ethans dad

Hello All,
Hoping to confirm my parts list for the C32AMG sway upgrade. I just recieved the following parts:
Front Sway 203-323-44-65
Front Bushings 203-323-22-85
Rear Sway 203-326-15-65
Rear Bushing 203-326-00-81
This was a list posted by a owner who put these parts on his 2003.
I have since seen a post that suggests that I do not need the front bushings, but instead new front brackets? This may be due to the fact that the original front bar was 203-323-31-65 and has been replaced by the bar they sent me. Are these year specific? He did mention that believed that his parts were the 02 AMG parts. Is my bar the 03 bar, and does anyone know if I will need the brackets or bushings?
Any information would be most appreciated.

TIA

spankdoggie

I am a new 2003 coupe owner as well, and we (2003 coupe owners) really need a definitive answer to the question. I am very confused, and I have read every thread on the subject.

Let's hope this thread helps all of us.

JeT

The rear torsion bar part number you have listed is the same as the 2002 bar, so I don't think the bar is year specific.

Read this thread.

Maybe you better check with the dealer if this is the correct part. If the front sway is a newer part then it maybe safer to get the new bushings...its only a few bucks extra.

ethans dad

Thanks JeT,
I have the revised Front Sway and bushings. It's just the issue of the replacement front brackets? Do I need them with the "2003" AMG front bar? My understanding is that the 2003 front bracket does look different than the 2002 physically.
Help!

R4ND0M_AX3

Okay. I just installed my 2003 C32 bars last night on my 2003 coupe. Some of you are getting the year of the bars confused with the year of the car. The 2002 & 2003 cars are the same. The 2003 bars however are different. They now come with the premolded bushings. Not a problem. Don't waste your time trying to cut them off. Just get the brackets that are made for those bars (they are different than what the coupe comes with).

The issue with the larger hole for connectin to the end link is bar related and not car related. I just made sure I had everything nice and tight. No noises yet. If it becomes an issue I will look into adding a bushing or replaceing the end links.


Front
=============
Tools needed:
8mm socket (to remove cover) 16mm wrench, 7mm wrench or socket, E12 Torx socket.

Parts Needed:
203-323-44-65 Front Bar
203-323-27-40 Front Mount Bracket

Actions:
1. Turn off Anti-tow alarm.
2. Jack car from front center jack point.
3. Use jack stands on front side jack points.
4. Remove forward underbody cover (6 8mm screws)
5. At endlink/torsion bar joint, hold endlink stud with 7mm wrench or socket while removing nut with 16mm wrench. Repeat on other side of car.
6. Remove bracket bolts with E12 Torx socket.
7. Remove stock bar, and bushings.
8. Reverse to install with new bar with integrated bushings and new brackets. Use a thread lock on end link studs and bracket bolts.


Rear
=============
Tools needed:
16mm wrench, E10 Torx socket, E14 Torx Socket.

Parts Needed:
203-326-15-65 Rear Bar
203-326-00-81 Rear Bushing

Actions:
1. Turn off Anti-tow alarm.
2. Jack car from differential.
3. Use jack stands on rear side jack points.
4. Use E14 socket to remove upper end link bolt on both sides of car.
5. Use E10 socket to remove bar brackets.
7. Remove bushings from bar.
8. Now you can pivot the bar down to get to the outside head of lower endlink bolt. Use 16mm wrench and E14 socket to unattach end link from stock bar on both sides of car.
9. Now fish the bar out from under the car. Take the passenger side of the bar and pivot it towards the front passenger corner of the car. A few twists and turns and it's out.
10. Fish new bar in.
11. Attach lower end links to bar (use thread lock).
12. Install new bushings and old brackets (use thread lock).
13. Attach upper end link bolts (use thread lock).
14. Enjoy flat cornering.

ethans dad

Thanks for the help!
What do the premolded bushings look like? Are they just rubber bushings preattached to the bar? If so, my AMG bar doesn't have them. Does this mean my bar is in fact a 2002 bar? I suspect it doesn't really matter, but I ordered the original part no (02 bar) but the order arrived with the revised/superseeded no (03? bar). I see no premolded bushings, so maybe I'll be OK since I ordered the matching bushings rather than the brackets.
Thoughts?

