What does a bad axle sound like?
 

1993 W124 300D that I have owned for about six months and 28K miles has always had a thunk/clunk in the rear end.

It only does this when starting from a stop and until yesterday it was "just" the thunk/clunk.

Now it is more of a dull grinding/binding sound and I am pretty sure it originates from the driver side axle that I recently noticed had a torn boot on the differential end of the axle.

My next question is, what is likely to happen if this is the problem and I have a catastrophic failure?

I ask because I have a 375 mile work trip planned for tomorrow.

I can reschedule it(luckily) but I would prefer to not miss it if possible.

How do you check if an axle is bad?

Could it be the differential itself?

I replaced the oil in the rear end a few months ago and it looked fine with no noticeable metal in the old oil.

I don't know for sure how long the boot has been torn either.

I do know that it looked bone dry when I noticed it a few weeks ago.

I didn't see any tears in the other side and I am pretty sure that the sounds I am hearing now are coming from the driver side.

Is this a job where I should replace both at the same time or should I just replace the one with the torn boot?

Axles take forever to go bad. So if the boot wasn't torn a few weeks ago then you should be fine. On the other hand, the clunking that you've had for a while implies that there has been a problem for a while (maybe it was torn and you didn't notice?).

Don't bother taking that car on a long trip. If your axle boot is torn the oil is gone and so will your axle shortly. Yes a major failure is in the near future.

I just noticed a few weeks ago the boot was torn.

I have been pricing axles and they are OUTRAGEOUS.

Hardly anybody has them either.

Apparently you can just replace the inner CV joint and I am pretty sure that is my problem.

Has anybody done this?

I dont know if they do 124 axles, but for the 123 the best place for quality rebuilds in my opinion/experience is CVJ axles in Denver. Other folks have had luck with Autozone / Advance rebuilds.

You could always find an axle in a junkyard and swap it out. Or even better yet, take a pair of good junkyard axles, have your indy reboot and regrease them, and put them on the car.

dd

advance auto parts will order a new axle for around 90$ or less, depending on your company affiliation with them. but even at 90, it's a good deal. however, this axle is certainly going to be a china built wonder, so YMMV...

Will an axle from any W124 except the 4-matic ones work?

Go for early years and avoid V8s to be sure.

Sixto
87 300D

Well, I have checked online for matching part numbers for earlier years and they don't match.

'92 and '93 300D axle assemblies have different part numbers.

When you do a part search for the older versions, two part numbers come up. Evidently you can use the one for the '92-'93 or the less expensive older one for the older models.

Only the more expensive one comes up for a '93($345 vs $117 for older version).

What are the odds that the less expensive part for the older models will actually work on my '93?

I agree with the recommendation to call CVJ axles in Denver. I have been using a pair for about 200k miles. Replacing them is too much labor to play with used parts.

You can reboot them youself..... pretty easy, just need some muscle.

I noticed the GSP axles are down to $69 at Advance. Go get 'em!!!
:D

If they're making noise, it's too late for rebooting.

X2

SCRATCH THAT! I had in mind you have an 87 300D.

Sixto
87 300D