Thanks for the advice, everyone! From what I've been reading about crush sleeves (from both Ford and Mercedes books and sites) is that it's highly possible that the sleeve may already be crushed too far, so once the maximum tightening torque on the nut is reached, there may not be enough rotational friction, which would indicate a new crush sleeve being needed.

I put a new crush sleeve on the Ford pinion because it came with the seal kit, but I haven't tightened down the nut yet because a new yoke needed to be ordered due to excessive seal surface wear. I suppose if it turns out the old crush sleeve is compressed too much, I can remove it and install the new one without having to pull out the new oil seal. For some reason I was thinking I'd have to pull the new seal out and then buy another new seal if the old crush sleeve was compressed too much.

I wanted to install a new crush sleeve for my Mercedes pinion, but don't think it's feasible for me since I don't have a spreader tool and don't want to make one and risk messing things up. So, then I'll just reuse the old crush sleeve and hope I can get the prescribed preload without going past the maximum nut tightening torque.

I replaced the rear wheel bearings on my car, and it was basically the same procedure with a crush sleeve, but the torque needed to crush the sleeve down was insane and I broke a socket in the process. I was able to observe how small tightening increments made an effect on the dial indicator.

I figured the yoke holder may make a slight difference in the torque reading due to leverage. I actually moved the torque wrench to the center where the nut is and took a reading again, and there wasn't any difference that could be seen with the eye, but good observation. It should be close enough in this instance.

I got an aftermarket crush sleeve for the Ford pinion and it seems like it would be more difficult to crush than the original (the bead is smaller). I got a genuine one for the Mercedes, but I'll likely not use it and hope I won't have to.

The race of the pinion bearings of the Ford are visibly worn down and have a few little rust pits. The roller bearings are smooth but have a rust pit or two, and likely wear. I'd like to replace them, but then it will likely need to have the backlash adjusted and I don't want to get that far into it. Realistically, it will probably be fine for a long time and the condition of the other bearings in the differential are probably the same.

I have no way of inspecting the bearings of the Mercedes differential without taking it apart, so I'll just have to hope they are good. My intention was to replace the oil seals while the axle shafts are out for replacement.

Funny story--the previous owner told me he spent $6,000 having a new driveshaft, differential, axle shafts, and flex discs installed at the Mercedes dealership. It turns out all he did was have some small shop install a used differential and axle shafts with old, cracked boots. The new brakes were not new; the master cylinder was leaking brake fluid all over, the "good" tires were mismatched and threadbare, the "excellent paint" was peeling off in sheets--in short, almost every claim he made about the car was a lie, but it was the only Walnut Brown W116 300SD with a sunroof I could find in my price range (even though it had been repainted black), so I bought it anyway and have sorted out most of the issues.

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DON'T MESS WITH MY MERCEDES!


1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Highly Optioned, 350,000+ Miles

Yep, this is why when anyone posts a high price for repairs, I ask to have the invoice posted. Most of the time they just run and hide.


Yep, I buy cars / items on what they are not what the seller tells me.