Anti-roll bar bushes

I need to replace the front anti-roll bar bushes on my 1999 Ford Fiesta Mk4 1.25, but the anti-roll bar bush clamp bolt furthest from the engine is nearly touching the chassis leg, so there’s no clearance to remove it.

I don’t want to drop the suspension crossmember, but if I undo the front bolt closest to the engine, would I be able to bend up the clamp as far as it will go and slide out the bushing? The new bushing is of the split type, which I hope to fit in the same manner, using plenty of lubricant. If this proves too difficult, could I loosen but not remove all of the crossmember bolts on one side at a time and gain an extra few millimetres of clearance? Tim Lynch

The bolt should normally come out without a problem. Unless both bolts on the clamps are removed, it may be very difficult to bend the clamp out of the way and then bend it back into position. After removing the accessible bolt, I would then undo the second bolt as much as possible, allowing a small amount of movement at this bolt which would hopefully be enough to remove the anti-roll bar rubber. Using a silicone lubricant would certainly help to ease in the new rubber.

If you do need to lower the subframe, you will need to use the alignment pins 205-870 to ensure the subframe is correctly located. With these pins in place, you can drop the subframe to the depth of the securing bolts to give the extra room you need to access the clamp securing bolts.