Can someone help me out. I am one week into fixing up my first 1982 300SD and was making great strides until the front sway bar broke tonight. Does anyone have one for sale or know of a place selling them?

if you mean torsion bar, i wish you luck on this venture.

www.**************.com/node/7874

I understand many call it a torsion bar but there is no torsional force on it. It only twists when the car leans. That is the definition of a sway bar. A torsion bar is generally used in place of a spring to help regulate vehicle height. This bar sits in rubber bushings and is in no way twisted when sitting level. Call it what you want. You know what i meant.

I bought the repair kit, of course its called a torsion repair kit. Some fights are not worth fighting.

If the other side goes bad I will try the welding on of a bolt that I see others have tried. I might even just go ahead and do it before it breaks on the road.

Just an update. The repair took all of 20 minutes. Cut it clean, sanded it down and welded on the new end. It made paying that money for the kit worth it.

Actually, anti-sway bar since it resists leaning. 'Sway bar' is a nickname. A lot of MB part names are translations of German equivalents. In this case, torsion translates to torsion. Less work for MBUSA.

And, yes, the typical sway bar sees torsional load just like suspension springs on air cooled Porsches and VWs. If not for being held fixed between wheels, they'd be sway bars too.

Welcome to the dark side

Sixto
87 300D

I know this is an old post, but wanted to add some good info for anybody else who might search for how to install a torsion bar repair kit (available from Fastlane, about $130, ships seperately from a different warehouse so don't add anything else to the order).

The best guide I've come across is here:
Broken Torsion Bar! aka Sway Bar - How to fix without having to replace! Suspension - Auto-Trend Repairs and Service Information Forums

The torque on the torsion bar bolt after installation should be 65 Nm, according to factory specs.

__________________
marshall

1982 300TD (220,000 mi.)