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Everytime I so happen to go deep inspection, I am bound to find something .
As I was monitoring my rear right parking brake pad sound, I noticed something else but it was so rare occurence.
I do not usually drive ( my car is RHD ) window open and find a wall or solid road separator high enough to bounce back any noise from the car, unless I am looking for nail on the tire or
this parking brake pad sound.
So I took a closer look today at my CV drive shaft and play with it. Yellow taped side, that is wheel side.
When I removed this very same shaft and re-installed it some weeks ago during DIFF bushing and mount refresh, I never bother to check in great detail like today, because it is only 43,000KM old.
The DIFF side, the CV tripod/bearing ( whatever they call it ) can slide in and out its "bowl" nicely.
The wheel side can slide but need double the effort to push or pull and not smooth. Tight-tight>>>loose.
I do not know if a RWD CV shaft are the same bearing + bowl design on both ends, or like 4-matic front cv shaft where the wheel side bearing is different than the DIFF side.
The still installed LEFT rear wheel CV shaft, I can slide in and out the CV shaft nice and smooth into and out-of the "bowl"...without high-jerky friction like the rear right wheel side ( yellow tape ).
If anything, this is a very very early stage of aging of the CV drive shaft. Its not yet defective, but I don't wait for defective condition.
If a FWD car it is easy to test and create tick tick noise, but on a RWD W212 and with tire noise, I think if one car hear it so obviously from the car interior,
the car would be first vibrating before making high decibel noise...I guess.
Quite a lame strength this CV drive shaft.
Mine is the same as W212 using M273.
I was trying to see if horsepower matters, probably it does judging by the P/N MB uses.
Above my E400 M276.820 engine.
M276.8 3.0 turbo engine , get same shaft as M273 V8
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M272 and M276.9 3.5 NA, same shaft
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M278 gets its own shaft
M156 and M157, get same shaft
I would love to use M278 shaft, but if the dimensional length and spline is 100% the same DIFF side and WHEEL side or not ......I do not know.
M278 DIFF is different to mine, the ratio is, shaft spline wise I do not know.
Wheel carrier (knuckle ) is different, but wheel bearing and wheel flange the same, so here the spline at the shaft would be the same dimension.
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Last edited by S-Prihadi; Sep 18, 2025 at 12:35 PM.
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I do drive my car rough, when I feel like it. My downshift for gear 2 and 3 is very sudden, as this is the gear range used the most for overtaking and my tranny
is very responsive, so kicked down to lowest gear happens often and very fast.
Doing 20 laps at the track in 2020 also accelerate aging on all stressed components.
But I do maintain my car like a Princess .
I can only imagine those with AMG V8 RWD and when they drive hard , if they inspect their CV drive shaft in detail often, how will the condition be actually like.
I know the 4-matic front propeller shaft is fragile.
My CV drive shaft will be always on routine "hand-job" test from now on.
Anyway I am always doing inspection under the car at least once per 2 months or so and after every long trip.
I find comfort lying down on my mechanic roller board under the car...feels good.
Let see tomorrow what surprise MB Indonesia will offer me, how much and how long I need to wait ?
As you now Mercedes can change part numbers for a variety of reasons. Best way to confirm compatibility is to compare parts. Unfortunately as a DIYer, you don’t have the luxury of a parts department 🙁
The other “best way” is to have a friend in the wrecking business (junkyard).
If you want to make sure the part fits either get one from a junk yard or get a cheap one off eBay to compare with yours. I bet they are the same dimensions. Also same from side to side. Just slightly different than the m276 version.. Just how different (without blueprints) can only be determined by comparing the parts side by side.
Importing used parts is not allowed in my country. The Custom Office will throw my goods.
Only very very important used parts I have no choice but to get it, I then use special close-one-eye import channel to get it done, but it will cost.
No M278 or M273 engine available in Indonesia for W212.
MB Indonesia brings in the AMG M156 and M157 instead, might as well.
Engine with 3,000cc above the extra luxury tax started to be applied , thus no M276.9 3.5L , until M276.8 3.0 comes to market.
Importing used parts is not allowed in my country. The Custom Office will throw my goods.
Only very very important used parts I have no choice but to get it, I then use special close-one-eye import channel to get it done, but it will cost.
No M278 or M273 engine available in Indonesia for W212.
