How to solve front noise problems on Renault Clio 4
Anti-roll bar bushings replacement

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Symptoms of worn anti roll bar (stabilizer bar) bushes 

  1. Metal to metal hammer noise (clunking)
  2. Frequent noise, frequency keeps increasing within days and weeks
  3. Frequency is higher on a cold car or in cold weather
  4. Can be heard at low speeds more than high speeds
  5. Noise on one side only

Accessing the anti-roll bar bushes of the Renault Clio 4

The rubber bushings of the sway bar of the Renault Clio 4 are difficult to access and require several tools as shown below in this pictorial.
They are held by the means of a steel ring that remains attached to the chassis towards the back side of the vehicle, and which unique bolt can be accessed as shown here below.
Start first by lifting your vehicle and putting it on jacks, also removing the engine protection plate from underneath the chassis.
The access to the bolt of the right anti-roll bar bush occurs from within the engine compartment by extending a ratchet handle with several extensions until reaching the bolt.
The left bush is quite difficult to access as it is located beneath the power steering motor and behind the steering boot and will be accessed from different places and angles as shown later.
Unscrew the brake hose and wheel sensor holder, so it can be detached from the shock absorber and moved right and left.
This will later allow you to introduce your hand for reaching the anti roll bar bolts.
Unscrew the lower nuts of the anti-roll bar links and free the bar from them.
At this stage, you can already shake the sway bar with your hand and notice the clinking noise that comes out of it.
Unscrew the nut of the steering tie rod to the left side only, and seperate the rod from the wheel hub so you can move it up and down, thus better access the bolt of the anti-roll bar.
At some time, you might need to attach the tie rod upwards with a cable tie as shown in the right picture.

Removing the anti-roll bar bushes of the Renault Clio 4

Unscrew the bolts that hold the sway bar using a 13mm socket with an angular adapter and multiple extensions until you can fit the ratchet handle. Both bolts for the right and left bushings, can be accessed from the right side of the vehicle and from within the engine compartment as shown. 
Continue to unscrew the bolts with your hand and take them out completely if this is the very first time the bushes are replaced.
This is beacuse the original bushes are glued to the bar and you won't be able to remove them unless the metal ring is completely tilted up (picture to the left), so you can hit hard on those and destroy / detach them.
If the original bushes were replaced before, then you just need to unscrew the metal holders just enough so that the bushes can be pulled out of the bar.
Note well how the anti roll bar bushes of the Clio 4 are fitted on top of rigid plastic spacers (picture to the right).
Use a very long flat screwdriver to hit on the bushes with a 2 or 5Kg hammer, deform and detach them.
This is the most difficult part of this intervention.
Once done on both sides, you will have removed the four pieces making the two rubber bearings of the sway bar and the two rigid plastic spacers as well.

Refitting new anti-roll bar bushes

Spread grease on the bushing hole.
Insert the bushing into the sway bar along with their plastic spacer, put the U-shaped holders on top of them and push them down.
Refit the bolts and tighten them.
While you could unscrew the left side bolt with your hand, refitting it is only possible as shown, using a 1/4" handle along with an extension, an angular adaptor and a short 13mm socket.
Re-assemble all parts and that's it, but please keep in mind that you could spend the full day working underneath the Clio 4 for this intervention, due to the difficult access of the left anti-roll bar bearing in particular.

See also our other tips and pictorials for the Clio or cars in general and buy your Clio sway bar parts here (from our patners' stores):