I've been making calls around town to find some new axle shafts for my 81 300sd. I found a place that said they had two types that would work for my car. I couldn't understand the guy on the phone very much, but he said something about one having splines and the other having flanges. I've never dealt with axle shafts on any benz yet, so do either fit? There was a pretty huge price difference between the two.

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"spreading a trail of obnoxious where ever we go"
1981 300sd w/ 341,500 miles

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do a search on it.. i rember a discussion .. and i think the ones with splines is a no go.. i think

I have only done a half shaft changeout on a 190E 2.3-16, but that unit had a flange connection at the differential and a spline connection at the wheel. If you check the FastLane parts system you will see a photo of a replacement part that looks just like this. There is an implication that you have to buy some extra parts if you have an older version to adapt the newer one. In any case FastLane does not have the part in stock, but if I were you I would call Phil in the morning and ask him, then order the part from him. Jim

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Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

This subject has been thoroughly covered here. I changed my axles a couple of months ago, posted a report with pictures here.

W123 axle R&R job--some questions?

CVJ Axles of Denver was the source I used for rebuilt axles. They were $140 each plus $50 refundable core charge. With shipping of the axles to me and the cores back to Denver, my total was $322.19. Three year warranty and they typically have lots of cores in stock so they can build what you need in a day or so and ship it off to you.

You can find lower prices ($100 each or less) at some of the chain auto parts stores but posters to this forum have reported mixed results. A lifetime warranty really isn't much good if you spend that lifetime on the garage floor changing parts that have gone bad.

FastLane lists axles for your car as "temporarily unavailable." An email to Phil would be in order. There's a German-made new axle available for $400 each or you can buy new axles from the dealer for $900 each. That's the price range. Your choice.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Good, the one with the flange is only 65 bucks with a core at Interauto.
Thanks.

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"spreading a trail of obnoxious where ever we go"
1981 300sd w/ 341,500 miles

http://www.wecrash.com/pics/ddda_banner.gif

81 300d has splines on both ends with 8 mm bolts.

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Ncnetman
1978 300cd fresh paint
1965 Mustang
1968 Torino GT fastback
2015 VW Passat TDI
1969 Ranchero- project
1974 240d 4-speed -for sale
1976 240d - for sale
1990 6.2 Suburban 194k-getting a 6.5 turbo
2008 Duramax Silverado-totaled
1959 Chev 3100 Fleetside - sold

He has an '81 300SD, I thought. Jim

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Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

You probably have homokinetic (unless somebody changed them over).

1.)homokinetic (what your people call "splined" )
2.)annular..."flanged"

Extra parts needed to convert earlier homokinetics to annular:

Attached Thumbnails

   

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The Golden Rule

1984 300SD (bought new, sold it in 1988, bought it back 13 yrs. later)

Well, I am not sure what kind of connection he has, but homokinetic is a kind of CV joint, not the end connection. The old kind of MB CV joints were not the kind known as homokinetic. Those have a spherical section with ball bearings around the periphery. Do a Google search and get a photo. The old ones are way too hard to describe, but they have sets of fingers with 3 bigger steel balls between the fingers.

Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

Is there any advantage one has over the other?

__________________
"spreading a trail of obnoxious where ever we go"
1981 300sd w/ 341,500 miles

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