W124 rear wheel bearings

[SilverSaloon]

hi

it appears my new W124 estate has duff rear wheel bearings. a big

anyway, looking at this "how to" here:

PeachPartsWiki: Rear Wheel Carrier Removal (Rear Wheel Bearing Change)

it looks reasonably straight forward to remove it all and take it to a garage to press in the new bearing.

when i remove it as per the article - what happens to the suspension spring? do i need to keep a jack under the lower arm to support it????? there isnt any mention of this in the article

also, i've read that it just may be possible to remove the old bearing and use a vice to press in the new one - any advice on this???

i need to do BOTH sides of the car so taking it to a garage to do the work is going to kill my wallet so i need a DIY solution!!!

cheers

derek

 

[grober]

You will need to chock the arm up if you want it to line up easily when you replace the hub assembly.- and remove the plastic shield under the suspension arm-unlike the guy in the how to.

 

[SilverSaloon]

how possinle would it be to use some threaded rod with a bolt etc to wind the old bearing out and push a new one in? is that poissible?

does anyone have any photos of the wheel carrier removed so i know what i'm dealing with as at the moment its all guess work as i've never removed a wheel carrier before so no idea what access and how the bearing is removed - i'm guessing it just slides out of the revealed "hole" and i could push it out from either side of that hole??????

cheers

derek

 

[grober]

Is this enough to put you off?
Diskussionsforen vdh - www.mercedesclubs.de - Bebilderter Bericht zum Radlagerwechsel W 124 hinten (vorsicht, viele Bilder)

 

[Number_Cruncher]

As per Graeme's post, this really isn't a job to attempt to DIY.

The bearing is fitted very tightly, more so on the estate versions than on the saloons. Attempts to remove the bearing without a hydraulic press and a good selection of drifts and supports will be futile.

However, removing the hubs, and giving them to a garage to do the pressing out of the old bearing, and in with the new is a viable method. If you remove the link with the ball joint at one end at the ball joint end, then, you won't disturb the alignment, as there are sleeves which locate each arm into the hub.

One last point, it's unusual for two bearings to fail at the same time - are you absolutely sure the bearings have actually failed? Sometimes tyre tread noise can do an excellent job of impersonating a bearing failure noise.

 

[SilverSaloon]

both wheels wobble but the dust shield doesnt.

about 5mm of movement on the brake disc when the wheel is removed... appears pretty bad.

i'm using the car every day to get to work - that also worries me.

 

[Number_Cruncher]

If they're so bad, don't be surprised to find the drive flanges are damaged on their outer diameters.

It may be better to see if you can buy good S/H hubs.

 

[bolide]

It may be better to see if you can buy good S/H hubs.

Agreed

I have had two done, or different cars I have owned, and each was a £450 job

The first time, about 15 years ago, the mechanic gave up and took the hub to a main dealer

See if your local dealer will do it as a fixed-price job

Nick Froome
the independent Mercedes Estate specialists

 

[jaymanek]

I would buy two complete hub assemblies from Neil or Three pointed parts...

 

[SilverSaloon]

thanks - if anyone has any good 2nd hand wheel carriers with good bearings and prefereably good bushes please PM me.

 

[kth286]

thanks - if anyone has any good 2nd hand wheel carriers with good bearings and prefereably good bushes please PM me.

you must specify the model of vehicle you want them from and specifically that they must be from the estate version, as they are different to saloons, coupe, and probably convertible.

 

[SilverSaloon]

can anyone confirm that once i get the wheel carrior down to the point the bearing can be removed and the circlip is remove, will the bearing come out either side of the hub or does it have to come out one way and be pushed back in one way? thanks!

 

[kth286]

one way only.

It is a 2/4 stage process.

1. the hub has to be withdrawn from the bearing

2. the bearing has to be removed.

Then:

3. the bearing has to be inserted

4. the hub has to be inserted into the new bearing without destroying the new bearing.

You really need to get someone that has done this job before on the mercs
as you need their expertise AND their equipment.

There is a need for horseshoe shaped blocks and various metal pushers and supports which need to be exact size of inner and out edges of bearing.

I feel a dealer or good independent is the way once you have the hub off.

The Merc independent near Glasgow would be the place.

There is a tool to do it on the car, but not for estate bearings which are different - but do ask as things may have been updated.

 

[Ian B Walker]

Your problem would be removing the hub center from the bearing as the circlip is behind it. The bearing only comes out one way.

 

[SilverSaloon]

hi

Bren (franey) at wunderpartz has sorted me out with a pair of bearing kits at an excellent price

and just got off the phone to a local garage who did my last W124 hub work and they will press out and push in the new bearings for £15 per side, which seems good, so i'll be taking that route.

now all i need to do is get the wheel carriers removed from the car so i can take them to my local garage - i pray for no rusty or sized bolts

thanks again

Derek

 

[Number_Cruncher]

As I mentioned above, ask the garage to check the outer diameter of the drive flanges carefully. If they're damaged (and they might be if there's so much play), then, you'll never get the bearings to run properly - there will always be play.

 

[SilverSaloon]

a little update on this.

the hubs are now at the garage getting the old bearings pressed out and the new ones in. i'll find out later today how it went (hopefully all OK). I gave them the driveshafts too so they can fit them in and torque the new hub nuts up to 200NM aswell as my torque wrench has seen better days.

we tried to seperate the hub from the wheel carrier but without any luck. it was hard enough getting the driveshafts out lol. no way the bearings would come out without a big press!

the wheel carrier came off much easier than i expected without any siezed nuts. The driveshaft from the diff was a bit more tricky as the splined bolts were very gunked up but came out OK.

 

[SilverSaloon]

garage have pressed in the new bearings. £30 all in. :bannana: (cash in hand of course )

is anyone interested in a "how to" for this? if so i'll post up some pics and also some of the re-assembly?

 

[SilverSaloon]

OK, so no "how to"....

it took 5 hours to re-assemble it all. the handbrake mechanism was a pig to get it all assembled with the springs and all.

Now no noise from rear or any wheel wobble.

So all it cost was £105 for both sides and my time. Result!

 

[kth286]

OK, so no "how to"....

it took 5 hours to re-assemble it all. the handbrake mechanism was a pig to get it all assembled with the springs and all.

Now no noise from rear or any wheel wobble.

So all it cost was £105 for both sides and my time. Result!

Excellent - you're a quicker worker than me.