I am replacing the rear CV axles on my 1982 300TD W123. I'm following this how to: PeachPartsWiki: Replacing the Rear Axles

I'm having trouble pounding the axle out of the right side wheel hub. I removed the center bolts that hold the end of the axle to the hub. The left side tapped out easily with a small brass drift and ball peen hammer. The other side is another story. The small drift and hammer did nothing. I gave up on the 3/8" brass drift and stuck an old F250 tie rod (1" steel) into the hole and pounded on that with a mallet. Nothing.

Before I break anything, does anybody have advice? I'm gonna soak the thing with a penetrating lubricant and go get a bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon.

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83 300TD, 260,000 miles, aka "Dusty"
6 vehicles, 2 cup holders (both in the dump truck)

Sounds like a plan they do get rusty - penetrating fluid would be my first port of call.

Avoid heat - this will almost certainly bugger up the grease in the wheel bearing which is a sealed unit and needs a relatively involved process to replace.

Bagel sounds great.

If you happen to have a 3 legged puller - and you promise to keep an eye on the condition of the hub (!) you can use it as a pusher on the axle. This is a way of potentially damaging the hub though so be careful.

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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!

Here's an example of what I mean



From this thread http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/341121-achtung-das-schweinhund-baby-benz-thread-21.html my W201 - but the principle is the same

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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!

Beating on the Hub may or may not damage the Bearing. If you have to do that at least rotate the Hub so you are not always beating on the same spot.

Of Course Mercedes has a special Tool for your situation but I have never read of anyone using it or even making one.
Even if you use the Mercedes Tool it is a good Idea to rotate the Hub a bit while using it.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Also note the when beating on something like the Axle you are better off with a Heavy Hammer moving at a low velocity. I mean a hammer with a 2-3 pound head on it.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Thanks for the advice y'all. I've got a 3-legged puller but the back of the hub is bevelled so much that there is nothing to grip.

I'm using a three pounder but it is not budging. I am worried about the bearings at this point. I've been hitting pretty hard. I'll rotate some more. And soak some more...

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83 300TD, 260,000 miles, aka "Dusty"
6 vehicles, 2 cup holders (both in the dump truck)

Soak. Hit. Rotate. Wait. Hit some more. Repeat. Success. Thanks for the advice. Hope my bearings didn't mind the abuse.

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83 300TD, 260,000 miles, aka "Dusty"
6 vehicles, 2 cup holders (both in the dump truck)

Since the Axle had to come out there was nothing you can do about the Bearings.

Put some Never Sieze type compound in the Hub Splines and the Axle Splines when you re-assumble it so there will be no rust the next time.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

You should be using a larger puller, and be sure to put a short bolt into the end of the axle to protect the threads. The use of a puller won't hurt the wheel bearings, the force is between the flange and the end of the axle.

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'83 300D, 126K miles.

The stuck Axle is not a frequent problem.

I wonder what would happen if you backed off just a bit on the Axle Retaining Bolt at the Hub and went for a short drive if the Axle would loosen up in the Hub?

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

At the risk of sounding argumentative that might be the case where you are but here in the wicked wet they can be a bit of a bugger if someone hasn't whacked on copper ease (like you suggested above).

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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!

Got it all put back together today. I could not do this work without all the helpful people here. Bearings seem to be fine. Somehow my parts seller shipped me one homokinetic axle and one annular axle. The annular type would not go in for some reason, maybe not enough pivot on the CV joints. Then I realized I could undo the allen head bolts and put it in one piece at a time. Voila!

Of all the tools I have made and customized, this C-clip puller makes me smile the most. Thanks again for the help. I'm driving her from Texas to Oregon soon!

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83 300TD, 260,000 miles, aka "Dusty"
6 vehicles, 2 cup holders (both in the dump truck)

I like the "special" re-purposed tool. I just used some heavy wire which may have been a piece of coat hanger but I'm not sure.

Actually, I had more trouble getting the clip reinstalled. Wrestling with the axles and differential had me pretty tired at that point so it was likely the major factor.

When I changed to the annular from the homokinetic, I finally lowered the differential, inserted the axle ends into the hubs and then raised the differential.

From your previous post, you mentioned one annular and one homokinetic. Did you install them that way?

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

I have one homokinetic and one annular. I don't think it is a problem to mix. But I could not get the annular to fit without taking it apart. I inserted into differential first but no matter how high or low I moved the differential, I could not get the hub end of the axle into the hub. It was not a length issue. It was something about the maximum angle of the CV joint that kept me from bending the CV joint enough to get the end into the hub.

I split the annular by removing the 6 allen head bolts. Inserted the stubby part into the differential, then inserted the rest of the axle into the wheel hub. Then I lined up the matching pieces and put the 6 allen bolts in again. Worked for me.

When putting the c-clip back in I looped some wire through the hole so I wouldn't lose it. I held it in place with one finger until I could get a screwdriver on it. One tap with a hammer and it was on!

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83 300TD, 260,000 miles, aka "Dusty"
6 vehicles, 2 cup holders (both in the dump truck)

I am going by what I have read on the Forum. In 7 years on the various Mercedes Forums I have read of 2 other cases of the Axle being Stuck enough that someone ask for Help.

Also Wet is not the same as Wet and containg Salt; as in Winter some Sates Salt the Roads.

My Front lower Control Arms had so much Scale from rust that once the Scale was removed the Bore was enlarged. I replaced them with a used set and started over.
But, I had no issues removing the Rear axles.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel