I noticed that the wheel bolts were very hot when I took them off, but assumed that this was just heat transfer from braking.....no smell

In terms of the bearing, the wheels seemed to rotate freely when I had jacked the car up and when you grabbed the wheel and tried to rock it back and forth there was no movement. I did however, notice some grease oozing out from behind the dust cap....very minor though.

If the bearings are starved of grease can they be re-greased or is it a case of having to fit new bearings as damage will have occured.

Many thanks

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Current Mercs
R129 1994 300-24SL
W124 320E Turbo Technics Twin Turbo 350bhp

Previous Mercs
W124 1986 Quad Cam AMG Hammer, 45,000 miles
W124 300E Turbo Technics Twin Turbo 320bhp
W124 E500