w166 Front Axle Removal
 

Hi All,

New to the forum and could not find the info I was looking for.

The project is changing the boot of the front left axle of a 2014 ML63. It was fairly easy to remove the axle for the wheel but I am having a hard time getting the axle out of the differential. I am guessing the approach is the same for an w166 and an x166. The procedure for replacing an axle or any related info is appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Try the search feature. I think WIS is posted.

Yes all 166 are the same wrt axle-differential side gear interface.

From YouTube videos it looks like 164 inner CVJ pops out in the usual fashion, held by a circlip on the inner stub shaft. This is industry standard. On other vehicles I have used two levers opposite one another, then give a slight levering jolt and it should pop out.



Have you crawled under the vehicle to take a look at the inner joint?

moved to W166 AMG forum...

Hi Chassis,

Thank you for jumping in.

I did use the W164 YouTube video as a basis for my project... Which really is replacing the front left cv joint outer boot. The same YouTube channel also details the reboot procedure.

Mods to the W164 YouTube video to account for the W166 difference (for everyone’s benefit):
- Remove the underbody panelling to be able to pry the axle out of the transfer case
- Remove stabilizer bar from the steering knuckle
- Remove the AirMatic fuse located in the engine compartment
- Disconnect the air supply from the strut
- Remove the bottom air strut bolt to be able to get the axle out from under it (the axle inner joint has a big disk that did not fit between the strut "wishbone")

The above finally allowed for the axle to come out and so far, I was able to follow the YouTube reboot process to remove the CV joint, dismantle it, clean the grease out, and verify for damage... None found. I am about to rebuild the CV joint but did a huge mistake. I did not notice which side the inner and outer CV joint cages were.

I will follow up with another post to this tread (or maybe I should create another tread for CV Boot Rebuild) with pictures asking for advice.