I had this same failure on an '84 300D I owned a good while back. Although I was concerned about the wheel bearings, I never serviced them due to the inconvenience and specialized tools required. They lasted the remaining life of the car. IIRC, the "event" happened in 1995. I sold the car to a friend in 1999. He drove it until rust and a failed transmission took it off the road in 2004 or 2005? So the bearings lasted at least 100K miles, probably more.