.

 

Looking for some advice and guidance. I'm going to replace front discs and pads, car has 80k on the clock and wondering if I should replace wheel bearings? If so I would appreciate advice on
1 how to remove and replace, online videos would be great!
2 what tools would I need to remove, I've attached picture of kit I've seen online but not sure if this can do both remove and replace
3 who makes the best parts, so many on line, or
4, leave them alone if not sign off wear and just regrease?

(2) They're tapered roller bearings - there's literally millions, if not hundreds of millions of them on the road around the world. People change them every day with nothing more sophisticated than a hammer and a punch. In true Mercedes fashion they do have a special preload split nut with a bolt to tighten it. That's a nice feature. I've done hundreds - literally - of trailer bearings over the years and it always bothers me that the castellated nut isn't infinitely adjustable.

(3) I'm partial to North American production but I'm not sure that even matters any more.

(4) Your last line is the A answer - check them for wear, add some grease and drive on. What I like to do annually for tapered bearing maintenance is remove the hub, leave the inner bearing in place (so the seal doesn't have to come out) but spin it to look for wear. Check the outer bearing and then use a grease needle to add grease to both bearings. At 80k I doubt your bearings are worn out unless the car sat for an extended length of time at some point. On a taper bearing hub the inner bearing carries more load so it needs to be inspected and greased regularly and the only way to do that is to pull the hub.

 

Hi, thanks for your reply. Started the job yesterday, given the advice I think I'm going to keep original bearings. Couple of questions, how do i regrese the back bearing, do i need to remove the outside seal, remove bearing clean and regrease replace outside seal, or can I regrease without removing. The other question should there be any play between the bearing (as it sits on/in its race) and the outside seal, hard to describe I've a video but don't know how to upload, lol, any at the moment I can lift the bearing a couple of mm

I did not read all of the other posts so this could be a repeat.

I would not buy any bearing Kit because if you do you are going to get made in China Bearings. And that is even more so on the rear wheel bearings because it is a lot of work to change them.

What I do is I get the number of the bearing off of the bearing and the race and I go on eBay and get a US or Japanese bearings. I only buy from sellers that say they are US or Japanese made of I contact the seller before buying.

All of the brand name bearing companies sell at lest 3 grades of bearings and their lowest grade is made in China or India.

A Brass Punch is best but suitably thick aluminum one will work. You can use a steel punch for removal if you are carful but that is not best for installation.

Even though I have been fixing my own cars since 1968, went to trade school to be a diesel mechanic and worked 18 years as a mechanic when I adjusted the front wheel bearing end play by hand I got it too tight and I drove about 2 blocks and checked the hubs for heat (a good thing to do) and i found the fronts were over heated.

It did not damage the bearings but roasted the grease and I had to do that all over again. But this time I took the 2 hours it took me to find my Dial Indicator and the magnetic base and I set the end play with a Dial Indicator just as the Mercedes Service Manual has you should do.

If you ever have to do the rear bearings you are for sure going to need a dial indicator for that. In the US Harbor Freight has a magnetic base and Indicator setup for not much money.

And yes I have adjusted all of my other vehicle front wheel bearings by hand/feel but on the Mercedes that method failed me.

Since 2007 when I got the Mercedes I have had the front hubs off at least 3 times and I have after that first bad incident have always used the dial indicator to set the end paly and never had further issues concerning the end play.

Also my Chevy Astro van calls for the use of a dial indicator. That is the only US car I have used it on.

Thanks for your advice. I've started working on the hubs, is it normal to have some movement between the bearing as it sits on its race and the outer seal, I can move the bearing in a vertical motion by a couple of mm. Also to regreease this inner bearing can it be done in situ or does the outer seal need to be removed and replaced? Many thanks

 

I did my front wheel bearings earlier this year at 107000. I was changing the discs, calipers and some suspension stuff so thought I may as well do them too.
I followed this guide and it had no problems. Never done it before.
I used a cheap dial gauge to set preload.

Mercedes-Benz W123 Front Wheel Bearing Replacement | W123 (1977-1985) | Pelican Parts DIY Maintenance Article

Replace your front wheel bearings with help from this article.

www.pelicanparts.com

 

Bearings were ***

 

To be honest, I didn't really check.

