Hi,

This weekend I was down in Oak Ridge, TN for a race. Coming home, 35 miles north of Knoxville, I started hearing a clicking noise while going 75 mph on the interstate. At first I thought it was a flat, then I worried that it was a sheared or loose set of lugnuts, but when I stopped all was well. looking under, the passenger side inner cv boot was smoking, and there was diff fluid all over the underside of my car. In the end all I decided to rent a uhaul and tow the car(all four wheels up) the 650 miles to DE.

My question is, could I have driven, although slowly, the trip with relatively high confidence that nothing would sieze up? I drove 35 miles on it, at ~50 mph with no real roblems or clicking. I was worried, and even though I hope it wont happen again, Im just wondering if I did the cheapest thing(I paid $500 for the truck and trailer).
Just for general interest...
Thanks

JMH

JHZR2,

I have had the CV joints on the passenger side on my 1982 240D begin making a lot of noise on the 77th mile of a 600 mile round trip to Upstate NY from CT. I took it slow, as the speed limits then were 55, and the noise got worse at certain load conditions, but if I held it just right I got no noise. By the time I got home it sounded like it was cracking and snapping, but I never got any smoking. Or signs of leaking fluid.

So, I think you did the right thing, as the consequences of a real failure at speed could be unacceptable. I stopped regularly and inspected things but still feel I was very lucky. The joint itself seems exceedingly robust, but I would probably not drive over 500 miles with a CV joint protesting like that again. Youth is a strange influence on decision making.

Hope your car gets back on the road again soon, Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

If you lost most of your diff. fluid you did yourself a big favor by not driving it any further. Sounds like your CV joint died and the heat may have taken out your seal on the diff. Even if that's not the case and only the cv joint is about gone, you don't want it to seize up at speed. Maybe you've had made it but at what risk. At worst the $500 was an insurance policy and in my book money well spent.

__________________
LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold