Steering improved after rear axle refurb

[TonyS9]

So after some mega work over the last few weeks cleaning up the axle from my parts car, new diskguards, tank out for rust repairs etc I've noticed the steering is noteably improved, more precise and less wandering.

Mostly I didn't use new parts with the replacement, but;
The rear ARB was in much better condition with less corrosion
The rubber/metal blocks linking the trailing arm to the axle are the used parts but in better condition (but not perfect, a little rusted).
I did put new bushes in the front of the trailing arms, but the old ones looked ok.

Rear springs are newish (lowered from classicswede), shocks (Bilstein B6) are getting old now, but still hold pressure and seem in good working order if a bit corroded on the outside.
Torque bar frame was also refurbished with the original rods and bushes from the spares car, although again the old ones seemed fine.

Has anyone noticed this, what is the main likely cause for the improvement? Should I go for new blocks?

If you don't know already, the live rear axle uses 2 semi circular rubber and metal blocks on each side to allow some independance. They have rubber "pins" or nipples to lock the position between the arms and the axle. The problem is these rarely get repaired or replaced because the bolts tend to get welded to the studs on the hoops and the studs break off on removal. I was also a little concenred that they might eventually break during driving, due to the proximity to unprotected aluminium of the trailing arms. In the end I replaced the studs with bolts, and painted the aluminium.