I'm removing a rear axle out of a 1970 280SE to put in my 66' 230S. I have removed all springs, etc... But I'm stuck on the propeller shaft. Could anyone give me some advice/ tips?
Thanks, Yannick

I thought the prop shaft connection was actually really simple to remove on the w108. I'm sorry I didn't take pictures on it.


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Past mb: '73 450sl, '81 280slc stick, '71 250, '72 250c, '70 250c, '79 280sl, '73 450sl, parted: '75 240d stick, '69 280s, '73 450slc, '72 450sl,

Isn't this just a simple U-joint?

Note: You might consider just pulling the rear half of the driveshaft and then reconnecting it to your existing front driveshaft through the carrier bearing. If so then you need to know that the front and rear shafts are balanced as a unit.

And driveshaft shop can balance these.

The prop shaft on my 250SE has a u-joint and a flange. There's a mating flange on the pinion. There are small sheet metal pieces used to retain the nuts that connect the prop flange to the pinion flange. Bend the metal out of the way and the nuts can be removed. The prop shaft will only clear the pinion flange by a very small amount but they will separate.
If you need more room to maneuver the swing axle out of the way, loosen or remove prop shaft center carrier bearing bolts.The prop shaft can then be moved out of the way.

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Vehicles 1968 250SE;4 speed manual on the floor, no marker lights

Ok, when I bend the flange nut out of the way and put it in park. Then I use my 17mm box end wrench, (also tried other wrenches). But I keep slipping on all 4 bolts?

This is a problem that is common in many old nuts that have been in place for fifty years. Add to it the nuts and bolts have seen a lot of road grime and they can be rusted up pretty good.

I would clean the entire area with a wire brush so you can see just what you are dealing with. After that it may come down to not so much how do you remove the shaft but how do you deal with frozen nuts and bolts. That is a consideration by itself.

The suggestion to lower the carrier bearing is a good one. You don't have to disturb the relationship of the front shaft to the rear one and you still have the wiggle room to drop the shaft from the real end assembly.