Originally Posted by Gary
I was tired of the front wheels rubbing on the fender every time I backed my wagon out of my driveway. So I decided to replace the sway bar bushings.
The sway bar holds the lower control arm in the Manta/Ascona in the proper position. There are 2 bushings in the LCA and 2 that hold the bar to the body. The bushings were pretty soft after 37 years of driving and they flexed when backing up causing the LCA to move. You can see the difference below.
I pressed the new LCA bushing in using a 1/2-13 X 4" bolt, some washers and a small plate with a 1/2" hole drilled in it along with some WD-40 for a lube.
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Gary,
Put that Opel back on the lift and carefully inspect the lower control arms for cracks around the inner bushings. Those worn bushings create stress on that area and can cause LCA failure. Look at the crossmember too.