89 300se rear wheel bearings - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

redrocket · #1 05-01-2011, 10:05 PM

need a little help on rear wheel bearing replacement on my 89 300se,seems pretty straight forward ,but i haven't taken the time to tear into it yet,i need some good info on procedure if anybody's willing i will take whatever advice i can get,they are not noisy but close to 300,000 miles on them,just got done with fronts,they were very easy,time to tackle the rears now.

JohnM. · #2 05-01-2011, 10:40 PM

Rear wheel bearings are nowhere close to the fronts. You need to remove the large axle nut (200+ ft lbs), and then usually a special tool is needed to pull the old bearing out of the wheel carrier/hub. And then another to press the new bearing in straight.

If mine ever go bad, I am taking it to a shop. Or maybe buying new wheel carrier hubs and having the bearings pressed in outside the car, then just swap out wheel carriers. If yours are not noisy yet, I would leave them alone, honestly. I would spend the $$ and time on something else. Just thinking about the job makes me shudder.

pawoSD · #3 05-02-2011, 05:59 AM

Not noisy = do not touch. Rear bearings are an involved process and not for those without all the special tools to be doing. I think I'd be glad they are running quiet and leave them alone!

duxthe1 · #4 05-02-2011, 02:24 PM

The rear bearing on that car has a crush sleeve to set the preload. Even with the proper tools and know how the success rate of replacement isnt too high. Do not replace unless absolutely necessary.