One or both of my rear wheel bearings on my 92 300CE are getting pretty noisy and I should change them soon. I live 90 miles from any shop that has the MB tools to do this job so I would like to have a local shop do it. I have read numerous post on this subject and I am still confused about exactly how this should be done. I have worked on my own cars for the past 40+ years and have done a lot of my own work on several MBs. I plan on having the shop completely remove the hub carriers so that the bearings can be pressed out and back in at a local machine shop. I would like to avoid some of the mistakes I read about in some of the posts on RR of these bearings. If anyone has detailed instructions on how to do this, could you please email them to me at bergsma@charter.net or fax them to Craig at 1- 541-298-2896

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90 300SL Pearl Gray
92 300CE Smoke Silver

Are you SURE that the bearings are the problem. It is quite common for tires to roar so bad you can very easily convince yourself that the problem is bearings.

I have never had to replace rear wheel bearings on an MB even at ridiculously high mileage. My 240D has over 500,000 miles with the original bearings untouched as does my 300E with 260,000.

Make SURE that the problem is not the tires. I have even had tires that LOOKED perfect but once replaced everything was silenced again.

Good luck,

Larry - I had read that in other posts so I'll give that a try 1st. Thanks, Craig
PS - I do have a new center drive shaft bearing and new half shafts.

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90 300SL Pearl Gray
92 300CE Smoke Silver

I know each case will be different but when the right rear bearing failed in my old 300E it only made noise when that side was loaded, ie. long left sweeper. The noise was a loud humming squeal.

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Glen Tokuhara
Beauty & the Beast and the wagon that could!

Right. Bearing noise generally comes(or goes) when turning one way or another.

May see signs of cupping on tire, though perhaps less likely on a driven wheel.

Check for play at hub.

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1986 300E 5-Speed 240k mi.

I replaced the rear wheel bearings on my w124 ('86 300e). Once you get the wheel carrier out, it is a straight forward process.

Make sure that the person who replaces the bearings puts the dust sheild back in its correct orientation and also make sure that they don't get bent. Or else, they will be rubbing against other components and creating a racket down under.

If you are going to remove the rear wheel carrier, it may be a good time to replace some of the rear suspension links and if necessary the sub-frame mount too. I replaced all the rear suspension links when I had the carrier out but not the sub-frame mounts and I am regretting not replacing the sub-frame mounts.

After replacing my rear wheel bearings, the rear end of my car is very quiet.

Now, I need to get the front ends done.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Check out this site for a good pic by pic demo of a brake job - just need to get past the homophobic remarks.

http://www.pindelski.com/cars/W126/W126_brake_job/W126_brake_job.html

I just did one a month ago and have another to do on Friday. I use Sir tools B90 and place bearing into dry ice before reinstallation. The dry ice works great because it reduces the stress put on a new bearing. If done quickly enough you can push them in with a gloved hand.

When I had new tires installed in March the installer (Merchants Tire) said I had some play in my bearings (did not specify which) and I declined the offer to repack them since I never detected probles, nor was told of any by my usual service techs.

Earlier this evening I jacked up each wheel (tires on) to check for movement and there was none. All are rock solid. Checking the work order from the tire job to see which wheel(s) he was referring to I saw nothing but a notation that "customer declined alignment" (which they never offered). Nothing about bearings.

Was my method of checking valid? And is it likely the tire place was trying to sell me the bearing job unnecessarily?

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2008 E350 4matic / Black/Anthracite

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Gone but not Forgotten:
2001 E430 4matic, 206,xxx miles, Black/Charcoal
1995 E320, 252,xxx miles, Black/Grey
1989 260E, 223,00 miles, Black/Black

A spalled bearing can easily make noise long before it develops play.

It can be a real crap-shoot diagnosing wheel bearing noises for many of the reasons cited above. I was fooled once by rusty brakes.

I hear a soft scraping-like sound, like plastic or paper on metal, loudest from the front passenger window, which raises some concern. However, my brake wear light has also recently begin flickering, which may be connected to that.

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2008 E350 4matic / Black/Anthracite

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Gone but not Forgotten:
2001 E430 4matic, 206,xxx miles, Black/Charcoal
1995 E320, 252,xxx miles, Black/Grey
1989 260E, 223,00 miles, Black/Black

A noisy wheel bearing is usually described as a growling, humming, or roaring noise, most noticeable at 30-50 mph.

I handle a lot of the wheel bearing warranty issues, and I see the narratives from the dealer with the customers' wording.