Well I'm finally getting ready to start repairing a bunch of little issues which are pissing me off about my car, one being the uneven handling going into a corner. Apparently the mercedes has had a close encounter of the curb kind and it looks like the sway bar mount box is pushed in around 11/16." This means turning one way the car handles fine, turning the other way the car feels a bit wonky. I've know about this damage for awhile and finally got the gall up to start taking stuff apart. Here is a pic of what I found.
And here is a picture of what the side not bashed looks like.
Any tips or suggestion on how to bend the mount back out. My pops said something about using a portapower but I don't have one and have never used one. The metal is pretty thick and I don't want it to crack when I try to get the sway bar mount reformed.
If you can get your hands on a Portapower, it's a piece of cake to use. No more difficult than a grease gun.
Once you get it straightened out, I'd weld some reinforcements in there, or it will just collapse back onto itself, but I'm guessing you already knew this. Your father's a metallurgist, isn't he?
plus one on da Portapower
Bang it out straight and square, weld an end cap on the tube for reinforcement. Be sure to leave a drain hole.
Cool thanks for the replies, never though about reinforcing the box. I am still trying to figure out how the damage happened, but I've seen another Slc which someone had to have this repaired. It will be nice to get the handling back then I can work on upgrading the sway bar +20% like the person who races these old benz. I guess the guy who races them had an issue with the bolts pulling out of the sway bar mounts under tight turns and heavy suspension loads. Guess if you use m10 bolts instead of m8 you get much more strength.
Do you think my little 120amp Mig would be up to welding in some gussets? I'll have to start practicing now as my welding is a combo of gum on plate and splatter shot.
I'll see if I can beg borrow or steal a portapower, hopefully easier to use than a grease gun(don't ask).
My Pops is a metallurgist but the politically correct term nowadays is materials science as there is so much composites out there. I've seen some weird stuff like carbon fiber over honeycomb with solar cells attached. The weight/strength requirements of the aerospace industry is pushing all sort of weird materials and some poor ole sod(my pops) has to test them.
Thanks again, we'll see how it goes.
A real mig with gas with a semi skilled operator? Sure, just practice your overhead. Fluxcore? "Aw hell naw" applies here unless you are a pro. As to the bolts pulling out, now would be the time to add anti crush tubes and run the bolts through the frame member.
