Rear suspension disassembly questions

[wbrian63]

When I parted-out 6.9 #1164, I removed the rear suspension as a complete unit. Sadly, moving that sucker around from place to place over the last 8 months has resulted in some cosmetic damage to the bottom of the lower 'A' arms, but the unit remains intact.

Now comes the time to break the unit down into its component parts, to allow easier storage, etc.

Looking at the service job from the manuals, regarding how to get the half-shafts out, I see some reference to yet another "special MB tool" that's used to press the axle free of the outer hubs.

This rear is from a '76 chassis, so the half-shafts are of the style that are integral with the rear differential housing, no external flanges can be seen.

If I'm taking the assembly completely to-pieces, do I need this special tool? The lower control arms are to be removed, the rear hubs separated from same, etc. Won't the hubs just slide off the axles?

Also - scanning the R&R job from the service manual, it appears to remove the half-shafts from the differential, you must remove the cover and remove some sort of clip or pin from the inside? I can store the differential complete with half-shafts attached, but obviously it would be better if I could break the unit into separate pieces.

So -

Q1 - do I need any sort of special tool to remove the hubs from the half-shafts?
Q2 - how do I remove the half-shafts from the differential?

Thanks as always for your replies.

Regards

[s class]

Its not that difficulto to get the half shafts out even when the unit is in the car, but on the floor it should be easy.  To separate the shaft from the wheel hub, loosen the centre bolt in the wheel hub.  It serves only to keep the ends of the shaft fully drawn into the hubs.  Once the bolts are out, the shafts just push out towards the diff.  MB calls for special pullers etc to do this, but usually it only needs a bit of tapping with a drift to get them loosened.  You may have to deflect the rear trailing arms downwards to get enough clearance to get the shaft clear of the hub. 

Next, to free the shafts from the diff, yes, you need to open the diff back plate.  Inside, you will see that each shaft is kept in place with a circlip which you just pull off, then the shafts slide out.

If you want to get the hubs out of the trailing arms, that's a whole other story that does require a special tool to remove the slot nut on the inner side. 

The second page of this thread here Link discusses the tool required. 

[koan]

I just bought the rear axle hub slot nut tool for $A28.50 on ebay, not because I need it but because it was a bargain.

The seller "starprop66" has many special auto tools for various makes including Mercedes.

Turns out he's just a couple of streets away from me.

koan

[s class]

That is a bargain.  From memory, I think I paid something like US$85 for the tool I picture in the thread above.  But I must admit it does work beautifully. 

[wbrian63]

starprop66 is a great source. With exchange rate, that same tool is about $25US, and with shipping (assuming it's correct) I could have the tool in-hand for about $41US.

Pelicanparts.com (a US-based seller) also sells a similar tool - but they want $57.90 (free shipping)

Obviously, the Pelican tool will get here before the one from AU, but if time was not critical the $ make more sense from offshore.

All I'm trying to do is to break the rear subframe assembly into its base component parts.

"knuckles" - the part that contains the hub, bearing and mounting points for the rear calipers
Lower Control Arms
Upper Control Arms (or whatever is used to secure the top of the rear knuckles)
Anti-dive assembly
Differential
Half-shafts

Once dissected, I can more easily store the pieces.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Regards