1995 W124.032 E320 - R129 front sway bar

[boxjelly]

Hi,

I found this thread where a member got an R129 front sway bar installed in a 400E. I have one, and I am having issues getting it installed on my 1995 e320 (also installing the E55 AMG rear sway bar from H&R). I am wondering if anyone on here has successfully added the R129 front sway bar to the I6 chassis? I believe the 400e is slightly different or no?

Thread: "The $400 400E | 400E / E420 Discussions"

Notes I found - thanks for a great thread:

"I also installed the 92 500SL front sway bar. I hadn't realized that the R129 front bar uses a smaller ID bushing in the control arm end, so I don't have the correct bushings yet. I installed regular 400E bushings with some gasket material inserted inside to take up the space. It won't last like that, but it was enough to get everything together and take the car for a test drive. New 129 bushings are on the way. Installing the 129 bar was quite easy. I just bent the stock 400E frame side brackets forward about an inch and everything just bolts in.​

​

For the record, that was a 92 SL500 front sway bar, and a 2000 E55 rear sway bar. The front is 30mm thick, and the rear is 20mm. I'm using stock R129 bushings all around on the front, and stock E55 frame bushings with custom bushing brackets on the rear, plus a set of W124 wagon metal rear end links that have been machined down to fit the control arm width."​

Would anything different need to apply to the e320?

This is what the installer informed me:

"The angle of the say bar didn't match the mounting brackets. When we attempted to pry it into place we couldn't start the top or bottom nut on the final mount. We were able to get 3/4 but the final seemed like it was going to break off if we tried much harder."​

Thanks for any insight,
Justin

 

[gsxr]

Sounds like your installer tried to just put the sway bar on the car without any modifications. That will not work.

You need to bend the brackets to make it fit. Or, IIRC, someone mentioned flipping the brackets around to offset them.

@Beater400E ?

 

[Beater400E]

When I did it, I just bent the frame side steel brackets forward an inch until the sway bar would bolt up. That's it. Nothing to it really.

I suspect your installer was doing one or two things wrong. First, you need to start by installing the ends into the control arms without attaching to the frame side. That should be easy. Then you can bend the frame side brackets to the correct angle to bolt the bar in.

The other thing they might be doing is trying to install the bar with the suspension at full droop. If that's the case the angles will be much harder to work with. Best bet is to try to do this either on the ground, or on a 4 post lift where the suspension can be loaded and the angles are better.

And to answer the question about whether the E320 is any different, no. It uses the same chassis pickup points and brackets in the front.


I'm not 100% certain on the rear. It does use a different subframe, which MIGHT not allow for the same interchanges.

The E55 rear is significantly more work in the W124 though. If you try to install it in the stock location the bar will hit the fuel outlet on your tank. You have to either modify the fuel outlet, or the mounting location of the bar. At least in the V8 cars you do.

These kinds of mods take a certain amount of creativity and patience to get right. Let us know how it goes and we'll help out if we can.

 

[boxjelly]

Thank you so much guys, appreciate it! I will let the shop know.

From my understanding and I may be wrong but the e55 rear sway bar on the 032 is easier to install than the V8 models (from some old threads i found)

I'll post pics when she is fixed up.

Thanks again.

 

[gsxr]

From my understanding and I may be wrong but the e55 rear sway bar on the 032 is easier to install than the V8 models (from some old threads i found)

Don't plan on it being easier. The 6-cyl gas models use a large fuel hose exiting the tank, same as the V8's. Pretty likely you'll have the same issue with the E55 rear bar touching the fuel outlet. The diesels 124's use a smaller hose which might provide clearance, but I think the E320 will need modifications.