MB Indonesia brings in the AMG M156 and M157 instead, might as well.
Engine with 3,000cc above the extra luxury tax started to be applied , thus no M276.9 3.5L , until M276.8 3.0 comes to market.
Wow, That is pretty prohibitive...
Are there no wrecking yards in Indonesia at all?
Sounds like the odds of finding M156/M157 car is slim though, not to mention pricing.
I think best bet then, is to find a competent friend with the tools and know how to measure dimensions, splines etc.... I regularly see those shafts in the $50-$75 price range in the US.
I have a spare from an R231 somewhere, I think length will be different. Splines look the same though...
Junkyard in Indonesia is not like in USA.
People here can use the car till its vaporize hehehe.
MB Indonesia wants U$3,000 for the shaft and 60 days import from Germany.
Typical 200% vs USA 100%. U$1,400 USA price x 2.
If I am lucky, someone is flying from California into Indonesia end of the month, my wife's cousin.
Local tax at Indonesian airport would be approx 50%.
So, approx US$1,600 landed price taxed would be likely. Surely better than US$3K.
My LEFT side CV shaft I think will do well for another 10,000KM or 3 years.
But I will buy one more next year and keep it as spare for the left side.
Thus CV driveshaft I think would be consumeable parts for me with useful prime performing life of 60,000KM if I do not go to the track.
I don't go to the track anymore, but my daily driving style would not change, nor the bad roads in my country.
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You know trucks in my country, many are poorly maintained.
Their propeller shaft, some gets chain protection underneath it, because when the prop shaft joint snap, the propeller shaft will become worls biggest egg beater and lift the truck and flip it.
Below is from India or Pakistan or similar whacky country...
My CV axle sound is very much like the Subaru BRZ which is a RWD car too, and most likely driven hard by them young farts.
But my sound does not appear as constant and loud as these two videos which is loose nut and not CV bearing.
Under certain acceleration load and sometime under certain tight cornering only.
If on Quick Jack using dynomode, wheel has no car weight load, no sound will appear except the parking brake pad and whatever rear brake pad mildly kissing the rotor.
So you W212 RWD owners out there, you can now start listening to your rear drive line.
Having a wall or concrete separator on your left side taller than 1.5 feet would be a good help, it will bounce the sound back to your ear real good.
Open front and rear windows.
Last edited by S-Prihadi; Sep 19, 2025 at 02:40 AM.
try this used junk yard part listing site for part comparison of what fits what.
Enter what you have and for most part they will show you available parts that fit.
Or at worse you could buy old used part to examine. Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market
Did you apply never seize to splines during re-assembly?
Maybe clean up mail splines with brass wire wheel?
They can get FRETTING from torque transmission and since they can go FWD to REV and back etc.
Shipping junk yard stuff from abroad is out of the question, too much money + hassle and RESTRICTION........for no good result.
As I said, I can not import used goods.
My shaft male splines and the bearing female splines are beautiful. It does not need anti-seize, all I applied was heavy duty CRC anti corrossion coating back in 2023 when I replaced the wheel carrier bushings.
CV shaft end can be pushed out with my fingers from bearing, not like some cars I see people hammering their CV shaft end due to rust. I dont have winter salt, so I am lucky.
Here is supposedly the design of the CV bearings at both ends. No tripod bearing, because this is not the 4-matic front cv shaft which needs to handle wheel turning.
Changing the rubber boot alone is no fun, as there is a metal portion to be cut.
I will order 2 of the rubber boot repair kit, so that I can tear down the old shaft for experiment sake.
Who knows its a dried up grease which is causing that un-smooth jerky motion of the ball movement inside.
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I can't get photo of the MB original boot repair kit, but I seen aftermarket one. This is for the smaller OD bearing of Wheel side.
Kit for bigger bearing OD of DIFF ( INNER) side no aftermarket, only MB.
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Approximation, my caliper teeth not long enough.
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Wear and tear is inevitable.
I just so lucky to be deeply observing new brake pad sound and caught the CV bearing too.
Below is from California, MB dealer. Its a quote. The boots will be from east coast.
So MBpartsexpress.com who is MB of Bedford Ohio, has best price so far and easiest parts online catalog to access and is very updated. US$980 for the shaft vs US$1,181 in MB CA.
