I'm putting re-booted axles on my '81 300TD. The first axle I took off has a bit of a more pronounced lip where the axle 'can' is close to the differential. This part of the axle had an extra gasket ring seal piece (see pics below). The new axles don't appear to have this seal.

Is this seal needed, or is just part of a different style of axle?

Here is the old axle, notice the rubber ring hanging around the axle:



Here is the new-to-me rebooted OEM axle, notice how the lip on the can is different than the one above:

Isn't that the oil seal that goes into the hole in the differential?

Also, there are two types of axle shafts. Make sure you are using the correct ones for your car.

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1982 300CD Petrol/Black Leather

when you say 'two different types' do you mean the annular type that bolt on and the more common type that use the c-clip in the differential housing? Or are there other types?

My current axles use the c-clip. The one I've already pulled off (that is in the picture)is a bit strange because the can on differential side is bolted together while the other can looks normal. Maybe it was replacement can at some point in the past?

Also, the seals are in the differential as expected, so I'm still not sure what that extra ring of rubber is.

That

nevermind. after taking the other side off i realized that extra piece is actually the outer lip of the differential seal that seems to have sheared off, probably due to whatever pos rebuilt axle type someone put on in the past.

For that seal to have ended up like that I suspect you might have too much wobble on the attachment to the differential side cogs. Make sure those C clips fit very very snugly indeed.

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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!

You're right stretch, that side needs a spacer as there is play in the differential side even with the clip installed. The axle i took off didn't have a spacer.

So where are replacement spacers found?

Spacers are available from 2.9mm to 3.4mm in steps of .1mm. The thickness is selected to yield an end play of 0 with the c-clip just able to be turned in the groove. Mother Benz will oblige.

Indeed dealership is probably the best place to start.

The stripped down EPC on MB Atlanta will provide the part numbers

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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!

Really? 2.9mm? The w123 axles I've seen have around 1.2 mm spacers. You can't get anything thinner then 2.9mm?

Having time restraints, I once had to resort to grinding down a spacer to about .6 mm to fit an aftermarket axle. If MB doesn't provide anything smaller, than I am glad I didn't waste the time finding out.

.

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

DV:

The OP has identified the vehicle as an '81; early '81s (produced thru Jan.) had the center section with bolt on side bearing caps, which use the 2.9-3.4 spacers. From Feb. '81 on the center section used snap rings to retain the bearings, and it does indeed take thinner spacers, .7-1.5mm. Youse is correct.

I had to get creative here as I couldn't wait for the dealership to order new spacers from Germany. I went to a local hardware store that is known for having a lot of odd bolts/nuts/washers that most hardware stores do not have. I found a section of "machine washers" and found some with the exact same interior diameter as the oem spacers. I purchased multiple thicknesses and used the one that fit in the gap between the c-clip and the differential. The outer diameter of the machine washers was too large so I used tin-snips to cut it down and filed down the sharp edges.

The end effect was that the c-clip is now snug but can still turn in the groove with a bit of pressure. There is no play now in the axle now.