 

Just my 2c worth,
As I was taught early on in my apprenticeship wheel bearings should be washed in solvent thoroughly to clean out the old grease then dried ( avoid letting the bearing spin while blowing it dry, it really isn't good for them), inspect for wear and repack them using extreme pressure/ wheel bearing grease. This I've done every 5 years to the front wheel bearings on all of my vehicles that didn't have sealed for life bearings or sealed throw away hubs.
I did replace the bearings on my 85 300 TD at 500,000 km as they were showing wear and my 81 SD still has the originals at 284,000 km,
Also there are plenty of tutorials on ways of cleaning, inspecting and different ways of repacking bearings, I stiil use the old fashioned lump of grease in one hand pushing the bearing into the grease forcing it it between the rollers, shifting the bearing a little and repeating until the rollers are all packed with grease.

 

Another 2c worth
I recently upgraded to a set of W126 rotors and callipers but the bearings looked fine.
I bought one of those bearing packers to push all the old grease out and the new in. Kev's technique would do it properly and now I know, the next set will get the wash as well .....

 

I did not read all of the other posts so this could be a repeat.

I would not buy any bearing Kit because if you do you are going to get made in China Bearings. And that is even more so on the rear wheel bearings because it is a lot of work to change them.

What I do is I get the number of the bearing off of the bearing and the race and I go on eBay and get a US or Japanese bearings. I only buy from sellers that say they are US or Japanese made of I contact the seller before buying.

All of the brand name bearing companies sell at lest 3 grades of bearings and their lowest grade is made in China or India.

A Brass Punch is best but suitably thick aluminum one will work. You can use a steel punch for removal if you are carful but that is not best for installation.

Even though I have been fixing my own cars since 1968, went to trade school to be a diesel mechanic and worked 18 years as a mechanic when I adjusted the front wheel bearing end play by hand I got it too tight and I drove about 2 blocks and checked the hubs for heat (a good thing to do) and i found the fronts were over heated.

It did not damage the bearings but roasted the grease and I had to do that all over again. But this time I took the 2 hours it took me to find my Dial Indicator and the magnetic base and I set the end play with a Dial Indicator just as the Mercedes Service Manual has you should do.

If you ever have to do the rear bearings you are for sure going to need a dial indicator for that. In the US Harbor Freight has a magnetic base and Indicator setup for not much money.

And yes I have adjusted all of my other vehicle front wheel bearings by hand/feel but on the Mercedes that method failed me.

Since 2007 when I got the Mercedes I have had the front hubs off at least 3 times and I have after that first bad incident have always used the dial indicator to set the end paly and never had further issues concerning the end play.

Also my Chevy Astro van calls for the use of a dial indicator. That is the only US car I have used it on.

 

At 310 000km I took my then 240D for a wheel alignment, only to be told that the centre drag link was worn and the alignment couldn't be done. I had replaced the drag link months earlier, so I doubted that was the problem. I went home, and checked the front wheels off the ground. I detected a bit of play on the wheels, so I decided to replace the bearings.

Well, once I got the bearings open and saw the adjustment nut, I saw the grease was still clean, so I just tightened the locking nut on the bearings, careful to not overtighten and to relieve tension with a light tap by mallet.

I still have the unused replacement bearings in their original packaging. Donkey would go on to drive another 150 000 km with the bearings she had when I bought her, until the crash that took her off the road.

Long story short: it couldn't hurt to check the bearings and replace if needed, but these bearings, if correctly installed (not too much or too little play, not too much or too little high-temp wheel bearing grease) will last many hundreds of thousands of km.

 

Yes, some movement is normal in that situation.

The "RIGHT" way to do the job has already been detailed - remove the seal, wash the bearing, repack with new grease, reinstall with a new seal. I've already detailed my workaround which has worked for me for over 40 years on countless bearings. However, if your bearing fails after following my directions I will A) likely never know and B) most definitely not be there to help you with the work or cost of the subsequent repair.

Having said all that, if it was me I'd roll the bearing in place to make sure there are no rough patches. Then I'd inject grease liberally into the back/inside bearing with a grease needle and reassemble. The outer bearing is easy - you can clean it and reassemble or just inject it as well. FWIW the outer bearing "never" fails - the inner one carries the weight and it is always the one that fails.

 

Yes, some movement is normal in that situation.

The "RIGHT" way to do the job has already been detailed - remove the seal, wash the bearing, repack with new grease, reinstall with a new seal. I've already detailed my workaround which has worked for me for over 40 years on countless bearings. However, if your bearing fails after following my directions I will A) likely never know and B) most definitely not be there to help you with the work or cost of the subsequent repair.

Having said all that, if it was me I'd roll the bearing in place to make sure there are no rough patches. Then I'd inject grease liberally into the back/inside bearing with a grease needle and reassemble. The outer bearing is easy - you can clean it and reassemble or just inject it as well. FWIW the outer bearing "never" fails - the inner one carries the weight and it is always the one that fails.

