W124 Wagon Rear Sway Bar - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

frankstallone · #1 07-01-2008, 08:55 AM

So I just finished having my suspension done (1987 300TDT) and since I do not have a lift I had a great local shop with seasoned mechanics take care of the job for me. (I am all about supporting the local businesses when/if I can and hydro pneumatic suspension is not something I feel like diving into)

Anyway a day or two later I started hearing a knocking noise, metal on metal, from the rear of the car and naturally thought maybe something was loose back there since that was what was recently touched. I brought it back to the shop and although they were flooded with cars (Mon.) they put me up on the lift to take a look.

Apparently the rear sway bar bracket rusted to a point where it cracked and came off. I am now in the market for rear sway bar mounts/brackets and bushings however Worldpac only has front mounts/brackets. I hate to ask someone to pull this off of a used car just because I would like to have them new however here is my real question...

Question: Do aftermarket W124 rear sway bar kits fit the Wagon?

If I have to fix it my motto is to find out if they make something better, stiffer, strong and replace it with that since I am going in there anyway! So I searched around the forums but didn't come up with much (I end up using google via "whatever I am looking for site:mercedesshop.com" because I have no luck with the forum search) but here is what I came up with...

Existing Kits:

Eibach vs. E500 swaybars for W124
- Sportline Mercedes kit
- Eibach's page had no reference to a kit and I just went through their catalog apparently they have spacers and make springs for the wagons.

Hmm... Let me stop here and get some feedback from you guys. I assume the front is the same as the sedan but what about the rear? Any experiance is much appreciated!

Thanks!

babymog · #2 07-01-2008, 11:23 AM

To be clear, the W124 designates a sedan, you have a T124.

The swaybar on the wagon has an arm which operates the leveling valve, and is not interchangeable with the sedans or coupes.

I've not heard of rear swaybars being a problem on your model, used should be fine and I believe that someone is parting an '89 TE on this forum in parts.

frankstallone · #3 07-01-2008, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babymog

To be clear, the W124 designates a sedan, you have a T124.

The swaybar on the wagon has an arm which operates the leveling valve, and is not interchangeable with the sedans or coupes.

I've not heard of rear swaybars being a problem on your model, used should be fine and I believe that someone is parting an '89 TE on this forum in parts.

@Jeff - W124 Wagon seems to get your attention too =) ; I would use T124 but nobody uses that inside of the US. Even parts catalogs, Eibach uses W124T for the wagon and nothing I have found on eBay goes by T124 either. That does not make it right for me not to use the proper naming scheme however 9/10 people that own these Mercedes wagons do not know it is a T124 and I bet the dealership calls it a W124 too (correct me if I am wrong, I am only human). Anyway if someone is searching for W124 Wagon rear sway bar replacement this page will come up, if I name it T124 wagon rear sway bar, searching W124 wagon will not show T124 in the results.

That was way too deep for this thread but if you haven't heard of an aftermarket stiffer rear sway bar setup for the T124 wagon then I am betting this thread is going to die quick because I am sure nobody has.

I already hit up duxthe1 who is parting out a 4-Matic wagon for parts and I have one other backup plan to find this part.

Thanks for clearing that up for me Jeff!

- Frank

frankstallone · #4 07-01-2008, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babymog

The swaybar on the wagon has an arm which operates the leveling valve, and is not interchangeable with the sedans or coupes.

I just had a thought; am I putting the leveling arm in danger by driving around with this bracket missing?

winmutt · #5 07-01-2008, 02:17 PM

The leveling arm fits on a flat place on the sway bar. You can probably get away with grinding one flat in the righ area in a pinch.

babymog · #6 07-01-2008, 03:25 PM

You're right Frank, just a point which is likely more trivia than useful, I was an OE supplier/Engineer on some cars including the 124, and was corrected long ago, probably has no significance anymore whether it has a T-pillar or not.

On WM's comment though, I wonder how difficult it would be to simply fabricate an (SLS) bracket that can be securely clamped to the bar. I don't know if the wagon bar is heavier than the sedan bar, or whether it is shaped differently with the floor and fuel tank relocated either.

