Hey all,

For the life of me I cannot remove the axle shaft seals (2) from the differential. I have tried scrrewdrivers, claw hammer at all possible angles. They won't budge! Have destroyed one, willnot atempt the other till the destroyed one is out. Do I need to cut them with a Dremel? (or) heat.
This is on an '84 300CD

Thanks ahead,

Bernie

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1982 240D 313,000 (4 speed)
1984 300CD 172,483
1985 German Shepherd Dog -Lacey- R.I.P.11/04/05

Hood Stars, Wrist Crowns and Obsession Dobs

It should not be that hard...You can use a slide hammer/dent puller type of device either by screwing into the metal portion of the seal or making an attachment that has a right angle to get behind the seal. Then you can use the slide to get it out, I would use the right angle attachment since you have room and you can easily go around the seal and hit it a little at a time. I used the screw method on a supercharger rebuild and it worked well.

Hi
Hard to remove and harder to install - very tight fit!. No Dremel or heat needed. I used a small punch to deform the rim and drive one small section toward the center - then a big screwdriver and hammer to lift it loose. I couldn't install the new one without a seal driver from harbor Freight.
Good Luck,
Joseph

I just replaced a set of seals in a Differential yesterday.

To get the old seals out, I used a large screwdriver to punch a hole in the seal on the edge. this sort of deformed it, then just pried it out. the body of the seal is a piece of stamped sheet metal with the rubber fused to it.

To drive in the new seal, clean out the inner edge of the Differential the seal rides in.
coat the lip of the seal with some oil, and the inner edge of the Diff.
then center it into the hole and drive it in.

I used a 47mm socket (largest I have) and a flat washer the same size as the inner flat surface of the seal. then with a hammer, drove it in. don`t over whang on it.

The new seal I used have a spring around the inner lip. pack it with some grease so it doesn`t pop off when driving the seal in. mine did, and trying to get them on was a PITA. so I gently pried the seals out w/o damage to them. replaced the springs/grease, and all is well.

The old seals I removed, didn`t have the springs.

I have the Diff on the bench, so is easier to R & R than when in the car laying under it.

Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

As there are also large O rings on the under side of the caps I undid the screws on the caps and then removed the caps by tapping them round until the casting of the cap was protruding over the side of the diff. You can then easily tap them away from the main casing. See photo.

Once the caps are off you can replace the large O rings (I think these are dealer only parts) and easily get to the diff seals to take out and put in.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

See the first picture in post 18 in this thread for the seal removal technique I used on my '85 300D.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

There are two types of seals. the one Army shows, refered to as a bearing cap, has 6 screws that hold it on.

The later version doesn`t have this. just a seal that is driven in.

Looks like the deviding line when MB changed is JAN/FEB of 81.
My 80 240 doesn`t seem to have the earlier style looking under the car. will know better when I drop the Diff in a few days.

Here a pic of the later style. thanks to Deliveryvalve. I`ll sent you the Royalty checks as they come in

Charlie

__________________
there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Typical - how these things change. Oh well mine's a good tip for the early type - if you've got the later one you'll have to "put the boot in" as it was previously suggested.

Does anyone know how the bearing end play within the diff is adjusted then? The old type appears to use shims under the caps but if you don't have caps...

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!