Lucky for you guys living in USA, parts are cheap and in stock...awesome.
Close to US$3,000 for me here the same driveshaft from the local MB dealer and 60 days wait from Germany....damn, can't suffer more.
I mentioned usd car site to get PN info or what other cars use the same PN you have
They have a good PN Database is all.
ohh, I see. They usually rely on EPC via VIN, so they would not know better than EPC.
My last desparate purchase of used parts was my steering column, MB Indonesia said no stock and no date can be given by Germany...duggghhh.
Singapore MB does not have it.
I got one from Europe used and yet they warned me their "system" did not show a match by VIN, that meant they are using EPC.
My 2018 EPC showed 4 variations, 1 from Kostal and 3 from Valeo, so physically I check my unit and it is by Kostal and same P/N as EPC variation #1.
ending of 9051 is color code, the rest is P/N
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The ebay's nameplate sticker on their unit matched mine by P/N, HW number and software number, so I told them it is my risk.
The steering column works.,,,wheeewwww.
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EPC also sometimes goes wrong for low volume car like mine an E400 3.0TT and a RHD version.
2 coolant hoses P/N on my car were wrong in EPC, good thing it has physical P/N stamped on the hose itself, so I use them and got the correct parts.
Recent purchase of turbo coolant lines was different, same P/N but different shape, but works exactly the same, with 1 less mounting bolt being used.
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The best is to physically get the part number stamped on the part, but it is not always possible.
The rear supension arms, at least 4 out of 5 and not including spring arm, they have no part number on the parts body at all, they have some unique code , but EPC has no data on them.
There is another unique number using sticker on my radiator, it looks like mercedes typical P/N, but it is not in EPC, I think it is vendor number for
MB internal procurement division. So I use EPC number for the radiator, not the sticker number on the radiator
Its very confusing sometimes.
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Even authorized my dealer database seems to have mistake.
This is the best price for my CV driveshaft. MB of Scottsdale Arizona. Oldest MB US dealer, so they said.
You wont find E400 in the list
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I track for fun sake using EPC the 1972 model 250 ( chassis 114/115 ) drive shaft, EPC shows different P/N.
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See, none of these two matches my car CV drive shaft P/N.
Below is from California, MB dealer. Its a quote. The boots will be from east coast.
So MBpartsexpress.com who is MB of Bedford Ohio, has best price so far and easiest parts online catalog to access and is very updated. US$980 for the shaft vs US$1,181 in MB CA.
Lucky for you guys living in USA, parts are cheap and in stock...awesome.
Close to US$3,000 for me here the same driveshaft from the local MB dealer and 60 days wait from Germany....damn, can't suffer more.
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That dealer is five miles from my house Surya, If I can help, I'd be glad too, also as you know my sister in law in California is Indonesian, she and her two sisters go to visit their parents regularly if that helps
As always I know you are most kind.
I would not want to bother you when I can avoid it Pierre.... thank you so much..
My wife's cousin is coming to to Jakarta 1st Sept 2025, thus I am bothering him for the drive shaft .
My wife and him, they always buy stuff for one another in USA/Indo....so its good.
He been living in USA for 30 years now.
He would be getting my parts from MB of Scottsdale Arizone, best price so far. US$923 only for the shaft.
This is an 85cm long and 20lbs stuff, so it will be a hassle for anyone hand carrying it as luggage on his flight to Indo.
Also the import tax+VAT and etc at the Jakarta airport would be approx 45% close to US$500 and it will be taxed for sure at this size because the X-ray dudes will mark the bag, guaranteed a 100%.
My next purchase for back up of LEFT side early next year, I will DHL it , as I do not need it urgently.
This RIGHT side ( same P/N left and right ), is urgent as my car is hanging on quick jack and 2 extra jacks now .... LOL
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W212 chassis is not very rigid, more so with panoroof..... hanging it too long on the 4 official jack points/pad is not good enough if long term.
Once again, thanks for the kind offer as always....
Last edited by S-Prihadi; Sep 21, 2025 at 01:20 AM.
Reason: typo
Damage during shipment for the item 30, which is some sort of protection metal cap....but not a problem.
The included item 30 is different anyway, too small for my DIFF.
I already bought back up item 30 locally.
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The ABS magnet and the C clip is included.
