I am trying to replace the front flex disc on my 89 300TE, I have the cross member removed as well as the hardware, I can get the propeller shaft moved about an inch toward the back but that gives me no where near enough to get the flex disc off.

If I drop the propeller shaft support where the bearing is, will this allow me enough movement to get the pulled back enough to remove the flex disc? I would like to avoid purchasing and waiting on shipping for the tool needed to back off the clamping nut.

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89 W124 300TE - 136,000 miles

have you got the disc off the tripod flanges. I replaced mine and it was the soft cushion type, I had to free up the independant cushions with a bolt - I then yanked the shaft rearward and worked it out very easily.

If someone has replaced the centre support bearing and tightened that centre gland nut "UBER TIGHT" the shaft cannot slide on the splines like its supposed to.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

I finally got it. It turns out that all I needed was a little help from the family pry bar, I also had to tap it back into place with a hammer so I could get everything close enough to bolt together.

Hopefully I will not be kicking myself for using those methods. I took the exhaust shield off, since I already had the exhaust out, and it looks like the support bearing and rubber around it were replaced. I am betting the person who did it just tightened everything as much as they could.

And it turns out that the flex disc was not as bad as I thought. But I do not want to take any chances with college starting back up in a few weeks....once that happens I will not have much time to mess with stuff.

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89 W124 300TE - 136,000 miles

Don't worry, prybar is the standard tool for the job.

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90 300TE 4-M
Turbo 103, T3/T04E 50 trim
T04B cover .60 AR
Stage 3 turbine .63 AR
A2W I/C, 40 LB/HR
MS2E, 60-2 Direct Coil Control
3" Exh, AEM W/B O2
Underdrive Alt. and P/S Pulleys,
Vented Rear Discs, .034 Booster.
3.07 diffs 1st Gear Start

90 300CE 104.980
Milled & ported head, 10.3:1 compression
197° intake cam w/20° advancer
Tuned CIS ECU
4° ignition advance
PCS TCM2000, built 722.6
600W networked suction fan
Sportline sway bars
V8 rear subframe, Quaife ATB 3.06 diff

Awesome!!! nice to know that not all my instincts will lead to disaster.

There are a couple things keeping me from finishing everything up (besides time) is the placement of the washers on the flex disc hardware. The person who did the work last time was not consistent with the placement of them, and from what it looks like people on the internet are not very sure either.

Does anyone know where the washers should be?

Also, does/has anyone greased the centering sleeves and the bushings on the flex disc?

duxthe1......I love the wagon, wish mine was as nice.

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89 W124 300TE - 136,000 miles

the washers go under the bolt heads - if the disc is the offset soft type then pay attention to which side goes where, the wordings "diese seite z gelenkwe" means this side to driveshaft.

the disc itself has raised bosses that are supposed to go into the tripod holes for the disc to mount properly.

with the new disc you would get 3 allen head bolts and 3 hex head bolts, the allen head go through the disc and the nut rests against the opposite tripod while the hex heads go through the tripod and the nut rests against the disc boss.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

Zulfigar, thanks for the reply. I have the disc facing the wrong way but when I took the bolts off some of the washers were on the bolt head side and some were on the lock nut side, and there was no consistency to how they were placed.

I also added to my posted above about whether we are supposed to grease the centering pins and bushings on the disc.

It also appears that the torque value for the flex disc bolts are 45 Nm, but there are certain instances when there are different torque values.......why would they differ?

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89 W124 300TE - 136,000 miles

I just finished my proper cup of tea - and realized I made a mistake.

The washers are put in a way that they are only against the flex discs flat bosses, meaning they would go under the allen bolt heads as they pass through the disc and no washers on the nut side as those end up in the tripod.

similarly the hex bolts are installed without washers as they are installed through the tripod first but the nut side which is tightened against the rubber boss on the disc on the other end is supposed to use a washer before the nut.

tighten the allen to 45nm and the hex to 30 nm.

use a teaspoon worth of "cv joint" grease in the driveshaft bushing centre - best if you can first clean out the old grease somehow but not exactly necessary, getting some fresh grease in there is a priority though.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

I usally on a w126 diesel shorten the driveshaft at the big adjustment nut. do my work and adjust back to the mark.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran, deutschland deutschland uber alles uber alles in der welt

Now when you say "driveshaft bushing centre" do you mean the centering pin that goes through the center of the flex disc? If that is the case it looks like I get to pull the shaft back again. Lucky me.

Oldsinner111, Did you purchase the actual tool or did you find a alternate tool that works?

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89 W124 300TE - 136,000 miles

I used channel locks for big nut,next time I'll use a pipe wrench.However on my w140 I don't know if it has adjustment nut

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran, deutschland deutschland uber alles uber alles in der welt

the driveshaft centering bushing is the one that the flex disc centres on, the grease goes into the hole that is in the middle of it.

btw all MB d shafts have that centre nut near the carrier bearing

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

Thanks for the help, I am either going to finish it tomorrow afternoon or Sunday morning... I did not have time to get the grease. I really hate when little stuff gets in the way of completing a project.

Zulfiqar, thanks for keeping up with this. I read the service manual and usually like the details in it, but it seemed that the one for the flex disc was lacking info....like the grease to use and where to put it, the manual just says look up what type is needed and put it in the cavity. Maybe if I had some experience with this type of "propeller shaft" it would have made more sense. I am used to "drive shafts" on vintage and classic vehicles, and they are quite different.

I also tried the channel lock approach on the nut and that thing would not budge, I did not have a pipe wrench that was large enough but I might pick one up just to give it a shot.

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89 W124 300TE - 136,000 miles

I wish mine only had 136,000 on it

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90 300TE 4-M
Turbo 103, T3/T04E 50 trim
T04B cover .60 AR
Stage 3 turbine .63 AR
A2W I/C, 40 LB/HR
MS2E, 60-2 Direct Coil Control
3" Exh, AEM W/B O2
Underdrive Alt. and P/S Pulleys,
Vented Rear Discs, .034 Booster.
3.07 diffs 1st Gear Start

90 300CE 104.980
Milled & ported head, 10.3:1 compression
197° intake cam w/20° advancer
Tuned CIS ECU
4° ignition advance
PCS TCM2000, built 722.6
600W networked suction fan
Sportline sway bars
V8 rear subframe, Quaife ATB 3.06 diff