Shop having trouble with w124 rear wheel bearing replacement - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Diesel911 · #16 12-11-2019, 01:21 PM

I can only speak for myself. Personally I would buy the $55 tool and heat the outer area with a propane torch before applying the tool.

If someone bought the tool and let a shop use the tool you have to tell them not to use an impact wrench on it.

Note the area that this type of tool is likely to fall is a stripped bolt and that can be easily replaced with a better quality one.

Father Of Giants · #17 12-11-2019, 01:27 PM

So glad modern cars don't use tapered roller bearings anymore.

The Subaru legacy rear wheel bearing was so seized in a slide hammer did nothing!

Took a threaded bearing puller and got it out, but the giant bolt was bent. Destroyed the tool getting it out.

merc lover · #18 12-11-2019, 02:10 PM

Yes and some auto insurance companies provide free towing. I've used mine once and they did a great job placing the car on a flat bed for the ride home. He could probably call his insurance company and negotiate a tow back to the ranch.

Zulfiqar · #19 12-11-2019, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sugar Bear

A complete used hub assembly with the bearing and spindle in place may be a solution. My understanding is the spindle is the piece the goes through the center of the bearing, the axle attaches to the inner side, the brake rotor slides over it and the wheel bolts to it. The hub houses and holds the bearing.

The spindle presses out of the bearing. The bearing presses out of the hub after removing the snap ring/clip.

Yes, the wagon bearing is wider.

Good luck!!!

The part that goes through the bearing is called the hub, the spindle is the entire carrier piece that the suspension bolts to.

The bearing on a wagon is a cartridge but taper type like heavy duty trucks, To remove the hub from the bearing - you will need a 50 or 100 ton press if you wish to remove it by pushing. Or you can slot the hub and pry out the circlip after which the hub can be lifted out by hand.

If you want to do the hub pull with the car assembled, you need to make a slide hammer that is persuaded with a 10 or 20 lb hammer. That hub is engaged in full length on two separate races of the bearing and will put up a giant fight as the races are trapped by the circlip.

The sedan bearings are like FWD cars ball bearings and are very easy to separate from the hub as the circlip does not catch the center race like the wagon bearings do.

They are similar to subaru wheel bearings just more meatier and heavy duty. Ive seen shops break their tooling on mercedes and bmw wagon bearings.

Shortsguy1 · #20 12-11-2019, 07:45 PM

Thanks for your continued thoughts on the issue. It will be interesting what happens if they simply cannot get the bearing out. Am I on the hook to buy the entire spindle as well? If I don't want to buy the spindle, can I get back my car in the condition that it used to be in when I delivered it? I am guessing that the bearing has been destroyed, so I suspect that reassembly with the old bearing isn't an option at this point. If they cannot get the bearing replaced, how much is appropriate for me to pay? I don't like these sorts of situations. I know that the shop is honest and I somewhat know the owner, so at least I don't have to worry about that aspect. They didn't call me today, so I imagine I will learn more tomorrow. I will post more details when I learn of them.

Sugar Bear · #21 12-11-2019, 10:58 PM

They should be able to grind the old bearing out with a die grinder. They grind a spot until the inner race comes out. Remove the rollers, clean up the grease and debris in the outer race (this is the piece that is stuck), grind the outer race until it is paper thin, crack it with a chisel and out it should come. If the hub that the bearing sets in gets nicked during the grind it won't hurt anything just clean the nicks before installing the new bearing.

We used to remove stubborn axle bearings this way when the bearing was pressed on the axle. Held the bearing to a bench grinder until it was paper thin, hit it with a chisel and it would crack and almost fall off. Yes, we had a press in the shop but some fits were extra stubborn.

Pull the new bearing in with threaded rod and spacers that contact the outer race. Pressure on the inner race during the install will damage the new bearing.

Wear glasses and protective clothing when grinding this way.

Good luck!!!

barry12345 · #22 12-11-2019, 11:33 PM

Old time mechanic skills are lost to time. They no longer use torches enough to have the confidence to use them.

In the real rust zones they still use torches somewhat as you are not going to get things apart without them. I just think the real old time artists are gone. I was lucky in that I frequently visited an old time auto repair shop with a great reputation. The two brothers still worked at that time. They were very old but to see how they did things you knew they had skills even then that were gone.

I think they enjoyed what they did as well. They were both in their 80s. The burke bros auto service.

jay_bob · #23 12-12-2019, 05:31 AM

It is absolutely correct that S124 (wagon) and W124 (sedan) have different bearing arrangements.

VStech and I lived this a few years back.

OK... W124 Rear bearings are a BEAR to replace

Sugar Bear · #24 12-12-2019, 07:19 AM

Old time mechanic skills are lost to time...yep...not totally gone; but, they are being lost. I was very fortunate to have been taught a lot by several of the older mechanics.

Zulfiqar · #25 12-12-2019, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sugar Bear

Old time mechanic skills are lost to time...yep...not totally gone; but, they are being lost. I was very fortunate to have been taught a lot by several of the older mechanics.

You have to visit developing countries to really see how skilled oldschool mechanics still work with minimum extra spending. This job would have been any given tuesday afternoon after lunch and done well before closing time.

They also dont have snap on or matco trucks rolling in, and buying ultra special pullers is not an option. They rig up a mock, get blacksmithing on it, then a quick machining if required - and they will come out with a very strong tool for the job regardless if it looks caveman spec.

Your particular shop should cut a slot in the hub face or make a hole in it then use that slot/hole to work the circlip - e.g. heat it up for it to lose tension.

Then use that aperture to release it out - the hub will come off, the race which is stuck to the hub can be then either heated and spun off or simply fractured and removed.

Shortsguy1 · #26 12-13-2019, 12:25 AM

I spoke with the shop this afternoon, and they were successful in getting the bearing out. The did try heat, but were eventually successful by getting the help of another shop which does truck bearings. So the press used must have been very large. If they had been unsuccessful, I was planning to follow the advice here and use an angle grinder and chisel to get the thing out one way or another. Glad I didn't end up spending my weekend doing that.

So the good news is that the car should be back together by tomorrow. Someone funny to me is that they bought the wrong new bearing because they also didn't realize that the wagons have different bearings than the sedans. If only they used the resource that all of you provide. Thank you so much. I am excited to be able to drive the car again without worrying about a wheel coming off (or whatever is the eventual outcome of a bad wheel bearing).

Next time (if the left goes soon), I plan to buy one of the refurbished spindle/knuckle versions from Germany. Then I think this project would have been within my skill set. Thanks everyone for all of your helpful thoughts and suggestions. You guys are the best.