I certainly wouldn't heat/weld to it, nor drill/grind and cause a stress riser, but failure of the clamped-on SLS lever doesn't seem like it'd be a safety risk.

winmutt · #7 07-01-2008, 03:30 PM

I would imaging that sooner or later it would rotate with the sway bar and become non effective. I would also be suprised if the aftermarket bars didnt have it since many of the higher models had SLS. To bad this isnt a W123 or a W123, I have a NIB wagon bar for the w123 and a 17mm for the w126.

Why not go OEM?

psfred · #8 07-01-2008, 03:42 PM

Call, the parts are there but probably not in the on-line catalog. You may need to get them from Mercedes, if in fact the bracket is different than the one on the sedan (unlikely, usually the bushing is different if the swaybar is larger, as I assume it is).

Peter

frankstallone · #9 07-01-2008, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babymog

You're right Frank, just a point which is likely more trivia than useful, I was an OE supplier/Engineer on some cars including the 124, and was corrected long ago, probably has no significance anymore whether it has a T-pillar or not.

@Jeff - Your knowledge of these cars bewilders me and never ceases to amaze me.

When you say T-pillar, is that referring to what I would normally call the "A,B,C or D-pillar:?

Quote:

Originally Posted by winmutt

I would imaging that sooner or later it would rotate with the sway bar and become non effective. I would also be suprised if the aftermarket bars didnt have it since many of the higher models had SLS. To bad this isnt a W123 or a W123, I have a NIB wagon bar for the w123 and a 17mm for the w126.

Why not go OEM?

@winmutt - Awww are you kidding me? Haha j/k... I don't mind going OEM, the sway bar is fine; I am simply stating that if I have to go in there, and if possible why not upgrade?

Quote:

Originally Posted by psfred

Call, the parts are there but probably not in the on-line catalog. You may need to get them from Mercedes, if in fact the bracket is different than the one on the sedan (unlikely, usually the bushing is different if the swaybar is larger, as I assume it is).

Peter

@Peter - I will have to give them a call to find out if they have them. Good point, just because it is not on the online catalog does not mean they do not have it in stock. I will call 2morrow.

My other question still remains, am I doing harm to the self leveling system riding around with this bracket off? Needless to say I have been driving much more conservative since I noticed the noise so it does not make a noise that much.

Thanks for all the input! It amazes me how many people on here are into computers and are employed by companies to do computer things; I see that winmutt is a programmer, I code web pages for a Forture 500 company, another guy David I met on here is a network admin.

babymog · #10 07-01-2008, 06:52 PM

I was told that the T-pillar on the wagon replaces the C-pillar on the sedan/coupe, because it is shaped like a T.

iwrock · #11 07-01-2008, 06:53 PM

Damn, wagon questions....

I have 500E bars on my wagon. Combined with the Sportline Springs, its sweeet.

frankstallone · #12 07-01-2008, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iwrock

Damn, wagon questions....

I have 500E bars on my wagon. Combined with the Sportline Springs, its sweeet.

Real cute... lol How hard is it to get the 500E bars in place? What was in the purchase... I would assume:

500E Sportline Sway Bar
500E Rear Bushing Kit (poly.?)
500E Sportline Brackets... Or are they stock parts and the bushing are diff?

iwrock · #13 07-01-2008, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaiz3n

Real cute... lol How hard is it to get the 500E bars in place? What was in the purchase... I would assume:

500E Sportline Sway Bar
500E Rear Bushing Kit (poly.?)
500E Sportline Brackets... Or are they stock parts and the bushing are diff?

You need the bar and bushings. The bushings are rubber, and if you find a poly mount kit, let me know! You use the same mounts as the regular W124T bar.

It took about 4 hours to take out and reinstall the rear subframe to get access to the bar. And as others said before, the valve bolts straight onto the new bar. I put Sportline Springs onto my car while I was in there, ans that helped out too.

frankstallone · #14 07-01-2008, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iwrock

You need the bar and bushings. The bushings are rubber, and if you find a poly mount kit, let me know! You use the same mounts as the regular W124T bar.

It took about 4 hours to take out and reinstall the rear subframe to get access to the bar. And as others said before, the valve bolts straight onto the new bar. I put Sportline Springs onto my car while I was in there, ans that helped out too.

Haha I think that is a little over my head at this point; its unfortunate but I don't have enough experience and/or the time to learn unless you live close to NJ lol. It would be a good idea to do the springs @ the same time too.

winmutt · #15 07-02-2008, 11:38 AM

When I said OEM I meant an OEM upgrade