Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham
With this job on the horizon for me, I hate reading these reports of poor quality axles 
I will probably go with rebooting old axles when the time comes. I am not sure at close to 80 yrs old that I want to do this myself. Local shop says they only replace axles. OE axles cost almost as much as car is worth!
Has anyone asked a dealer what they would charge for re-booting using the OE boots and factory method? (Removing one can)
Meanwhile, the 3M 5200 sealant on my existing partly cracked boots is still holding up.  |
What I found is you really need a Vice mounted on something solid so you can use both hands and apply your upper body weight to the job (I ended up using a cone type tool). Or have a helper to hang onto the Axel with one end on the ground and one end up.
I think if the Mercedes dealer would do the boot replacement it would be the method in the Factory Service Manual not stretching the boot over the cans.
There must be some shops somewhere that would change only the boots because I doubt if Astoria and Dorman who both sell pneumatic boot spreaders are only selling them to private parties.
Dorman also sells Cones to do the boot changes. See attached pic.
The other pic is a Dorman pneumatic boot spreader installing a boot while the axle is still on the vehicle.