greggulik

I have an '88 560SEL which I use as a car I leave at my 2nd home. I took out the car after a couple months in storage and at first the left front seemed to pull. I assumed it was just a stuck brake caliper so I took it to the local mechanic right away.

He called me after a while and said the problem is not the brakes but a broken front stabilizer bar. He said the bar is broken at the point where it attaches to the left front suspension.

What sucks is that he's quoting 17.5 hours of labor to replace it!!!!

Is there an easier way to fix that besides taking apart half the front end?

RogerJones

17.5 hours is more than twice the time needed to replace an M103 head gasket and deal with all associated matters, so it seems high, to say the least. MB have determined job times for all such activities, so try asking another source and, if you can find a friendly dealer, ask them what the book says.

BENZITCH

Keep us a informed, as I have a sway bar issue also. PS I was quoted like 16 hours. This is on a 84 coupe 500SEC.
Bruce

bicylindrico

This job is no fun at all. Everything between the engine cowl and firewall must be removed, from the battery over to the fuse box. The bar comes out through the top. I hope I never do another.

harkgar

It happened to my sold 1986 560 SEL too. The local MB dealership quoted some big price due to the lack of access to the broken bar. It runs horizontally across the front end before running up to the final place of attachment. A lot of stuff had to be removed. They fixed it for me UNDER WARRANTY as it is a big embarassment for MB. The job would have cost me a couple of thousand, I think. I know someone who was not so lucky. He went to an independent garage and they welded the broken ends together - not a good idea in the snow belt. It will break again.

BENZITCH

Hi bicylindro
I saw your post related to the sway bar r&r. It sounds like you did this yourself. Did you take any photos or have anything written up?

I have a new stock bar, and was contemplting having a thicker bar made, when I get to installing it.

To tell you the truth the only thing that really concerns me in doing this is the brake booster. Did you remove this also?

Did you use a stock bar?

Thanks
Bruce

greggulik

I went to see the car at the shop and the mechanic showed me the problem. The issue is the damn bar runs between the engine and firewall under all sorts of stuff like the fuse box, battery, brake booster and a zillion other things.

We've decided they're going to weld on a new end to the stabilizer bar and reattach it.

bicylindrico

Hey Bruce,

I did this job several years back and remember the car being a diesel so the job was easier with less electrical components in the work area. The Booster and master cylinder will need to come out but this is one of the easier aspects of the job. There are only two bolts holding in the booster and they are easily reached above the brake pedal. There will be studs attached to the booster and nuts on the firewall side.

The size of the bar is more than adequate. The issue is with the rust at the end where the bushings are. Just apply a heavy amount of grease upon assembly and they will easily out live the car.

It's a weekend job but not too hard, just time consuming. Expect it to take forever and you won't be suprised. Good luck.

BENZITCH

Thanks for the advice. My bar seemed to go, from stress. It looks like a piece of steel that unraveled, much like a cut a lathe would make, and only 400k miles on it.

I will be attempting this in the spring.
Bruce

wbain

QP1000 torsion bar saver:

http://www.mercedesshop.com/diy/mb_t...ls.php?page=34

I hope it's not too late for this.

greggulik

Well, it's too late for me but thanks so much for posting that link. Hopefully others who run into the problem will find this thread and find that product to make the repair much simpler.

Lurch

Any details available regarding dealer/year replaced? I'm having the same torsion bar problem and heard there was some sort of unlimited warranty due to design defect, however, your post is the first independent corroboration I have seen . I too am in the Toronto area.

Thanks in advance,

Lurch
'86 560 SEL
Anthracite Grey Metallic