HI , A knowledgeable mechanic was looking over my 1995 E320 wagon, and was not looking to create work for himself. He said I did not need to replace the shocks (135k miles) but that I should replace the sway bar, as it was rusted and the metal properties have changed. Ever heard of this?

I hope there's more to this story.

Obviously the bar is solid hardened steel, so it would have to be more than surface rust to prompt replacement.

Perhaps he meant the sway bar brackets?

doing some work last wknd i noted my 300es rear sway bar 'coating' had been compromised in 2 places the bar is 1/4-1/3 rusted through diameter wise.

eibach has a front/rear 28/17 kit for $400 ive ordered. ill let you know how install goes!

Since you have to drop the subframe to remove the rear sway bar, consider renewing the rear bushes as well.

No, the bushings can stand replacing, but he suggested that the entire sway bar be replaced as its charachteristics have changed. He was not doing the work, merely looking over my recent purchase for me.

I cannot fathom how a sway bar could rust enough to weaken it. It would have to be eaten away significantly to affect its performance. That seems very unlikely unless attacked by acid or something very corrosive.

I have pulled cars out of fields and never had any damage to sway bars from rust.

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Does the car ride and handle correctly? If it does forget this idea. If the car does not sway too much and there is no clunking or scraping your sway bar is fine.

This mechanic must have wanted to say SOMETHING and so came up with this cockamamie story about sway bar characteristics.

At 135K though Its hard to believe the shocks are still good, unless they have been changed already.

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Though not common, I have seen sway bars break. Sway bars are essentially a big spring. They are torsionally loaded, as are coil springs. There are some cases I worked on where I saw corrosion pit the surface of a torsion bar. These pits then become a stress concentrators for the onset of fatigue fracture and eventual failure. Not common but it does happen.

Practically speaking, I wouldn't replace the sway bar for corrosion. I'd wait until it fractures. I doubt anything catastrophic can happen with a sway bar fracture.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 169K

Sway bars wear out like springs, but it takes a while and a lot of mileage. And depending on the daily driving conditions (ie urban v rural) each mile is different in every application. At worst, he didn't do such a good job explaining the problem.

With that said, I have a free 1994 wagon front swaybar for you if you want it. Only had 67K miles on it when it was taken off. All you do is pay for shipping.

PM me if interested.

Thanks for all the responses, and the offer of a sway bar. If indeed the subframe must be dropped to replace the sway bar, I will wait until it breaks (which I don't think is imminent).
I am moving out of a 1989 124/300e sedan, (207k miles) . I had replaced the shocks/struts, many suspension links, and that car was tight and fun to drive, a rather sporty sedan. ..... I just moved into a clean 1995 124/E320 wagon (135k miles). This car 'floats' so much more than the previous car, floats like a boat. I feel the body wallow around. WHile the mechanic, a knowledgeable friend, was mounting tires for me, he commented that the shocks were good because there was no leakage, and that the handling problems I felt were caused by the sway bar. That led me to check with you all, the crew, and your responses confirm my gut feelings. Sounds like I should go with the basics; Put on good tires, replace the front shocks, do a wheel alingment and brakes and we are good to go.
The rear shocks are just beginning to leak on one side.
By the way, should I expect the wagon to be as stiff, and as sporty as the older 300e sedan, or were the wagons by nature softer in ride?
And what would you suggest for front shocks (I know this gets asked every other day on the forums).

A 124 chassis should feel glued to the road. No floating is normal. If the car turns left and right upon acceleration it would be the link on the front of the rear axle bushing.

At 135K is unlikely that your shocks are any good. Bilsteins will lose their good ride and handling quality without ever leaking.

Tom W

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

This sounds fishy to me. A little surface rust isn't going to bother a sway bar. Sand the area and apply some paint.

Like expensive speaker wire, I'm not going to get into an on-line argument about coil springs.

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Regards

Warren

Currently 1965 220Sb, 2002 FORD Crown Vic Police Interceptor

Had 1965 220SEb, 1967 230S, 280SE 4.5, 300SE (W126), 420SEL

ENTER > = (HP RPN)

Not part of the in-crowd since 1952.

I will take issue with coil springs.

Sway bars do not wear out like springs. Suspension coil prings are under continuous load and with time they take a set. This compression set results in vehicle sag, and usually means the coil springs need to be replaced, or spacers need to be added to take up the lost compressed height. Though the coil springs may sag, the spring constant will remain the same.

Sway bars, on the other hand, are under neutral load and will continue to function as designed, and with time they will have no noticeable loss in performance. There is no "set" associated with a sway bar.

OK, I wasn't being completely scientific either and to say they wear out "like" each other wasn't exactly precise. The fact remains, a sway bar does wear out after a lot of flex(mileage) and therefore, as mentioned, it depends on how the vehicle is being driven. if you are mostly driving on highways/country roads, you may never experience a wear on the sway bar no matter what the mileage. But if you are flexing that thing on a daily basis on surface streets, urban blocks with lots of turning, swaying, etc, etc, the bar will wear out faster - but wear out nonetheless. Yes, it will probably outlive everything else on the car, and most likely the car itself...

I have never seen nor heard of one wearing out.

The exception is the front on a benz and I have heard of several that the end broke off of. But its a part of the suspension so its loading is different.

Tom W

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.