During a road trip with my MB powered 53 F100 I noticed a strange vibration. Upon closer inspection I determined the rear bearing had gone bad on the trans. I have ordered the bearing, seal and gasket from Phil, has anyone done this job? Is it just a straightforward removal and installation or is there anything that will fall out when I unbolt the rear housing?
I have been driving this truck for a little over 3 years and 33K miles, have loved every minute of it. The 617.951 seems like it was made for the truck, good fuel economy, plenty of power for my needs and the wow factor at the shows make it a great swap.
Thanks for any help, Jeff

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1971 R600 Mack toterhome (SuperDawg)
99 NU-WA Snowbird 34+2 SE 102 5er
If it's not diesel, it's not in my stable!
53 F100 617.951/auto
95 Dodge 3500 Cummins/5 speed service truck

I have the earlier transmission 722.1 so I can't say for sure... but looking at this pdf

http://www.ganzeboom.net/images1/ganzeboom/parts/Mercedes/722.3,%20722.4.pdf

It looks even easier to remove the tail cone section on the 722.3

The output shaft nut will be peened / staked so you'll need to replace that and I'd also consider getting a new sealing gasket for the tail cone section joint on the casing.

Have you got any pictures of your conversion? It sounds like it is right up my street. Do you happen to know if it has the same performance as a W123 / W126 with an OM617 or have you got some strange rear axle gearing that takes the edge off of it a bit?

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Thanks for the info, I think I'll pull the rear housing off of a junk trans I have sitting out back first, then I'll know for sure what I'm in for when I do this under the truck
As for the performance of the truck, it is similar to the 300SD that the engine/trans combo came from. With a 3:27 geared rear-end and 275/60R15 tires, the MB speedo I have mounted in the original instument cluster is only 1 MPH off. I pull a 1600 lb. teardrop camper on a regular basis and it really has no problems doing so. Here's a link to a gallery at the FTE site, there are a lot of my build pics there. http://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&userid=308002&albumid=19458

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1971 R600 Mack toterhome (SuperDawg)
99 NU-WA Snowbird 34+2 SE 102 5er
If it's not diesel, it's not in my stable!
53 F100 617.951/auto
95 Dodge 3500 Cummins/5 speed service truck

And a look under the hood as I was installing the air conditioner a few weeks ago

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
1971 R600 Mack toterhome (SuperDawg)
99 NU-WA Snowbird 34+2 SE 102 5er
If it's not diesel, it's not in my stable!
53 F100 617.951/auto
95 Dodge 3500 Cummins/5 speed service truck

Oh wow - so that's your truck... (he says - not really knowing who you are - but still!)

I've seen those pictures before. That looks like an ideal amount of space in the engine bay for maintenance...

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!