What does a bad axle sound like?

[i-osprey]

1993 W124 300D that I have owned for about six months and 28K miles has always had a thunk/clunk in the rear end.

It only does this when starting from a stop and until yesterday it was "just" the thunk/clunk.

Now it is more of a dull grinding/binding sound and I am pretty sure it originates from the driver side axle that I recently noticed had a torn boot on the differential end of the axle.

My next question is, what is likely to happen if this is the problem and I have a catastrophic failure?

I ask because I have a 375 mile work trip planned for tomorrow.

I can reschedule it(luckily) but I would prefer to not miss it if possible.

How do you check if an axle is bad?

Could it be the differential itself?

I replaced the oil in the rear end a few months ago and it looked fine with no noticeable metal in the old oil.

I don't know for sure how long the boot has been torn either.

I do know that it looked bone dry when I noticed it a few weeks ago.

I didn't see any tears in the other side and I am pretty sure that the sounds I am hearing now are coming from the driver side.

Is this a job where I should replace both at the same time or should I just replace the one with the torn boot?

[aaa]

Axles take forever to go bad. So if the boot wasn't torn a few weeks ago then you should be fine. On the other hand, the clunking that you've had for a while implies that there has been a problem for a while (maybe it was torn and you didn't notice?).

[benhogan]

Originally Posted by aaa

Axles take forever to go bad. So if the boot wasn't torn a few weeks ago then you should be fine. On the other hand, the clunking that you've had for a while implies that there has been a problem for a while (maybe it was torn and you didn't notice?).

Garage lifts seldom go bad either. Do you know what it sounds like right before a garage lift fails and falls on the mechanic? SILENCE

Same thing with axles, it takes forever for them to fail. But when they do, you better not be doing 75 on the interstate.

Just my $0.02

[FineOlBenz]

Don't bother taking that car on a long trip. If your axle boot is torn the oil is gone and so will your axle shortly. Yes a major failure is in the near future.

[i-osprey]

I just noticed a few weeks ago the boot was torn.

I have been pricing axles and they are OUTRAGEOUS.

Hardly anybody has them either.

Apparently you can just replace the inner CV joint and I am pretty sure that is my problem.

Has anybody done this?

[dieseldan44]

I dont know if they do 124 axles, but for the 123 the best place for quality rebuilds in my opinion/experience is CVJ axles in Denver. Other folks have had luck with Autozone / Advance rebuilds.

You could always find an axle in a junkyard and swap it out. Or even better yet, take a pair of good junkyard axles, have your indy reboot and regrease them, and put them on the car.

dd

[tobybul]

Originally Posted by dieseldan44

I dont know if they do 124 axles, but for the 123 the best place for quality rebuilds in my opinion/experience is CVJ axles in Denver. Other folks have had luck with Autozone / Advance rebuilds.

You could always find an axle in a junkyard and swap it out. Or even better yet, take a pair of good junkyard axles, have your indy reboot and regrease them, and put them on the car.

dd

You can reboot them youself..... pretty easy, just need some muscle.

[vstech]

advance auto parts will order a new axle for around 90$ or less, depending on your company affiliation with them. but even at 90, it's a good deal. however, this axle is certainly going to be a china built wonder, so YMMV...

[i-osprey]

Will an axle from any W124 except the 4-matic ones work?

[tobybul]

Originally Posted by vstech

advance auto parts will order a new axle for around 90$ or less, depending on your company affiliation with them. but even at 90, it's a good deal. however, this axle is certainly going to be a china built wonder, so YMMV...

I noticed the GSP axles are down to $69 at Advance. Go get 'em!!!

[swheele2]

Originally Posted by tobybul

I noticed the GSP axles are down to $69 at Advance. Go get 'em!!!

I fell for that trap a few months ago. Replaced both half-axles on my 84 300D with GSP axles from Advance. One failed before the car came off of the jack stands (the clip on the outer joint was left off when they assembled it, so the joint fell apart as I was installing the axle). The outer boot on the other one started leaking grease within 10 miles. Both are being replaced with rebuilt OEM axles once I find the time/money.

[JordaanDMC-12]

Question: What happens when an axel fails? We've had bad front axels on our 2001 BMW X5 for who knows how long.. years?

When we took it in, out mechanic told us that the last time we took it in to BMW for warranty maintenance they saw the boots were ripped and needed replacement but didn't say anything because of the nice repair bill that was going to come because of that... We don't know if that's 100% true but the axels have been needing replacement for a long long time and they click,clank real bad, our price quote to fix this was $2,000.. I'm curious to know what happens when they fail?

[Old300D]

Originally Posted by JordaanDMC-12

Question: What happens when an axel fails?

I'll venture a guess....a lot of noise, followed by a loss of power.

[sixto]

Go for early years and avoid V8s to be sure.

Sixto
87 300D

[i-osprey]

Originally Posted by sixto

Go for early years and avoid V8s to be sure.

Sixto
87 300D

Well, I have checked online for matching part numbers for earlier years and they don't match.

'92 and '93 300D axle assemblies have different part numbers.

When you do a part search for the older versions, two part numbers come up. Evidently you can use the one for the '92-'93 or the less expensive older one for the older models.

Only the more expensive one comes up for a '93($345 vs $117 for older version).

What are the odds that the less expensive part for the older models will actually work on my '93?