C240 Sway Bar Linkage Replacement

[mbboy]

The front end of my friend's C240 was rattling when he went over bumps. So I checked it out for him, and found that the lower ends of both sway bar links had excessive play. Looks like they're just bolted on, and can be removed pretty easily with the car on Rhino Ramps. However, since I don't really know much about this model, I wanted to ask if there are any hidden variables I need to consider before jumping in -- like am I going to need a pickle fork to get them out?

Also, I noticed that a few posts talk about replacing the sway bar bushings at the same time. However, since they look fine, I was thinking I'd leave them alone for now.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[dbmoylan]

I did mine on a W140 chassis & mainly had to loosen the nuts w/ an impact wrench. Did not see need for my chassis on having to use any type of fork.

Symptoms were the hardest to determine it was actually the sway bar end links - had clunking when went over bumps - could be felt in the steering wheel.

[mbboy]

Originally Posted by dbmoylan

I did mine on a W140 chassis & mainly had to loosen the nuts w/ an impact wrench. Did not see need for my chassis on having to use any type of fork.

Symptoms were the hardest to determine it was actually the sway bar end links - had clunking when went over bumps - could be felt in the steering wheel.

Thanks, but I'm not sure whether the W140 is the same or different from the W203. In any case, I see a number of posts from people who have changed the sway bar links and bushings at the same time. So I'm still wondering if it behooves me to change the sway bar bushings when I change the links for some reason, even though the links are definitely bad but the bushings seem to be OK.

Thanks in advance for the clarification.

[ILUVMILS]

If the bushings are OK, leave them be. The sway bar links are a very common problem on the W203.

[mbboy]

Originally Posted by ILUVMILS

If the bushings are OK, leave them be. The sway bar links are a very common problem on the W203.

Thanks very much, ILUVMILS.

Stupid question: I've done the tie rods on older Benz's a number of times, but the sway bar links on this C240 seem to be different.

Removing the bottom joint on one of the links was easy. I just used a 17 mm open end wrench to remove the nut while holding the bolt with an 8mm socket, to prevent the bolt from turning.

However, when I got to the top joint, I found that the 17mm nut was in a horizontal bracket adjacent to the shock that makes it impossible to rotate the wrench enough to remove the nut.

I can probably get the nut off by holding it with the wrench and turning the bolt with the 8mm socket. But, then, how do I tighten the nut on the new Myle link, which has a slot for a 5mm Allen in the tip of the bolt.

If I hold the nut with the 17mm wrench, and turn the bolt with a 5mm Allen socket, will that tear the rubber boot? Or if I use a 17mm deep socket to tighten the nut, will that turn the bolt and rip the boot?

I'd appreciate any help I can get before I go and ruin my friend's new links.

Thanks very much in advance for any help anyone can give me.

[mbboy]

I guess I was over thinking this. When I finally gave it a shot, it was pretty easy; I did both of them in about 1 1/2 hours with a 16mm box wrench, a ratchet and a 7mm, 16mm & 17mm socket.

Thanks for the help.