Attention all W126 owners....beware of rust at the sway bar frame mounts.
My 1991 300SE was believed to have only rust spot on the front fender and clean underneath. While replacing the smog pump I found some suspicious puckering on the undercoating. After some digging here is the sad reality. Now I am looking for someone to trim away a little more and weld up these areas. Note that both of these spots have drain hoses right next to them. I suspect that the undercoating cracked over time an the water is dumped on and trapped inside the weldment. I have never seen this degree of corrosion underneath when the rest of the body is so good. I guess that this will be about a $700 repair to have it done right. There are four mounts for the sway bar frame. The front two look good. These are the back two. Just need to find someone.
Here are a few pics....
1. Driver's side - seems to be the worst and the support is basically gone.
2. Driver's side - slightly different angle
3. Passenger's side - hole next to support