On the 84 W123 240TD...

My left drive shaft/axle dropped out of the differential the other day at very low speeds. Actually it was during a left turn out of an intersection so it was almost crawling speed.

It is still attached to the wheel, but my question is. Does the whole axle need to be replaced, or can it be reused and refitted to the differential by means of some parts? I am guessing there should be some mechanism to lock the driveshaft into the diff.

To illustrate Ive borrowed a few pictures from Jeremy5848 in another post.

The axle has dropped out where all the duct tape is in the below picture.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=34301&d=1151636319

I tried to remove the whole axle before towing from the wheel in the below picture.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=34367&d=1151814470

However, I was unable to remove the axle. I removed the center looong bolt and washer from the center of the hub, but could not remove the driveshaft. So I peeled back the booth and let the oil (which I suppose should have been grease) drain out along with about 5-6 metal balls. I guess the outer joint is bad as well as the inner one were it fell out in the first place.

Anyways, I was just wondering if the whole axle needed to be replaced as it is rather expensive. My mechanic seems to suggest so, but I am sure he hasnt actually looked at the problem yet and might just assume the axle is bad. But I doubt that since it hasnt been damaged after falling out of the inner booth...?

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99 W210 E220 cdi sedan automatic (248.000 km) 210.006

The fact that it "fell out" of the differential indicates that there is a severe problem with the axle. I would follow your mechanic's advice, post haste.

How long has this axle been on this car? Is it original? How many miles on it?

Yes, it's expensive -- these are very heavy, amazingly robust, and because of that, they're a PITA to rebuild or reboot. But those 5 or 6 metal balls that "fell out" when you peeled the boot back were/are important, and shouldn't have beel floating around loose in the boot. And yes, it's supposed to be oil in the boot -- that's what Mercedes used. To keep the cost down, you might look for a rebuilt axle, or look in a boneyard for a newer one.

Mercedes did NOT make things that fall apart (OK, don't flame me on MBZ electronics -- I'm still fighting those battles!). These cars are incredibly durable and amazingly forgiving of poor maintenance and downright neglect -- I'm not saying that's what you've done, it's just a fact. They'll go forever, but if something actually falls apart, it's almost certainly time to replace it!

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Anthracite 1980 300D -- 64k original miles with a new engine, on the road again!
Silver 300D -- second owner, Sunny's old baby, Ilse, 210 miles,
Having to thin the herd….
Silver 1983 300SD -- second owner, 325k miles
Gold 1981 300D -- well-traveled, solid little car
Beige 1984 300D -- 292k miles, grease machine, parting out
Seafoam green 1981 300SD -- 250k, windshield frame damage
too many assorted w123 & w126 cars, parts cars, and extras

Impressive! Never seen one actually fall apart, especially since the boot still had oil in it. Yes, you should replace the entire axle with a new or rebuilt one. I don't know what it would take to get an axle, which must weigh 20 kilos or so, shipped from the States. Rebuilt axles here are about 100 Euros for a good one. A new one from Mercedes is at least 500 Euros, maybe more, I don't have a good hack on your prices. Try to find a source in your country or at least in the EU for a rebuilt axle.

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

You also need to take a look inside of your differential. There is supposed to be a "C" clip that retains the axle in the differential. If that fell off; where did it go? Also between the axle and the differential there is sometimes a spacer that could have fallen of and onto the road somewhere.
Even on a good axle that only has torn boots the boots and clamps have a heafty cost which for me was not worth the bother leading me to by rebuilt axles that at the time were around $78 each (a year ago). Someone recently bought new (made in ???) axles for around $99 from NAPA and there are also rebuilt axles for around the same price. Either way you get a warrenty.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Thanks for these great advice.

I was also wondering where that stuff that kept the axle together with the diff went. Looking at the other side it seems like there is supposed to be some sort of plate with a bunch of bolts and probably a C-clip inside there again. I couldnt see any parts on the road where this happened either. I probably just hung on there by the boot...

I am sure it is the original axle, and the odometer says "just" under 200.000 miles, but I am sure the car has done a few more miles than that.

Note that the oil was in the outer joint which was still attached to the car. The inner joint with the diff was bone dry except for some grease. Probably the previous owner did some "hack" to get it to run for a while. He actually did make a note that the axle would have to be replaced before I bought it. So it is not like I walked blindly into the deal

My mechanic would check up on a used axle from the scrapyards, so I am sure he will find a good deal. The new ones run about 500euros here as well.

Considering I paid US$400 (with current exchange rate) for the car it is worth fixing. Cant wait to get it back on the road and get on with some much needed servicing. We just got it and had just done a couple of 100s miles when this happened.

Thanks again for these swift and good answers.

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99 W210 E220 cdi sedan automatic (248.000 km) 210.006

If your axles have one end with I think it is 5 or six bolts and on the other end of the axle where the boot attaches looks somewhat like a Can you have an "Annular" type axles on your car.
The other type of "Homokinetic" axles have a Can on both ends of the axle and no visable bolts. The Homokinetic axles rebuilt or new seem to cost less and the manual claims both will work on your car. My 84 300D has the Homokinetic axles.
See if your mechanic is able to find out why the axle came out. I am curious to know if it was a failure of something inside of the differential or if the it was the CV joint that went bad first.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

I will ask the man next time.

I picked up the car last week and it is a whole new car. No clunks or noises when you engage gears or let off/accelerate.

However due to some strange issue with the wheels one steering component has been slightly knocked bad by the rim/wheel rotation. The wheels are 7x15 with ET35, but that I guess was 3-4mm too much so I am sourcing new wheels to fit onto the car. And one arm component had slack on the same side. Beside that only the parking brake needed to be fixed on one side. Once that is done, all is good and it is approved for another two years on the roads.

I am negotiating a deal on a 6-cylinder W123 sedan which is near mint and has just around 100k miles on the clock. It will probably replace my W124 ambulance as it needs quite a bit of expensive work. Might sell the ambulance, but havent decided just yet.

The 240TD really amazed me with gas milage (or diesel milage I guess). We dont have super smooth freeways here, but I did a long journey of about 350 miles a few days ago and it averaged around 32MPG (US). I found that quite impressive.

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99 W210 E220 cdi sedan automatic (248.000 km) 210.006