Originally Posted by red560SL

Hey Strife,

Would you believe I'm a self-employed and now mostly retired software engineer? I was bored and decided I wanted to get my hands dirty and here I am. As you know from my first opened thread titled "Rebuilding entire suspension 87' 560SL. Tips, Pointers and HELP!" I'm an amature and haven't worked on cars since I was in my late teens. I should also mention that everything I am doing on this car I am doing by myself. That means I have to use the old noggin when there's a heavy piece that needs to be moved.

By the way, when you did your rear subframe, were your support brackets flat (see pic)? Can you remember their shape? My brackets are not flat and I notice there is a slight difference between the two in their bent shape. I talked with the dealer today and he says the part (part # 1073520325) is the same part # for both the left and right side so this means they should be identical. However my two are not identical in their shape. This makes me believe that the problem with the subframe may have also bent these support tabs. According to the dealer there is only one of these parts available in the entire world and the cost is $159.60! However I did find another supplier on-line who sells them for $109.20 and no tax, but I don't know if it is in stock or not. I would hate to purchase this if all I have to do is flatten them back or if their bent shapes are expected and still within tollerences. I may still not purchase and wait until I do the alignment and let the expert tell me if I need to replace them or not.

Have a good one,
-Tony-