I getting ready for another interstate trip in about a month, and I took my car to the dealer (gasp!) for a thorough safety inspection. The only issue they came back to me with were leaky axle boots.

Unfortunately, being a novice and all, I never inspected the state of my car's axle boots when I bought it (plus, it's the first RWD car I ever owned). The axle wasn't making any bothersome noises, and it still isnt clunking or clicking, from what I can hear.

But anyhow, I do have the axle boot problem on my hands, which I will have to solve one way or another. Now, the dealer told me that replacing axle boots means 8 hours of labor. The dealer quote to do both sides, parts and labor, was $4,000. Um, yea... Obviously, I am trying to figure out what options I have.

I did a search on this issue and read a few threads about the options available to me... From what I understand, I could

a) find split boots (if they can be found anywhere?)
b) find used half-axles with good rubber on eBay
c) find cheap reman half-axles
d) find either new or high-quality remanned half-axles

So here are my questions...

1) Does Cosmos International who made split rubber boots still exist??? I tried their 800 phone number in another thread but didn't get anything. JC Whitney doesn't seem to stock these either, or maybe I need to call them. As a quick solution, I could go for this and deal with replacing the axle later...

2) Is it worth my time getting used half-axles off eBay? I am not sure how much of a job it is replacing axles - I've never done anything like that.

3) Where would I get a quality half-axle and what sort of prices can I expect? I didn't see those things available for my W126 either on Rusty's site or on Fastlane.

4) How big of a job is it to replace the axle assemblies on W126 for a newbie who's never done this sort of a repair before and are there special tools needed for that?

Many thanks! I am a bit stressed over this right now, so any feedback would be appreciated.

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84 300SD - bought in April '06 with 237,000 mi

Man your dealer is trying to screw you....

I had my rears both done at an indy here in SA for about $800 total P&L - mine were just cracked but OK so I just had them re-booted, not rebuilt or replaced and 10k miles later so far, so good.

Not a job I had the time or tools to undertake due to the special clamp tool.

Good Luck!
John

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John Hughes, was in Landstuhl, Germany but currently in San Antonio, TX


1978 280CE Astral Silver now 59,xxx miles and counting "Silber-Kugel"
1986 300E Black Pearl Metallic 143,xxx miles 5-spd daily driver w/ blk leather "Schwarz-Schönheit"
1989 190E 2.6 (euro) 5-spd Desert Taupe 112,xxx kms Had to leave behind in Germany!!! "Helga"
1983 300D Pastel Beige now 312,xxx + miles SOLD

OBK#24

I remember seeing a post where somebody spooled duct tape on to the boots to keep the dirt out. It seems like it is worth a try.

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

Yea, it's unreal. Their prices for other things aren't bad, actually, but if you have to buy big parts at the dealership, that's where you lose.

What is the difference between an axle shaft with homokinetic joint (126 350 24 10) and an axle shaft with annular joint (126 350 69 10)? Someone said to stay away from annular joints, but I would like to know what that means first...

What is a decent price for a rebuilt axle? On one website, I saw a rebuilt axle with homokinetic joint (126 350 24 10) go for about $255 per side... Good? Average?

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84 300SD - bought in April '06 with 237,000 mi

I just replaced 1 side on my 240D this weekend. Easy job. I got a new axle for $329 delivered to my house. If you choose to go that route, feel free to contact me. I'll help out however I can.

By "new" you mean... "brand new", or....? You replaced one side only or both?

(Thanks for the offer of help, by the way - I am likely to take you up on that!)

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84 300SD - bought in April '06 with 237,000 mi

Brand new. I only could afford to do one side right now. The axle I replaced basically had no boots left they were so bad. Making a whole lot of noise.

BTW I looked at the axles you need for you car. A little different than mine. Still shouldn't be too hard though.

I see... I don't think I could get a new axle for my car at that price... At least, I don't know who would sell that...

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84 300SD - bought in April '06 with 237,000 mi

My first thought would be to get that dealer to put that $4000 quote in writing - and then send it up the chain to MBUSA and tell them you're considering ending your relationship with Daimler-Chrysler as an automotive choice.

DC/MBUSA needs to be aware when dealers pull this stuff that it affects their market position.



Ken300D

P.S. Pssssst! Toyota. Honda.

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1982 300D at 351K miles
1984 300SD at 217K miles
1987 300D at 370K miles

2-half shaft axles--maybe $1000.
1.2 quarts SAE90 hypoid gear oil--$12
2.5 hours by the slowest guy there--$250 assuming $100 per labor hour

less than $1300 by my estimate. But then again I don't own a MB shop.

Perhaps I had an incompetent service advisor who managed to think of a way to incorporate as many labor hours as possible into an estimate. I don't understand why they didn't offer me to just put in brand new axle shafts instead of spending more money taking mine apart just for some rubber boots! At $4000, I'd expect them to offer me a remanned engine and tranny with installation!

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84 300SD - bought in April '06 with 237,000 mi

Holy smokes. I guess I didn't read enough into your first post. $4000 for boots and labor??? Them boys need a good ole butt whoopin'. That's crazy.

I have reman. half shafts from CVJ Axles in Denver, 303-297-2448. I had my indy instal them both for around $1000 total. No problems after over 50K miles.

Thanks Craig - that is good to know because ******** AZ sells those axles for pretty good prices!

Ok, I talked to a different service advisor at the MB dealership. Much much different estimate now. He said about 50-60 bucks for each boot, plus about 4 hours of labor (105/hr)... So that would come out to about... $700 in total for replacing all axle boots...

More reasonable, wouldn't you say... So now... question is... Should I have the dealer do it at this price, or should I buy the reman axles at 200-255 bucks a piece and put them on? Meaning, am I better off with my own rebooted or just swapping an axle altogether?

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84 300SD - bought in April '06 with 237,000 mi

Personally, I don't think I would spend $700 on the old axles because they will still be old and will eventually have to be replaced anyway. Besides, are you sure you didn't get any dirt into them through the old boots? Do you have a quote to have the reman. axles installed? It shouldn't be that much more than $700.