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.

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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

__________________
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!

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

__________________
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!

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

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

__________________
Greg
2012 S350 BlueTEC 4Matic
2007 ML 320 CDI
2007 Leisure Travel Serenity
2006 Sprinter 432k
2005 E320 CDI
1998 SLK230 (teal)
1998 SLK230 (silver)
1996 E300D 99k, 30k on WVO
Previous:
1983 240D, on WVO
1982 300D, on WVO
1983 300CD, on WVO
1986 300SDL 237k, 25k on WVO (Deerslayer)
1991 350SDL 249k, 56k on WVO - Retired to a car spa in Phoenix
1983 380 SEC w/603 diesel, 8k on WVO
1996 E300D 351k, 177k on WVO

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.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

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.