Hearing Rattling or Clicking as You Turn? Symptoms of a Bad Droplink or Stabiliser

When you’re driving down the motorway, your mind isn’t on the car parts holding your Peugeot together and keeping it motion. You’re thinking about that morning meeting at the office, what you’ll bring home for dinner or what time you need to leave work to attend your child’s school play. That is, until something happens. When you begin to hear unusual noises, smell unusual smells or feel unusual things as you’re driving, your attention shifts. Suddenly you’re worried. What could be wrong with your car?

When it comes to strange noises and feelings, sometimes your suspension system is at fault. This system is made of up several Peugeot parts that all play a role in how your vehicle handles and moves. When there is a breakdown somewhere in the system, changes are immediately felt and sometimes even heard.

What is a Droplink?

Within your suspension system is a thin piece of metal bolted to both sides of the car’s suspension. This is called an anti-roll bar or sway bar. It’s responsible for reducing the amount the car leans as you turn or corner and comes into play when one side of the suspension moves, but the other doesn’t. For example, if you’re driving and one tyre hits a bump in the road, but the other doesn’t, the anti-roll bar pivots to keep the suspension on both sides of the car equal. Anti-roll bars vary in size, depending on the model of car. Peugeot sedans designed for families typically have regular anti-roll bars, while the Peugeot RCZ, a sports car, has a thicker anti-roll bar so it can better handle cornering.

While it plays a vital role in the operation of your Peugeot, it doesn’t do it alone. Attaching the tubular bar to the suspension are small car parts known as droplinks. These are also called stabilisers, anti-roll bar links or link rods. Their name suggests what they do. They keep the anti-roll bar stable as you drive down the road.

Under normal conditions, there is no strain on these droplinks. However, there are some conditions that affect these Peugeot parts and cause them to fail.

Common Reasons for Droplink Failure

There are two common reasons for failing droplinks: speeds humps and poor road quality. A lot of force is transmitted through these car parts. If one wheel goes down into a pothole, much of the shock is absorbed by the droplink. As these parts wear down, other parts can also be at risk. For example, if you happen to drive over a pothole with one tyre when conditions are wet and cold, the ball joints on the anti-roll bar are much more likely to become brittle. This makes them even more vulnerable to grit and water, leading to eventual failure.

It may seem like sports cars are safer, since their anti-roll bars are thicker, but the impact to the droplinks is greater. When anti-roll barks are thicker, they place greater stress on the stabilisers.

Signs of Stabiliser Failure

When droplinks wear down or break, there is definite risk to your safety. If it completely breaks down, the anti-roll bar will no longer work as it is supposed to. Here are a few signs to watch out for to ensure you have a chance to replace the parts before they cause serious problems.

• Poor Handling- The first thing you may notice when a stabiliser is worn down or damaged is that the handling of the Peugeot is rather twitchy. It may not take corners as easily as it once did, and you may feel like something is not quite right. As the droplink becomes worse or even breaks, the evidence will be much more noticeable. The car will lean into the corner each turn you make, as the sway bar isn’t operational any longer.

• Noises- Poor handling is often followed by odd noises coming from the suspension. When stabiliser may rattle or click when it is worn out or damaged. However, if the droplink is broken, this allows the anti-roll bar to flip and flop around under the chassis. This can result in some unmistakable sounds like knocking as you drive or clunking as you go over speedhumps or bumps in the road.

• How it Looks- If you’ve heard unusual noises and experienced poor handling, the next step is to visually inspect the droplink for damage. If it is worn, damaged, missing or broken, this will be immediately evident when you look at it. It may not be attached to the anti-roll bar on one end or attached to the suspension any longer. While you’re looking at this car part, take a look at other small parts that may have been affected as well, like the washers, nuts and bushings. They may need to be replaced with the droplink.

When droplinks are damaged or broken, the stability of your Peugeot is at risk, and you are in danger of losing control of your vehicle as you go over bumps or turn a corner. That isn’t the only thing you have to worry about, however. A worn or damaged stabiliser can also spell disaster for you when it comes to the MOT. MOT testers are responsible for checking the safety of your vehicle, and if they discover a worn or broken droplink, they will fail the car until you replace it. Taking the MOT test again costs additional money and time you don’t want to waste.

It’s for this reason you should inspect your Peugeot thoroughly on a regular basis and perform preventative maintenance. Don’t usually inspect your suspension when you’re changing your brakes or oil? Add it to your routine checklist. It only takes a few minutes and can save you a lot of hassle in the long run.

If you discover a droplink is damaged or broken, you can choose to only replace the one that is failing. However, in replacing one droplink, especially in older vehicles, damage to the other droplink can occur. It’s best to plan on replacing both Peugeot parts at the same time for the best results.