1984 300SD Rear Rotor Removal went bad. Help Please!

[na5kar]

Let's start off with 'I'm an idiot'. Actually, more correct is 'I'm much smarter than this'. Simple job. Stuck piston in right rear brake caliper caused the outboard pad to be eaten quickly and scored the rotor. Bought rebuilt calipers. Needed to remove the rotor so I could install a new one. The rotor didn't want to come off. In my confusion (here is the stupid part), I removed the bolt/washer/sleeve from the center of the wheel hub, thinking that since I did not see a set screw on the rotor (only the alignment dowel), that this bolt might be holding me up. After wiggling the rotor/hub, and even putting the tire on with a couple of lugs to wiggle with better leverage, I apparently did more than I had planned to do.

I did not see the results of my efforts yesterday when I was trying to wiggle the 'rotor' off. I soaked it all in PB lube last night and let it sit overnight. This morning, a couple of good whacks from a hammer and the rotor fell off. Now the bad news. The center hub bolt/washer/sleeve does not go in now. Most of you already guessed it. Apparently, I pulled the axle out a little bit while wiggling. I tried hammering it back 'in', with no luck. I have pictures. I am a bit lost here. How bad is it? Guidance would be a blessing. Thanks in advance.

[Stretch]

No fuss.

Squirt some penetrating oil on the splines showing in this picture



And on the other end in the hole here



Have a bit of a wiggle and it should slot back into place.

If it doesn't want to play you can either

1) Squirt in more penetrating oil and use a plastic hammer to tap the axle back into place

or

2) Put the wheel back on and bounce the car up and down to get the axle to shift a bit

[Stretch]

You are meant to replace the washer on the end of the spacer that holds the axle in place - most people don't...

[na5kar]

Crisis Averted !!!! I just had a friend, who is an ASE Master Mechanic come over. He grabbed the axle shaft and twisted it to align the splines. It popped in immediately. Took all of 3 seconds. Apparently, by loosening the bolt and smashing the crap out of the rotor / hub, I sent the axle out of the hub toward the center of the car. I thought that the hub had come out toward the outside of the car. Oh well, something to tell the grandkids. Thanks guys. Have a great Memorial Day weekend.

God Bless America and God Bless our Troops and Veterans

[GregMN]

You can file that under " I thought I made a mistake, but I was wrong ".

[Zacharias]

No need to chastise yourself. Many of us have made far worse leaps of logic on a summer afternoon in the driveway . I can completely understand your logic on that one.

Whenever you hit a speedbump, on a DIY, and you are desperate for an answer NOW, Google is your best friend. (People are helpful here, but if it's 2:30 p.m. on a Saturday, there's no telling if anyone is around... luckily Stretch lives on the other side of the Big Puddle.)

Next time something happens, go to Google and type in (for example) "stuck rear rotor Mercedes w126 site: peachparts.com" and you will find on most things someone else has been there before you. You can substitute ****world.com if no luck on this forum.

[na5kar]

Thanks guys. I did feel really stupid. Not at all like me. Anyway, got the brakes on, bled them and took for a test drive. Nothing fell off. I'll count this as a win.