Highly recommend replacing swaybar mounts
 

In an effort to smarted up the sloppy handling of my '84 300D, I decided to change my front swaybar mounts. Even though the job was a huge pain, I am very pleased with the results. The car no longer pitches (body rolls) into corners, and the overall ride has stiffened up. I have already replaced my shocks, which helped a lot, but I can say the swaybar bushings really gave it that "new car" feel.

It is possible to do this job with basic tools. You need about 12-14 inches of 1/4 inch extention, a 1/4 inch universal joint, and something for leverage (I used a 15mm wrench). With the long extentions and joint, you can unbolt the mount behind the brake booster. Then you manipulate the bushing out by placing the tool used for leverage inbetween the frame of the car and the swaybar inside the wheel well. There is a little plastic splash guard that you can remove to get the leverage tool in there. Its hard getting the bushing out of the driver's side, but it is possible with a lot of patients. The bushing on the drivers side comes out through the hole in the frame.

The passenger side bushing is easily replaced once you remove the battery, but you still need a tool to leverage the swaybar to get the bushing out.

An interesting aside - Mercedes does not list a replacement bushing for the rear swaybar. I called energysuspention (the polyurethane bushing company), and they didn't have anything available, but they told me to call JCWhitney, and I was able to order polyurethane bushing through them. I am expecting them in the mail this week, and I'm looking forward to the results!

Greg
'84 300D

thanks for info greg. I have the rubber bushings but haven't installed because I thought you had to remove the brake stuff and that sounded unpleasant. If I can do this without removing brake brake booster, its a go.

please post your experience with rear.

Nic
'85 300CD

You don't have to remove the brake booster, although the 1/4 inch extentions and universal joint are vital for getting in there and removing/installing the bolts. The top bolt can also be accessed through the hole in the wheel well.

Also, installing the bracket is difficult with the new bushing. The trick to getting it on was to thread just one bolt on by just a couple turns (just enough to get the threads meshed) and then force the bracket down over the second stud with your extentions so enough thread is exposed to get that bolt started.

The extentions were also helpful for pounding the bushing over the swaybar.

Hope this all helps!

Greg
'84 300D, 166k

is that aka "sway bar bracket?" a little rubber thing?

Its a 3 or 4 inch oval rubber bushing that is flat on both ends. There is a round bar that goes from the upper control arm (front suspension) to the firewall on both sides of the car. At the fire wall, the round bar is connected to the car via this rubber bushing. The attachment location is under the battery on passenger side and under the brake booster on the driver's side. Greg called it a sway bar.....I just know it is there and the rubber probably needs replacing after 17 years (like all the rubber bushings in our older cars).

The bushing is not very expensive and can be bought at FastLane as I recall. No special tools required to replace, just determination per Greg.

Nic

FYI, although MB does not show a rear sway bar bushing, they do list a "rear torsion bar repair kit", part number 123-320-00-47. This includes the bracket, bolt, etc and *may* include the bushings. If it's cheap enough it would be worth othering to find out. I think only one kit is needed (includes two of everything).


Regards,

On a related note, does the alignment need to be checked after replacing the front sway bar bushings? I know my car (300E) is a little bit different setup than the W123.

thanks,
anthony

Anthony,

No. Any repairs or changes to the sway bars will not affect alignment. Installing new shocks shouldn't require an alignment either.

However, for most other suspension work (control arm bushings, tie rods, ball joints, etc.) you really should get an alignment done, preferably at the dealer... they're the only ones I've found that know how to align a Benz properly! Some independent alignment shops can do it, but they're pretty rare...

:)

Thanks for the advice, I think I will do this also.

Greg,
I'm also thinking about doing this. I've had the parts for a while, just not the motivation. How long did this take you? How much time do you think I should budget to get this done? Thanks a lot.

Alex

Dieselhead: Time depends on how good you are at stuff like this and how patient you are. It took me two hours. My best time-saving advice is that both the driver's side bracket and bushing come out through the hole in the wheel well. You are wasting your time trying to get at these components any other way.

Oh, a little more advice - forget the bushings and hit those books! I graduated from law school in '02 and don't miss it at all. The first semester is the worst. Good luck.

Greg
'84 300D,166k

Nic, I think you are talking about 2 different chassis'. Your CD is 126 Chassis and the sway bar is buried behind the outer fire wall and is a major job to change. (I did it on my car last fall). The sway bar job on a 123 Chassis car is different and much easier.

Ummm, Bill, I think you have that backwards. Your SD is a 126 and Nic's CD is a 123. The 123 is a major PITA, but I believe the 126 is easy. I know the 124 and 201 chassis are a piece of cake for this job. :cool: :cool:

I unfortunately have to report that replacing the rear bushings had almost no noticeable affect! Considering I used polyurethane bushings (because rubber bushings aren't available from Mercedes), I expected a noticable improvement. So I guess the biggest problems were with the old, worn-out front bushings.

Greg

Can anybody tell me where the front sway bar bushings are in my 1984 300D turbodiesel. What it looks like and where it is located. A pic would be best. The Chilton and Hanes manual don't even mention one, I thought that very strange.

Thanks.