Finally pulling out my Astoria Flexx tool. I have four of the 3000 series boots.

Anyway, PDF 35-660 shows 310g (~11oz) of grease for inner and 230g (~8oz) for the outer boots on my 126.120 . Can anyone comment if this product is adequate for the MB axles?

Help/3 oz. Heat Resistant CV Joint Grease (03618) | CV Joint Grease | AutoZone.com



I do not have one of those band clamp tools either. Thoughts on this unit?

OEM/CV boot band clamp tool (27056) | CV Joint Boot Tool | AutoZone.com



Thanks

__________________
I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

not sure how you'd use that tool...
I'd use this one.
OEM/OEM CV joint boot clamp pliers (25326) | CV Joint Boot Tool | AutoZone.com

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Okay, thanks. I just had seen a picture of that other tool being used and figured it was the proper unit for the job.

Thoughts on that CV lube?

__________________
I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

Which MB axles in particular?

For my W123 axles I've just used MoS2 black / dark gray gunk from a reputable manufacturer. There aren't any specifications pulbished by Mercedes that I know of for grease for W123 axles 'cos they were oil filled.

(Come on FSM bookworms show me where I've missed the updated specs!)

__________________
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!

Axles with the c-clip retainer behind the diff cover that must be removed in order for the axle to come off the car. They are the OE units on my 300SD. I forget the MB technical name, sorry.

__________________
I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

When i re-booted the axles on my 280CE about 4 years ago i used high viscosity gear lube. I think oil is much better suited for the job than grease in this case, just my opinion though.

I just held the axle on vertical, filled the whole can with oil, pulled the boot down and fastened both clamps.

__________________
1985 300TD Turbo Euro-wagon
1979 280CE 225,200 miles
1985 300D Turbo 264,000 miles
1976 240D 190,000 miles
1979 300TD 220,000

GONE but not forgotten
1976 300D 195,300 miles
1983 300D Turbo 175,000 miles

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e485-1-2-1.jpg

The Grease that is shown at Autozone is the same Grease packet that comes with the Dorman Boot Kits.
3 ounces is not enought Grease volume.

When I rebooted my Cardone Rebuilt Axles I used the Contents of 5; 3 ounce Grease Packets on 2 Axles (4 re-boots with Dorman Boots and Grease).

And, I left as much of the original Grease in the Axles.

If the Axles had previously been filled with Oil I would have needed to use even more Grease.
If you can find a pic of the Astoria Bootk kit you will see the grease Packet is about the same size as the whole Boot.

Also the Dorman Boots come with a different type of Clamps than the Astoria Boots and it takes a different type of Clamp tool.

My Axle Boot Thread; remember I used Dorman Boots in this thread
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/317950-cv-boot-installation-problems-dorman-pneumatic-cone-type-boot-installation.html

You might ask this Member how much Grease is needed>
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/251168-flexx-boot-axle-repair-using-cone.html

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

I used a grease gun with the zerk fitting end removed and filled the CV joint voids with black moly grease. They take a lot more grease than you think.

The grease gun method allows you to fill the ball cage and leave no dry spots.

This Flexx boot article is very good. I did a "test run" on an axle using these parts, worked well. Got the clamps at NAPA. Got a tile chipper at Lowes ( $10 ), tightens clamps nicely.
Good luck.



You might ask this Member how much Grease is needed>
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/251168-flexx-boot-axle-repair-using-cone.html[/QUOTE]

__________________
1984 MB 300SD Turbo

That was a good idea!
I have been told they sell Needles for the Grease Guns; but never actually seen or used one.

__________________
84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Damnit, no success today. What SCFM does this tool require? The compressor I have handy in DFW is good to about 2.5 @ 90psi... I am thinking this is the reason I cannot have the boot fully expand on the tool.

__________________
I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

Maybe someone with the Instructions can read them and say what pressure and Air Flow is needed.

The below info is from one of the Tool Seller sites:
Rapid Flexx Boot Gun with Air Reg. Fitting ARAFB5000PK
"Index adjuster knob permits you to keep the adjuster tight and give a better indication on arms opening.
Piston aluminum type: 369A, 60% more metal had been added to increase the breaking point from 11,000 pounds to 25,000 pounds.
Plastic guide cone has been made to help the technician to guide the end of C.V. joint in the middle of the piston hole.
Plastic cone installed inside the piston prevents the technician from having his hand inside the piston.
Safety pressure valve has been installed to prevent excessive air pressure behind the piston, valve set at 125psi +/- 5psi.
A block of aluminum is inside the handle to prevent porosity and increase performance.
Aluminum arms have been replaced by double Stamped Steel arms."

I had a similar issue with the Dorman Tool.

On some Boots it would not expand enough and others expanded more but I could the Boot off of the Tools fingers.

when I used the Cone all by itself and recoated the Cone with STP between each re-boot attempt it worked every time.

__________________
84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

The Astoria...just like I mentioned in the first post of this thread.

__________________
I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

Here is the site:
http://astoria2000.com/
Menu on the right has a Technical Data section; did not look yet so I don't know what is there.

__________________
84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Long term wrap up...

Looks like the boots I was sold through a vendor were not real Astoria ones. Anyway, purchased a set of four real deal 3001 models from Astoria direct and the tool worked like a dream. These seem a hair on the large side, has anyone used just the 3000 model units?



Few thoughts:

My tiny compressor operated the thing fine.

Buy a good quality clamp tool. The $10 ones took retooling on my end to work correctly.

Buy spare clamps, trying to figure them out your first time is a pain.

Buy extra CV grease wherever you can. Autozone only carries ONE per store in my area. Whatever sense that makes is beyond me. I am sure Astoria sells extra, I failed to ask when ordered.

Slip the axle in by installing the splines into the housing first, then working the end into the hub. Once into the hub, pull the axle into the hub and install that bolt to retain it. Once you jack the assend back up again, the axles will go back into the housing fine and you will be able to install those c-clips. The W126 did not require removal of the calipers.

This tool is great, if you need to reboot your axles... borrow one or buy one if you have more than a few cars. My V90 needs a boot for the steering rack, so I bought a pair of boots to throw on there too. A few of my chums own ATVs and go hog hunting all the time, they rip boots often. Now we can fix them in just a few minutes for chump money.

__________________
I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]