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W126 Rear Control Arm Restoration and Replacement
Hey everyone,
A few months ago I got news from the MB dealer that my 420SEL had a hole in the shock mount area on its driver's rear control arm. W126 420SEL Left Rear Lower Control Arm - Imgur I've replaced rear controls arms before. A 300SE and two 300SDs, all passenger sides. This will be the first driver's side. I found a forum member with an arm for sale and bought it off him. The whole transaction--including shipping--was under $125!! I got the arm in about 3 months ago but really haven't had time to do much with it until this weekend. I bought a sand blasting kit and 100 pounds of media. We took the arm and compressor out to the back yard and started blasting. Progress Pictures are here: 1989 W126 420SEL Rear Control Arm Replacement - Imgur Final Product: Its not prefect but its pretty good. My next step is to wire wheel the whole arm, just for good measure. At some point in time I am going to have the bushings replace. Not sure if I should do that before the below steps or after... Thoughts? After that 1) Clean and prep the surface 2) Apply Zinc coating (Eastwood Zinc-Rich Galvanize Aerosol 13 oz) 3) Apply Rust Encapsulator / Protectant 4) Apply durable chassis paint 5) Install!
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Cruise Control not working? Send me PM or email (jamesdean59@gmail.com). I might be able to help out. Check here for compatibility, diagnostics, and availability! (4/11/2020: Hi Everyone! I am still taking orders and replying to emails/PMs/etc, I appreciate your patience in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy!) 82 300SD 145k 89 420SEL 210k 89 560SEL 118k 90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010 90 560SEL 154k 91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k 93 190E 3.0 235k 93 300E 195k |
#2
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Update:
Wire wheeled the arm as best I could: And Hit it with a few coat (one side) of the zinc compound: Tomorrow I'll flip it and do the other side. Then sand the stuff down a little bit and hit it with the rust encapsulator coating.
__________________
Cruise Control not working? Send me PM or email (jamesdean59@gmail.com). I might be able to help out. Check here for compatibility, diagnostics, and availability! (4/11/2020: Hi Everyone! I am still taking orders and replying to emails/PMs/etc, I appreciate your patience in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy!) 82 300SD 145k 89 420SEL 210k 89 560SEL 118k 90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010 90 560SEL 154k 91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k 93 190E 3.0 235k 93 300E 195k |
#3
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Looks good. I think mine rusted out from inside so I sprayed the new one with cavity type rustproofing. There was an accesshole with plug hidden under the break disc shield.
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#4
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Hmmm I thought about using something like that I've got a can of some internal frame coating stuff but didnt have a nice way to get it inside. Removing that brake shield means removing that hub/bearing thing which I kind of tried to avoid since I dont really have any tools for that.
__________________
Cruise Control not working? Send me PM or email (jamesdean59@gmail.com). I might be able to help out. Check here for compatibility, diagnostics, and availability! (4/11/2020: Hi Everyone! I am still taking orders and replying to emails/PMs/etc, I appreciate your patience in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy!) 82 300SD 145k 89 420SEL 210k 89 560SEL 118k 90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010 90 560SEL 154k 91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k 93 190E 3.0 235k 93 300E 195k |
#5
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So here are some pics I took of the current arm. I think its getting worse. I've parked the car until I can get to replace it.
__________________
Cruise Control not working? Send me PM or email (jamesdean59@gmail.com). I might be able to help out. Check here for compatibility, diagnostics, and availability! (4/11/2020: Hi Everyone! I am still taking orders and replying to emails/PMs/etc, I appreciate your patience in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy!) 82 300SD 145k 89 420SEL 210k 89 560SEL 118k 90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010 90 560SEL 154k 91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k 93 190E 3.0 235k 93 300E 195k |
#6
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So here are some pics I took of the current arm. I think its getting worse. I've parked the car until I can get to replace it.
__________________
Cruise Control not working? Send me PM or email (jamesdean59@gmail.com). I might be able to help out. Check here for compatibility, diagnostics, and availability! (4/11/2020: Hi Everyone! I am still taking orders and replying to emails/PMs/etc, I appreciate your patience in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy!) 82 300SD 145k 89 420SEL 210k 89 560SEL 118k 90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010 90 560SEL 154k 91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k 93 190E 3.0 235k 93 300E 195k |
#7
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I had to outsource the job to my shop. They charged me $450 to put in new bushings, install the arm and swap the springs. Not bad I think.
I had them return me the old parts: That arm was way worse than I thought:
__________________
Cruise Control not working? Send me PM or email (jamesdean59@gmail.com). I might be able to help out. Check here for compatibility, diagnostics, and availability! (4/11/2020: Hi Everyone! I am still taking orders and replying to emails/PMs/etc, I appreciate your patience in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy!) 82 300SD 145k 89 420SEL 210k 89 560SEL 118k 90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010 90 560SEL 154k 91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k 93 190E 3.0 235k 93 300E 195k |
#8
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Why not source a rust free control arm from a southern or western car?
Rust sleeps, but it will come back. |
#9
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I did lol. The arm in the first post is from a South Carolina 300SDL. I re-coated it because it had a few spots where the factory coating got scraped off and bare metal was exposed.
__________________
Cruise Control not working? Send me PM or email (jamesdean59@gmail.com). I might be able to help out. Check here for compatibility, diagnostics, and availability! (4/11/2020: Hi Everyone! I am still taking orders and replying to emails/PMs/etc, I appreciate your patience in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy!) 82 300SD 145k 89 420SEL 210k 89 560SEL 118k 90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010 90 560SEL 154k 91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k 93 190E 3.0 235k 93 300E 195k |
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