Cool ... now that I think about it it was probably horribly off before I did this replacement anyway. Think I'll still avoid the wild interstate though!

Ditto what Brian said. No worries about 10 miles with only the rear not correct. Set the rear tie rods in the middle of the adjustment range for now. Have the car aligned with a full tank of fuel and your "normal" trunk contents; add weight as necessary if the fuel tank isn't full (approx 7 lbs per gallon of diesel). I normally recommend to only have alignments done at the Mercedes dealership, but a competent indy (which is rare) should be able to do it right. Make sure they're using the spreader bar for the front toe; that's where "other" shops screw up every time.

:stuart:

I ended up postponing the alignment due to an ice storm. Good thing because the car wouldn't start ... it didn't even crank. I took the battery to Advanced and it needed a charge, not surprising considering I left it hooked up for three months and I have an amp in the car that probably drained it. The dome light still worked, but the glow plug indicator was dim and the buzzer was a bit wimpy, so I really hope it's not starting was on account of the battery, not something more obnoxious! I had to go to work so I won't get to try until my shift is over in 8 hours. New alignment appointment is Thursday. I'm so anxious to find out if everything was a success. For some reason I'm particularly nervous about the axles ... I just feel underqualified to take apart and put together something that complex (well, it seemed complex to me). Maybe I should have more confidence.:P
I did get the exhaust put back on though ... and straightened it out ... before it was crooked and touching the bumper. So everything's done. Just waiting for the big test!

It works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:vbac47679 At least so far ... I guess I should wait until I've had it on the highway to celebrate, but I took it on a mini test drive around my neighborhood and out onto the road just to turn around (with the recharged battery it started right up). No awful grinding or big clunks or squeaks from back there ... it shifted really nicely (before the project it used to clunk in the rear sometimes on upshifts) and I didn't hear anything weird. It felt really smooth, though it's hard to tell much just going 25 mph ... I did get it up to 40 on the long entrance to my neighborhood. Guess I'll find out more soon! My alignment appointment is Thursday. I'm also going to get new rear tires (the fronts were new this summer) to top it all off.:D
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._2514828_n.jpg
Between this and getting my Jeep back tomorrow, this week is pretty nice so far!:D

Congrats on a job well done !!
You have shown us all the meaning of being tenacious Bodhi !!!

Great job! I know you and Bodhi will be happy with his new "legs". :)

Ack, I knew there would be something ... I'm pretty sure my ABS speed sensor is missing the seal ring, which I didn't know existed until I looked on EPC. It's leaking very slightly. Of course, it will take three days for the dealer to get one. I'm betting the old one fell off and is on the floor of my garage somewhere. Unless I'm reading the EPC wrong ... there is a seal ring on it, right?
Other than that, everything looks good. Thanks guys for all the support along the way.:o

Yup, there's an O-ring on the sensor body. There are different O-rings depending on if your ABS sensor has a metal or plastic body.

006-997-73-48 is for the plastic sensor.

014-997-97-48 is for the steel sensor.

They are different sizes and cannot be interchanged.

:euro:

Is it a little rubber ring? I found a little rubber ring on the floor near the car, that looks like it might be it. It's split though.:( I did order another one, using my VIN, but I think I'll call to doublecheck that they ordered the one for the steel sensor ... hate to wait four days and get the wrong one.

Yep, that's probably it! The o-ring for the steel sensor is very thin. Put a bit of lube on it and gently twist the sensor+seal into the diff housing.

:)

The o-ring came in and everything is in place again.:o I took it for another neighborhood drive and it feels great ... but I am getting an awful scraping sound from back there now, accompanied by a very high-pitched squeak, both at wheel speed. It sounds to me like it's the dust shield or the parking brake causing it, although it's extremely hard to tell because I can really only hear it when I'm passing parking cars or buildings fairly closely (I guess it resonates). I couldn't hear any scraping from the wheels when I turned them by hand, but I'll play around with it later. Anything else I should be worried about that would cause a scraping in time with wheel speed?

I got the same noise on my rear end re-build. I fixed it, then it came back again :(

it's still on my list. . .I think the dust shields are just SUPER sensitive. . .

I'm pretty sure after taking it apart that in my case it's the parking brake (or both of them), though I did find one of the dust shields bent a little close. The parking brake shoes slide around, and I can see the fresh wear marks on them where they'd dragging. I guess it could be the return spring, or the retaining springs, they all seem caput. I guess my best bet is to replace the shoes and springs and go from there. The cable does seem to move freely, yet the shoes stick out more than they should even with the brake off. I can't even turn the adjustment wheel (which is odd because it worked before I put it back together), although it seems to be at it's most "retracted" position. So ... hold all tickets, this project is not yet over ... :( ... :cool:

I took it all apart today (wicked cold out, I didn't last long), and found the actuator mechanism seems to move freely and has a full range, and the cable seems to move easily as well. However, the shoes just do not sit right. I can't even put my finger on it, but they look as if they're not fully retracted. I was able to loosen and lube the adjustment star and it works fine now ... but even fully retracted, the shoes stick out too much, even when I totally slacken the cables at the mechanism under the car. Maybe it's just a case of a tired return spring? Or I'm just loosing my poor mind. Going to buy the shoe kits tomorrow, since the shoes have some cracks in them anyway. Will lube the actuator and cable for good measure, install the new shoes and see what happens ...

Update: In the middle of a nice giant snowstorm, I replaced the shoes and springs, plus since the kit came with new star wheels I replaced those as well. I pulled the actuators apart, cleaned them (they moved freely) and lubed them very lightly with brake grease. The shoes still drag, albeit very slightly. The wheels are hard to turn by hand, and I can hear a very subtle scraping while driving (much better than before though). Also, the rear wheels got a bit warm while the fronts stayed dead cold (after driving around neighborhood twice and a tiny bit on the highway at 45 mph). I'd suspect the cables, but they seem to move freely and the shoes are clearly retracted as far as they can go ... the bottoms are right up against the metal plate that protrudes aside the actuator. So I'm missing something here.
It doesn't seem to affect the car's performance so I guess I'll just take it to get an alignment and drive it a bit, checking to make sure it's not getting too hot.
Everything else seems OK. It tracks wonky but I'll let the alignment guys deal with that.:o