trench

Are you insulting my "artistic" or is that "autistic" skills?

Now that you've posted that pic, I've remembered that I actually have it saved on my hard drive. Guess I could have saved myself three minutes of drawing time.



BT

20FHK02

The torque should be around 25 ft-lb. I measured this using a torque wrench and here were what I did:
1: Measure the torque required to loosen the original bolt -> ~20 ft-lb.
2: Re-tighten the bolt to ~25 ft-lb.
3: Loosen it again and re-measure the torque -> ~20 ft-lb, which is equal to the original setting.

So I figured 25 ft-lb was the correct value. This is true for all the sway bar connection bolts (front and rear), not sure for the end-link strut side bolt though as I didn't change that.

bora

A little bit of Loctite (blue I think) won't hurt either.

20FHK02

Of course I also put the blue stuff
Actually that's pretty obvious because when you take off the original bolts there are traces of blue loctite applied on the surface.

C230 Sport Coup

oops, I didn't locktite on reassemble.
Is that bad?
At the same time, it took a lot of torque to get most of the bolts off, (not the end links) and I bolted them back to approx the same torque, cranked on them good, and they still had blue stuff in the threads so I figured it would be good.

No?

20FHK02

When the loctite is cured and you break it off, you need to clean the threads and reapply them.

steve s

btw...another weak link may be the bushing connecting the rod to the sway bar...if there is a bushing...

C230 Sport Coup

So, it's true.
Some of the C coupes do NOT have the same end links as the C32.
The hole on the sway bar is bigger than the end link.
How much of a problem is this?
Will the c32 end links bolt right up?

bora

If it is like my C240, you need to drill the bracket on the strut housing to fit the C32 end links.

C230 Sport Coup

BUMP!

Don't want this thread to die.

With all the people who have now gone with the AMG sways,
I'm wondering if there's more we need to do?

Buell, don't you have a comment on this?

Is having the stock endlinks a problem?
Anybody have access to both types, take some measurements?

The parts guy I talked to was kinda, well, wierd.
He says "so you're trying to justify it?"
Me. Justify? Huh? I'm just gathering data.
"Well it's still a modification".
Me: Hmmm, uh perhaps, with stock MBZ parts designed for this car. Whats your point?
Him" Well just that it's a modification"
Me: (I just wondering where this guy is going)
Him " Hey it doesn't matter to me where you buy your parts"
Me: Well I bought them from you, if it makes you feel any better

and on and on....

I guess, installing a sway bar 2mm thicker than stock, right off the MBZ shelf, is quite big deal for these guys.

Him "where are you getting this information?"
Me: On the internet, a user group of people who own these cars

trench

Yeah, some of the dealers are cool (bora's dealer installed his AMG sways) and others seem to have a problem with adding MB parts to an MB car.

Somewhat frustrating...

It would be nice if there were an easy way to tell what parts were on which cars (i.e. the fact that apparently some C230K's have the AMG end-links and some don't).



- BT

JeT

My dealer installed the sway with no questions. Its an MB part! I also asked him about other suspension mods and he said as long as they are within spec, then it will not affect your warranty whatsoever...some dealers are just trying to be a pain in the a$$ me thinks.

C230 Sport Coup

Yeh,
it amazes me that you buy the C7 package, and they leave out the pedal cover for the E brake, which at full retail is a 9 dollar part from the SL.
If they just put it in all of the C7's it would cost MBZ what 2 bucks?
Just buyuing that got me a lot of questions.
How'd you know to order that?

bora

I have to say add my dealer has no problems whatsoever with installing aftermarket suspension parts. I told them that I will be adding coilovers next and they were fine with that.

I don't see how MB original swaybars could have any effect on your warranty except the fun you will be having :-)

TXTiger

Just installed the C32 sways on my C240 this weekend (front and rear). I am very pleased with the reduction in body roll and improved handling. The install was easy. I did have to file the hole for the end link to the strut on the front so the end link would fit through. I measured the diameters of the end links (stock C240 vs. C32) and the C32 was a little larger. No strange noises eminating from the car after install!

20FHK02

What is the size of your stock C240 end-link?
The one on my stock C230 is 9mm, is it the same as yours?

C230 Sport Coup

TXTiger
You say you measured.
Was that an eyeball measurement? Can you tell us what those measurements were?
So, it does appear you DID go with the C32 endlinks.

Many people did not.
Did this thread influence your decision or did you have other info?
Did you happen to measure the thickness of the link itself, stock vs. AMG? IS the AMG thicker?

I'm trying to decide if I should replace the stock ones with the AMG ones....

Also, I'm not clear how the end links play into the overall handling of the car. Anyone out there explain this? And how the thickness of the end links effects handling AND is there an effect on alignment? Is putting the AMG bars in without the end links a waste?

more info please

20FHK02

The end links will not affect handling (well... technically they do in the microscopic scale when the diameters are different so elongation will be different), but they affect safety!

My point is: if the stock C240 end links has the same diameter as the C230, I'll go ahead and change them to AMGs.

trench

Just to clear this up somewhat, the forces exerted from the roll-bar to the suspension are transferred through the end-link. A slightly thicker one is less likely to break from the extra force transmitted from the stiffer (thicker) roll-bar.

- BT

20FHK02

Thanks Trench!

When I really come to think about it, in a static situation: thicker sway bars only affect the bar's tendency to twist, the amount of force transferred to the end link will still be the same (excluding the weight of the sway bars). So if the stock ones are enough, then changing to AMG sways won't require new end links.

But, in a dynamic situation: a thicker bar increases its spring stiffness, which will shorten the response time of the bar so that a higher shock force will be transmmitted to the end link. So ultimately it is safe to also change to AMG end links

TXTiger

I measured the end links using a caliper. I did not record the measurements.......sorry! The AMG end link was larger, but not by much. The diameters of the threads on the end links were appreciably different. The end link would have had a lot of play in it at the connection to the sway bar had I not used the AMG end link. Consequently I had to file the hole in the bracket on the strut larger to accommodate the larger size. As people have noted many times before, the resistance to rotation increase to the fourth power, so not much change in diameter is required to make a large change in resistance. You would need to run some calculations to determine if the stock C240 end link could handle the additional stress imposed on it by the sway bar.

20FHK02

Since your stock end links are off, so can you go and measure it's thickness when you have time? I just want to compare it to my C230's.

TXTiger

I'll measure the stock and AMG end links when I get a chance and post the measurements.

20FHK02

Thanks a lot!!!

TXTiger

Ok, I measured the diameter of the stock end links on my C240 and the AMG end links:
Stock C240 - 9 mm
AMG C32 - 11 mm

Larger to handle the additional stress from a larger diamter bar......