Rincewind

pic? have you noticed difff in cornering ability etc yet?

hydra

Whats a sway bar and why people buy them?

heh, I know.. silly question :p

R4ND0M_AX3

I'm at work right now. I'll post pics when I get home.

The bushings look like,,, well..... bushings.

Looks like the bar was made up, then the bushings were attached then the whole lot was powder coated, bushings and all.

Sway bars (more correctly anti-sway or anti-roll or torsion bars) help keep the car flatter in corners. And I have to agree the it is much flatter. If I had purchased the car with the C32 bars already installed I wouldn't have noticed that it was flat in corners. It's only when your car has the smaller bars that you think "damn, this car is rolling over a lot in this corner". Now with the new bars it just turns like it should.

hydra

hmmm... the only time I felt like my car is "rolling over" in a corner was when I entered a curve at speed around 160Km/h... That curve had a sign saying 80km/h is the max speed :p

Oh yeah, another time... same thing, I was around 120 and the speed limit was 45! LOL, that time I didn't know what I was doing! I thought the car might roll over or I might lose control :p
but then I found out people go through that curve even faster than me!

ethans dad

OK. I guess I should have opened the entire package... Under closer inspection, I can see that my superceeded AMGC32 Front Sway Bar has premolded bushings attached. This is consistant with the information presented in earlier threads. I have attached shots of the front and rear bars. I can now conclude that this is the 2003 AMG bar All that remains now is if the brackets are required for the installation on a 2003. I will try and confirm that ASAP. The holes for the endlinks measure 12.5mm.
Hope this helps.

R4ND0M_AX3

C32 bar vs. stock C230K coupe bar.

203-323-44-65 Front Bar.
203-323-27-40 Front Mount Bracket.

R4ND0M_AX3

Here you can see how the bushings and mating brackets are different. The C32 bar has an indent going around it. The stock setup has the indent on the bracket (the reverse of the C32).

Matt230K

I'm finally going to change my sway bars instead of getting my squeaky bushings replaced. But I have a question for you guys who recently put this new bar on.

My car is an '02, but apparently I can use the '03 bar if I get the brackets. I guess you guys didn't get the new end links. Even if you don't need them, does it look like the holes are still larger than the end link. In other words, is it best to change the links even if it's not absolutely necessary, or are the links the right size?

Thanks.

R4ND0M_AX3

The 03 bar will work on the 02 car.

I didn't change my endlinks. I did notice that the hole on the AMG bar was larger than the stock bar. I just made sure everything was tight. I'm still under the impression but not positive that the top of the AMG endlink is the wrong size for our cars.

nevide

same here. Been 3 months and there's no clunking whatsoever as long as everything is tight and put some loctite on.

Matt230K

Ok, thanks. I'll order the new bar then. I assume it's an upgrade, and hopefully it won't have the same problem with squeaky bushings. I'll try it without the endlinks first and see how it goes.

trench

This is correct, to install the AMG end-links you have to drill or file out the hole in the strut to accomodate the larger diameter bolts.

vadim

What is the diameter of the holes in the stock bar?

ethans dad

I believe the stock C230K front bar are 12.0mm vs 12.5mm on the C32 bar. This is on the 2003 bar; not sure for the 2002 bar.

vadim

Ok, half a millimeter... a few wraps of aluminum foil would do

CitronC230K_03

i have the bi-0xenon lights and i heard the leveler is attached to the front sway bar. is there any problem removing it from the old and placing it on the amg bars on my own with having the dealer to do it. will i need any extra parts besides the 4 part numbers listed for front/rear bars and front/rear mounting brackets. maybe one for a bracket for the auto-leveler. thanks for you help!`

rrf

Leveler:
Take a pic of the leveler angle before you change anything,
Install the new bar and match the leveler to the pic. Easy.

Front and rear (on sedan)

trench

I think it is even easier than rrf suggests to keep a consistent angle. There should be a flat portion of the front sway bar on which to attach the leveler. This is a side benefit of installing AMG sways, I don't think any of the aftermarket versions have a flattened portion of the sway bar for the xenon leveler.

ethans dad

Leveller is correct; the 03 bar has a flat spot for the Bi-Xenon leveler hardware... now when will Steve get us some Coupe lights?