricant with the addition of a graphite base.

This “potion” lasts for several thousand miles, after which the sound returns.

The most effective and efficient way is to install non-standard seals from other car brands. It is advisable that the elastic bands are made of polyurethane.

In terms of dimensions and parameters, bushings from:

*price indicated as of 03/06/2019.

Let's sort it out

Dismantling operations should be performed in the following order:

• Place the car level on the inspection hole or lift it on a lift so that both front wheels are hanging. This is necessary in order to eliminate the occurrence of stress on the torsion bar. Only after this can you proceed to the next operations.
• Remove the protective cover of the steering mechanism, having previously unscrewed the bolts securing it. After this, access to the mounting points will be greatly simplified.
• Unscrew the lower bolts securing the stabilizer struts and release the struts from their mounting points. You can find videos and instructions where it is recommended to replace old parts with new ones by making a cross-section on them. In this case, the strength of the elements will decrease and they will not be able to perform their functions as expected. In order for the front stabilizer bushings of the Lada Vesta to serve for a long time, you will have to completely disassemble the unit.
• Unscrew the bolts securing the fixing brackets.
• Remove the stabilizer.

Removing the bushing Removing the bushing

Removing the bushing

Removing the bushing

Lada Vesta suspension

Products from the Dustershop77 range on the topic of the article:

We collect

After lubricating the surface of the stabilizer with soap or lubricant, the bushings are installed. They should fit tightly, without play. After making sure that everything is in order, we assemble the unit in the reverse order:

• We install the stabilizer in place.
• We install the brackets securing the bushings. We tighten the bolts securing them.
• We fix the ends of the struts to the stabilizer. We tighten them.
• Only after this do we tighten the bracket bolts with a force of 1.8–2.4 kgf. m. Do not overdo it, otherwise you will break the threads in the mounting holes!
• We install the protective cover of the steering mechanism.

Replacing the Lada Vesta stabilizer bushings is a simple job. If it is done correctly, the service life of the stabilizer bushings will increase several times. You can extend the life of important parts by carefully monitoring their cleanliness and promptly removing contamination. Both rubber and polyurethane elements are especially sensitive to the ingress of engine or transmission oil. This is another reason to immediately eliminate the leak that has arisen. Well, decide for yourself which is better – rubber or polyurethane, and don’t forget to leave your feedback on whether the recommendations helped you!

Is it worth installing spare parts from analogues?

Choosing a manufacturer is also not easy - the technology for producing bushings is the same for everyone. Here it is best to rely on your own opinion or the opinion of the one who will carry out the repairs.

Since they are approximately the same for different cars, it is quite possible to install bushings on the Lada Vesta designed for other brands or models of cars. However, you should make a decision to install an analogue only under the pressure of undeniable advantages.

The third-party opinion of a neighbor in the garage should hardly be considered a determining factor. It is much better to listen to the opinion of your auto mechanic or the recommendations of the car factory. The main thing when installing an analogue is that the landing dimensions are maintained.

If you have at least minimal experience working with wrenches, you can save on car service costs by doing the replacement yourself - the work is not complicated, not long or difficult.