Flexible CV Axle Boots (Benz Project)

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CincinnatiFiero
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Location: Columbus, Ohio

Flexible CV Axle Boots (Benz Project)

Post by CincinnatiFiero »

As mentioned in Wills thread I am crashing at home with four gaping holes in my face where my wisdom teeth used to be. So in my boredom I thought some of you may appreciate seeing this if you haven't see/used this type of product before. May have potential applications in whatever you may be working on.

My dads 1983 240D had some questionable CV axle boots, two boots on one axle were totally torn, the other two were about to crack. They were not making any noise and when I took them off I checked them for play and looked at the bearings all looked well. So I opted to reboot his. Rock auto has some remans for around $60/axle but they are filled with grease and people on forums report the cheap boots crack within a year in some cases. There is another company that will "rebuild" OEM axles for $300-400 a pair. Genuine Mercedes CVs are... $1,000 each! $680 my cost. So I decided to reboot them myself. I built axles for my 3800SC car, I have the band tools, etc. However Mercedes axles press together and have abnormally large "cans" where the tripots are. Pressing them apart is an ordeal, but Genuine Mercedes boot kits are only around $50 an axle. For the cost of cheap rock auto units I got quality boots filled with the correct lubricant.

Then I read about these flexible boots. They are designed to be used with a pneumatic stretching gun, or with a large funnel. Astoria makes them, a company in the UK has them, and Dorman sells them. I read a lot of people recommending you buy a few extra doorman boots because inevitably one will tear in the stretching process. The Astorias get really good reviews and I talked to the guy who owns the company, so I opted for the Astoria 2000 - 3001 boot.

http://astoria2000.com/

I ended up buying them from Tool-Topia because they were the cheapest from them $71.90 for the set of 4, and they did free shipping at $75 so I ordered a bunch
of sockets I always am missing so I would have spares (10mm, 13mm, etc).

Like I said, not good.
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Later Mercedes use annular axles that the inners can be unbolted from the diff from the outside, all of my 124s are this way, and even my dads late '85 W123 has them, but this 240D has the early style axles so the diff had to be lowered and the rear cover removed to get at the snap rings that hold the axles in.
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Out and stripped down
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I went to walmart and got the longest funnel they had. I used the supplied CV axle grease that came with the Astoria boots to lube the funnel. Then I turned the boot inside out. It takes a serious tug but you can pull it down the funnel and over the tripots by yourself.
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Mercedes did not fill the CV axles on early cars with grease, but rather with 80/90 gear oil. That is part of why the bearings sit in those huge "cans." I opened up the two boots that had not leaked and poured them into solo cups so I could put approximately that much back in, in fresh oil
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Rebooted, filled, and using OEM style bands
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Bought output seals from the dealer, it was $2 more to go OEM, and his existing ones had just started to weep at 31 years old, so I opted to go OEM again. I use a little gasket shellac around the edge of the seals, it makes them slip in easier when you tap them in, and when it dries you get a little more leak protection.
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The diff cover does not have a gasket, and because I'm such a professional I used this
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That's about it, but I was really happy with the Astoria boots and I would definitely use them again if I were working on a car that it was a big deal to separate the tripots.
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crzyone
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Re: Flexible CV Axle Boots (Benz Project)

Post by crzyone »

Very neat. Didn't know about those cans before, learn something new every day
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