DrewFrancis

So I was driving down on my way home at a red light, and once the light turned green I did what everyone who drives a car is supposed to do...and that is press on the gas, and there I was in the middle of the intersection and with a loud noise and my heart sinking.

Got towed and got the hint that this might be a transmission issue and had to wait the next morning to get assessed from my mechanic and with the celebration call that it wasn't, turns out it was my passenger drive shaft cv joint. As usuall I have been in a messy headache ever since. So I Called the dealer got quoted for 1500$ plus tax =1695 without installation....

Kent Seaton

Why did you take it to a dealer? I would have taken it to an indie you know/trust.

DrewFrancis

Hey Kent I did and he said that I should try to get one from a written off car or buy the new one because theres no after market on it. I have tried a couple of part shops and with no luck no one seems to have it or they just have a rebuild one which seems to be a very mediocre fix.

LCPLPunk

Drew, from what I'm reading on Pelicanparts, it says "CV joints should be disassembled, inspected and repacked in the appropriate grease as needed."

So maybe that 'mediocre' fix is actually the way it's supposed to be done...

http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/..._pg1.htm#item1

DrewFrancis

you think..maybe and thats what I'm trying to understand

LCPLPunk

I'm not Mercedes expert by any means, but I might get some additional opinions before spending $1200 on getting a CV joint repacked/greased.

DrewFrancis

well no they're not going to fix the old one they're going to replace it completely plus it's going to be plus probably 1.5 hours worth of labour

LCPLPunk

But if it's designed to be repacked, regreased, etc, why not go that route?

jbt56

The repacking of a CV joint is more maintenance, or what you do when the rubber boot is torn/replaced. From the description, the OP has had a complete catastrophic failure of the joint, necessitating a replacement. I'd hazard a guess that they're replacing the entire half-shaft (axle).

LCPLPunk

Dear lord, I just reread the OP's post....$1695 for this part and not even including install? Is this thing made of gold or something???

Josh.A.Hussey

Hey! I am having an issue with my CV joint as well. The boot is torn...
How did you end up fixing this?

My dealer told me their techs may not have the experience to replace the $94 boot, in which case they will have to replace the entire shaft at $1700+tax&labour... This seems to be a ridiculous statement...

jbt56

Strangely, it's usually more work to replace one CV boot than it is to replace the half-shaft. The same labor needs to be performed (removing and replacing the shaft from the car), but then the shaft needs to be disassembled to some degree to replace the boot. The only other way to replace a boot is to use an aftermarket split boot. For that, the original boot is cut off with the shaft still in place and the replacement, which has an open seam, or split, is installed over the joint and glue is used to hold it together, along with its clamps. Many 'good' shops don't like to use these, as their record isn't fantastic. Those are better used on a 100k Civic than a late model Mercedes. Heck, they may not even be available for the MB.

*Please note: Split boots, or even replacement factory boots will NOT fix a bad/damaged CV joint. Those are only for instances when just the boot is torn, allowing the grease to escape.

Josh.A.Hussey

Thats true, but the extra couple hours disassembling and reassembling the shaft wont cost me $1600...