[JoeRJGR]

Am I the only one who has an impossible time trying to get the bellow back in above the nut that holds the torsion bar bushings in place? This is the second time I did this procedure and the first time I gave up and let them just stay lodged up in the bodywork. This time I would like to do it right be it drives me crazy.... anyone have any tips?

Thanks as usual...

 

[plinker17722]

Joe where is this part situated ? is it the stabiliser bar or sway bar , that runs from left to right under the front end of the car it has rubber bushes that are held on with metal saddles.?

 

[zbordas]

You need to slide it over the end of the bolt before you tighten the bolt to its final position, like 50% or something. You need to fill it with grease before placing it back. It is a pain, very little room and you pretty much use your nails to pull it back and over the bolt. No wonder a lot of mechanics just don't put it back at all.

The missing protection will eventually cause severe enough corrosion so you won't be able to remove the bolt anymore. One of this forum's members had the privilege of fighting that battle and it does not appear to be fun at all.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w163-m-class/1662703-torsion-bar-troubles-beware.html

 

[JoeRJGR]

Zbordas,

i never thought of pulling it over the bolt...how is that even possible with the bottom cover in place? I thought I could maybe squeeze it together an push up between the body and the not....of course that hasn't worked so I'll try your method...

Thanks

 

[DrX]

Half-fill the bellows with grease and insert the bolt. Remove any excess grease.

Take out and clean off the bolt, tuck the bellows up inside the hole with the tip in the narrow gap between metal box and floor.

Reassemble the bracket and screw the bolt in halfway. Using your fingertips wrapped around both sides of the box, fit the open end of the bellows onto the bolt. This part you have to do blind. Slide it down as far as it goes.

Tighten the bolt to spec. Check the bellows to make sure it's all the way down the bolt.

If your fingers are too fat or you give up, get a teenager to do it.

 

[JoeRJGR]

Dr X Thanks!

I did the right side first and it was fairly easy, I couldn't believe I never thought of going through the top. Then I did the left side and because of the gas tank, could only access the bolt from one side. One thing I did which seemed to work is to hold the bellow down while tightening the bolt. I think the bellows actually screwed down on the bolt when I did that....will take off the jack stands tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for the assistance...

 

[DrX]

Here are some measurements to help with final adjustment: http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w163-m-class/1657834-ride-height-15.html#post10040154

 

[mattml430]

Doing mine this weekend so this thread is perfect timing. Thanks guys.


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[plinker17722]

This looks like another one of mercedes little gliches they put in to their cars to make it hard for owners to do the jobs .

 

[mattml430]

This looks like another one of mercedes little gliches they put in to their cars to make it hard for owners to do the jobs .

Benz's are a great car to work on. I don't think anything comes apart and goes back together as well as a Benz.

 

[JoeRJGR]

Thanks Dr and Zbordas

Getting the bellows definitely made makes me feel better. Last time I did this I used white lithium grease just because it holds up well in wet applications. It may have saved the bolt, but the bearings were dry as a bone.

One extra thing to note...I did not remove the torsion bars to do this job....they can be pushed up out the way in order to remove the bottom plate.

 

[zbordas]

I had problems with the truck clunking at takeoff and I had to take the end off (after carefully marking the position) and lubricate the teeth. I used synthetic brake grease as it seems to hold on better to me. Just for replacing the bushings you do not have to completely remove the torsion bars.

 

[JoeRJGR]

Zbordas,

Oh man, I hope I don't need to do that...after just putting the bearings back together. So when you did this, after removing the the torsion bar bearing plate there is now no load on the bar, and you just put it back where you marked it???

I used to race older porsche's which had short TBs running left and right. If they were ever removed it was just a guessing game to adjust them..In our class the torsion bars had to be in place, but the rules didn't say they actually had to work. So in order to mount coil overs I took mine to a machine shop that made battleship gun barrels. It took them 8 hours too grind the teeth off of one end on a lathe, then I reinstalled them...they couldn't believe it, they said they were made of magnesium. Of course they did nothing now and I could use my coil overs!!!

 

[zbordas]

What I meant is that I had to remove the part shown on the picture and lubricate the teeth. You need to put it back at the exact same tooth as it was originally installed. I had clunking because the teeth were dry. There is some marking on the metal but it was not obvious to me and I simply used a paint pen to mark the tooth and the housing.

 

[mattml430]

Did my torsion bar bushing today. All went well and was pretty easy to do. It is tight putting the rubber bellows on but doable. I had to bash the heat shield up on the right hand side to get my sea unt scratchers in there because they got stuck the first time. No creaking anymore


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[AussieBenzes]

Doing mine this weekend so this thread is perfect timing. Thanks guys.


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Same, public holiday tomorrow here so spending time on the wagon.