Damn, I forgot to test the magnetic signature/pattern of the ABS magnet. CV drive shaft already installed on the wheel carrier/knuckle today.
Wanna test see new vs old ABS magnet, how they may differ due to aging.
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Install new item 30 and apply anti-corrossion,CRC SP-400.
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Test fit the item 30 on the DIFF without CV drive shaft. For giggles.
Coat CV shaft DIFF side with engine oil. KY jelly equivalent
The male spline of CV shaft is already 3mm into female spline of the DIFF and the C clip is on purpose there to create the friction so that shaft does not pull out easy.
But also the C clip create friction for insertion.
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Home sweet home !!
Brain fart moment of last month. Blue camber arm should be above the other alu arm, not below.
Tightened to 50Nm +90 degrees for all 4 arms out of 5, except spring arm the 5th arm. AT RIDE HEIGHT.
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Install parking brake components.
Test fit the new Brembo rear rotor.
I am tired............... will continue tomorrow.
To do tomorrow :
- Install rear right spring <-------- I HATE REAR SPRING INSTALLATION !!!!
- Set to ride height again for spring arm. Torque spring arm, subframe side 50nm + 90 degrees. Wheel carrier/knuckle side 80Nm + 90 degrees.
- Left rear. Remove MB genuine parking brake pad kit. Use the aftermarket one I last bought, which now the right wheel has it already since last month.
- Replace the current MB rear disc rotor with the new Brembo.
- Set parking brake properly for both wheels and de-virginize the Brembo parking drum side, using dyno mode at simulated ride height. My car has LSD/ABT DIFF, I can do this.
- Torque right rear CV shaft M32 nut to spec, 350nm or so....
Left side brake rotor disc look ugly now compared to the right....
I managed to bed the parking brake rotor using dyno mode.
At 1 click before last click, I goth them both to be at 130 ( left side ) and 140Nm ( right side ) for torque. I use torque sensor to measure the torque the parking brake would hold.
For now parking brake will stop the car in D at idle speed.
Right PARKING brake pad been bedded to machined old rotor disc, thus have more bite and in return more heat when both side using virgin Brembo rotor disc.
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Left parking brake pad is virgin and with virgin brembo rotor disc, it need time to bed.
Right Rear Spring installed ( with lots of swearing )....
All arms been torqued at ride height.
CV drive shaft not torque yet, I need to wait for the new rear brake pad set.
Reminder to myself to torque the M32 cv drive shaft....LOL
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Here is why I hate installing rear spring if not using MB special inner spring compressor and using jack instead............
When your arms are new and bushings are all new and spring is new, the spring arm bolt to subframe which is angled by design and very difficult to align 100% bore to hole bolt and nut side....because the pressure from the spring too.
Because achieving clean elegant insert of the bolt into the bushing is not possible...... some kind of force is involved.
You will end up making these "thread", because the bushing inner is aluminum and our bolt is high grade steel. I hate this happening.
Angled like below by design........
The Gedore kit can allow me to remove and install the spring without un-doing any bolts of the spring arm ....
That meant that bushings inner ID can stay smooth and I dont suffer. 5 minutes only to remove or install spring...damn.....
So I ordered it, albeit it hurt my wallet deeply for seemingly simple metal tool.
9th Dec 2025 it will supposedly arrive. Price + shipping + estimated import duty = almost US$1,100.
But I need the Ebay good shipping price , some sort of guarantee I am not dealing with scam seller and Ebay provides pre-paid import duty service.
Ebay is respected by my finance ministry and hence Custom Office too. Never had issue with Ebay imports into Indonesia where the import duty and VAT is prepaid at Ebay check out...never.
5% import duty and 12% VAT for this type of product into Indonesia.
Now I wait for Brembo brake pad....dang, wanting to test the cv drive shaft has so much delay
This is how firm the new CV shaft is when installed.
When not installed, I can play each end a bit, super super firm yes.
Now with both ends installed, I dont have the muscle to play both ends.
The test is still zero KM on the road, but already spinning using dyno mode, to do the brake pads.
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I think CV drive shaft will make it to medium mileage consumeable list of mine.
Perhaps maximum 60,000KM I will need to replace the left one too, now that left will be jelous of the right side
That will be 3 more years assuming I can do 5,000KM a year, which is not likely.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
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import channel to get it done, but it will cost.
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fresh from USA 
