Non MB vehicle so figured I'd put it here . . .

One of my sons purchased a '92 Toyota Land Cruiser for street & off-roading. Following my advice, he checked, added/changed all fluid levels prior to putting many miles on it.

During an off-road drive, he stripped the inner right axle splines that engage in the front differential. We have pulled both right and left axles and found only one is stripped. Oil in the front diff has been drained and it came out as loose grease (slumped in the collection pan rather than flowing into the receiver hole). Definite burned smell to it. Small quantity of bright metal filings consistant with the stripped spline area.

I have never had a differential apart so I have no experience to lend. It appears from the OEM Repair/Service manual that the side gears in the diff are hardened steel.

My question is: would we be wasting time/money flushing the diff, installing a new axle shaft and trying it w/o removing the diff? Is the side gear strong enough to strip the splines w/o doing damage to itself?

As you can tell, I am trying to stay out of venturing into the R&R of the diff since it is not only a foreign world to me but I also have my own vehicle projects to work on . . . poor reason but . . .

As always, opinions/advice welcome.
Steve

__________________
Steve
'87 300TD - 132K - Soon 4-Sale
'84 300D Turbo - 122K - Driving
'77 VW Type II - 77K - Restored
'08 250EX Ninja
English Bulldog (Brier) - My best friend. Passed away 12/02/04 while in my arms.

I don't have much direct experience with this but I'll give you the little I've got. Junk yard parts are often a good way to go with these older Toyota axels and diffs, couple hundred vs thousands, if you can find them. Look at the gears real closely for any signs of wear, move them through their range and look for any variations, maybe take the stuff off and take it to an experienced mechanic to look at as well... time saved not replaceing a part ready to fail is time wasted.
Good luck.

__________________
-Marty

1986 300E 220,000 miles+ transmission impossible
(Now waiting under a bridge in order to become one)

Reading your M103 duty cycle:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/831799-post13.html
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/831807-post14.html

It's my bet that gear is damaged as well. Once the other axle is removed it's pretty easy to remove the diff carrier. Once that is out its super easy to remove the axle drive gears. i dont see any way around it.