I don't do a lot of highway driving, and since it is pretty cool, almost never with the windows down. But early in the summer of 2015, I was on a classic auto excursion with a friend looking at T-Birds and noticed that when I was driving along a wall, there was a horrible metal on metal scraping sound from the front end of the car. NOT GOOD! When I got home I started looking at the front end.
I jacked up the car and sure enough turning the wheels gave that scraping sound. I ordered the Front Axle Service Kit from Euro Truck. I took the truck to two independent shops with the instructions and neither wanted to do the rebuild. I finally gave up and took it to my local Mercedes-Benz Dealer in Salt Lake City and the service manager said they could do it!. I knew it would cost more, but I was ready to get this fixed.
The next day the service manager at the Dealer said they could not fix it because of pitting on the large steering balls, it would just not work. They offered to sell me a new axle for $12,000. Right! I picked up my car.
I asked around and found a shop called Gears Transmission and Drivetrain Repair that specializes in 4x4 repairs. I called and they sounded confident they could do the work.
I dropped off the truck and the rebuild kit and they called the next day. There was excessive wear on the right axle and al little less on the right. OK, no problem, let me get the part.
I called Sean at Eurotruck and he said it was not something he usually has, but he would make some calls. A week later he said there were none to be found, but Mercedes would call the factory that made them and have some made. They would be about $1100 each. I'm planning to keep the truck so I ordered them. Now Sean carries the parts and you can see them HERE.
About a month later they came in and a week later the folks at Gears had my truck ready. The labor was about $1300. So for about $4000 total I got new axel shafts, differential cover, pinion seal, boots, CV joints, bushings, wheel bearings, kingpin, kingpin seal, steering ball seals and gaskets. It sounds a LOT better and runs much smoother. Also fixed is the seeping of differential fluid from the wheels near the steering balls. There is still a little sound from the differential but that will have to wait for another day.
Now when folks ask me about maintenance of my super cool car I say, "Most repairs are pretty easy and inexpensive, Except the front end!"
I jacked up the car and sure enough turning the wheels gave that scraping sound. I ordered the Front Axle Service Kit from Euro Truck. I took the truck to two independent shops with the instructions and neither wanted to do the rebuild. I finally gave up and took it to my local Mercedes-Benz Dealer in Salt Lake City and the service manager said they could do it!. I knew it would cost more, but I was ready to get this fixed.
The next day the service manager at the Dealer said they could not fix it because of pitting on the large steering balls, it would just not work. They offered to sell me a new axle for $12,000. Right! I picked up my car.
I asked around and found a shop called Gears Transmission and Drivetrain Repair that specializes in 4x4 repairs. I called and they sounded confident they could do the work.
I dropped off the truck and the rebuild kit and they called the next day. There was excessive wear on the right axle and al little less on the right. OK, no problem, let me get the part.
I called Sean at Eurotruck and he said it was not something he usually has, but he would make some calls. A week later he said there were none to be found, but Mercedes would call the factory that made them and have some made. They would be about $1100 each. I'm planning to keep the truck so I ordered them. Now Sean carries the parts and you can see them HERE.
About a month later they came in and a week later the folks at Gears had my truck ready. The labor was about $1300. So for about $4000 total I got new axel shafts, differential cover, pinion seal, boots, CV joints, bushings, wheel bearings, kingpin, kingpin seal, steering ball seals and gaskets. It sounds a LOT better and runs much smoother. Also fixed is the seeping of differential fluid from the wheels near the steering balls. There is still a little sound from the differential but that will have to wait for another day.
Now when folks ask me about maintenance of my super cool car I say, "Most repairs are pretty easy and inexpensive, Except the front end!"