Bob

I've noticed that the advice is not to grease the spindle, do you have any thoughts on this?

FROM PELICAN PARTS
Remove the hub and rotor from the spindle (red arrow). Inspect the spindle for any damage, this would include burs, gouges, scratches or heat damage. A note about grease. People tend to grease up the spindle; you do not need to grease the spindle as the bearing is designed with an inner race that sits on the spindle. The bearing should turn around the races and not the spindle.

 

Looking for some advice and guidance. I'm going to replace front discs and pads, car has 80k on the clock and wondering if I should replace wheel bearings? If so I would appreciate advice on
1 how to remove and replace, online videos would be great!
2 what tools would I need to remove, I've attached picture of kit I've seen online but not sure if this can do both remove and replace
3 who makes the best parts, so many on line, or
4, leave them alone if not sign off wear and just regrease? View attachment 2658593

Much appreciated!

The most common types of tools for removing bearings are two- and three-arm bearing pullers, or external pullers. I did replace my wheel bearing after an accident last year. , a piece of advice from an expert is to simply to go for Axle Surgeons. They can make it easy.

 

As I posted in a different thread, beware of SKF bearings as the ones I received today from FCP Euro are made in China. It would be helpful if someone could post part numbers for the inner and outer front wheel bearings that are actually made in Germany or Japan (Koyo).

 

I'm old enough to remember when "Made in Japan" was synonymous with "pure useless crap". If SKF thinks Chinese production is OK maybe they know something I don't know.

 

SKF and other name brand bearings have at least 3 grades of bearings. The lowest grade is made in China or even India.

If you want bearings including SKFs made in a specific country that is acceptable to you will have to ask for them and or take the time needed to find them.

 

This is only a tentative list and subject to me making a mistake so you still need to do your own checking.
You would first find a site that has the Mercedes bearing part numbers (and they will be for both bearing plus the bearing race). These are the Mercedes Part numbers for the bearings and they are extremely useful in finding other makes of bearings and part numbers that fit.
Mercedes parts numbers:
The inner front bearing (the largest of the 2 bearings) 001 980 29 02

Outer Front Bearing 006 981 50 05 02 (this appears to be an up dated number as there is another numbers for it with 2 less digits in the number and there is several Mercedes number variations for the same bearing).

The front hub seal is 010 997 65 47

If you have the time remove the bearings and look at the numbers present on the bearings and the race.

I have not recorded the dimensions of the bearings but on eBay some sellers give the dimensions. For some reason the outer Bearing is more elusive then the larger inner bearing.

 

With the exception of the surface where the seal rides you don't need to grease the spindle but I always clean off the old grease and apply a thin film of fresh grease to help protect the surface.

 

A properly fitting bearing will be a snug slide-on fit on the spindle. I'll wipe the spindle off clean but I don't go overboard. I suppose its possible you would find corrosion on the inside the hub but I've never seen it and I think the unit would have to have sat for a very long time for that to happen. The most important area of the spindle is the surface where the seal rides. That needs to be perfectly clean and smooth or it will destroy the seal. Its also an area where you may see some corrosion so pay attention to it and don't be afraid to clean it up with emery paper but you want to use a really fine paper to finish it.

 

The manual calls for X amount of grams of grease to be used. Personally I put as much grease into the hub as it will tolerated.

I wanted to say that Rock Auto Parts lists a bunch of bearing from different makers and is a source of part numbers of the different makers. However, it does not list where the bearings are made.
You also need to be carful if you want front inner or outer because the rear inner and outer bearings are also there on the list.

 

Id did this on my 107. Probably unnecessary at 80K miles but cant hurt.

Packing Wheel Bearings

Instead of posting about this in my build thread "Theirs a New one Coming" I thought I would post it hear as it is general maintenance. Today I had to change the wheel bearings to reinstall the original 560SL Wheel hubs. This required a complete replacement of the bearings and races to allow...

www.benzworld.org

 

Since I read this thread I have been looking at what various eBay sellers offer and I found Mercedes 300D Wheel Bearing SKF Kit VKBA 596 (2 wheel bearings and the hub seal). I asked the seller where the bearings were made in the kit and he said Germany. I made an offer and the seller accepted I bought them. Won't know if what the seller said is true till I get them.
I used the Kit number and did some searching and came up with other companies that sell kits. Some only have the 2 Bearings, others have the bearings and hub seal.
You will need to look at the picture SKF kit box has made in the USA but if you look close at the bearings the Bearings are made in Mexico.

Next is the bag the kit comes in has Ruville Germany with *** Bearings made in Hungary

So you need to be careful about what you expect to get when you order parts.