Sooooo, based on the recommendation of Mercmad6.3 from Australia, I took the car in to get the rear axle seal fixed.

I wanted to take the car to an independent specialist who specializes in early Mercedes, and ended up settling on Marx Mercedes in Costa Mesa.

He is the guy that Road and Track magazine quotes in the article on 107 SL roadsters.

His claim to fame is that he is the guy who is well-known for working on and restoring 300SL and 190SL coupes and convertibles. His shop had nearly a dozen of them in different states of repair, and they were from all over the country.

He also had a pristine 280SL pagoda roadster in his shop, a '63 or '64 fintail sedan, and a W180 chassis sedan (don't know the badge).

Today he called me and told me that the seal had been bad for a long time, and that the right side axle was bad.

He found a used one for $300, and is putting that in.

He also told me that the rear brake lines were leaking, and his replacing those, as well.

I have a question for you guys: should I have him replace the e-brake shoes while he's back there, and do you need to replace both sides at the same time?

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".