2008 S550 4Matic Drivers front CV/axle removal.
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Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 44
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From: Illinois
2002 E 430 4MATIC - 2008 S5504Matic
2008 S550 4Matic Drivers front CV/axle removal.
I have replaced axles on a 2004 S430 4Matic no problem and I thought I had both on this 2008 but apparently only the passenger side. Yesterday my car suddenly would not go and made a horrible "whirring" noise in forward and revers gears. I thought my trans blew up. Got it home and all the noise came from the drivers wheel. So I removed it and pulled the axle from the spindle and it just spins while the rest of the axle stays in place so. I am lucky the axle went not the trans. Like I said I have no problem pulling out the passenger side by just prying on the "cap" where it meets the transaxle but the drivers side is just frozen to the "rod" it goes on to. I am on my back on the driveway so I have limited room to pry or pound the "cap" part. Is there any special way to get this end of the cv axle from the spindle it is connected to. I understand it has that "C" clip inside to keep it from just pulling out but how do I overcome that clip on my back on the driveway?
******************** UPDATE!! ****************
In case anyone has problems getting the Drivers side axle to a 4Matic out. It is attached to the intermediate shaft which goes through the oil pan. While I was trying to get it out and found it would not pop out like the other side I looked up the Mercedes WIS. They use a slide hammer puller adapter but they do warn that if it appears or feels like it's not going to release DO NOT!! force it or you will damage the oil pan and have a huge repair on your hands. So I decided I would pull out the intermediate shaft and take the axle off from there, easy enough except that the steering rack is right in the way so I would have to drop the steering rack or pull the axle out to gain access to the snap ring. The axle's stock so is no pulling it out and I did not want to spend time taking down my steering rack in 20° weather on my driveway. Looking at it closer it was obvious that the shaft was rusted in their where supposed to pop out so after a while of thinking I decided why not just get an extension or drift and just tap/pound on the end of the CV axle that goes over the intermediate shaft just to break loose all the internal rust. So for about 20 or 25 minutes I laid on my back pounding away and I did notice that eventually I was able to move the axle a little bit independently from the intermediate shaft so I kept pounding. I'm not talking about crazy pounding just what I could do sometimes a hard hit sometimes just tap tap tap. At some point when I felt it had some play I took a large screwdriver and tried to pry CV axle off of the intermediate shaft. While it did not just pop off I did notice it went a little bit farther than it did before so I would pry it back as much as it would go without too much force then push it back with my hand to loosen up more rust. I continue to pound on it another few minutes and eventually after some tapping and back-and-forth with the prying and pushing back in it popped out. So if anybody's having trouble getting the CV off just be patient, if you can leave the car in neutral and start hitting that end of the CV axle over and over spin it some so it hits in different spots and eventually you'll be able to pry it off without damaging anything else.
I Hope this helps!
******************** UPDATE!! ****************
In case anyone has problems getting the Drivers side axle to a 4Matic out. It is attached to the intermediate shaft which goes through the oil pan. While I was trying to get it out and found it would not pop out like the other side I looked up the Mercedes WIS. They use a slide hammer puller adapter but they do warn that if it appears or feels like it's not going to release DO NOT!! force it or you will damage the oil pan and have a huge repair on your hands. So I decided I would pull out the intermediate shaft and take the axle off from there, easy enough except that the steering rack is right in the way so I would have to drop the steering rack or pull the axle out to gain access to the snap ring. The axle's stock so is no pulling it out and I did not want to spend time taking down my steering rack in 20° weather on my driveway. Looking at it closer it was obvious that the shaft was rusted in their where supposed to pop out so after a while of thinking I decided why not just get an extension or drift and just tap/pound on the end of the CV axle that goes over the intermediate shaft just to break loose all the internal rust. So for about 20 or 25 minutes I laid on my back pounding away and I did notice that eventually I was able to move the axle a little bit independently from the intermediate shaft so I kept pounding. I'm not talking about crazy pounding just what I could do sometimes a hard hit sometimes just tap tap tap. At some point when I felt it had some play I took a large screwdriver and tried to pry CV axle off of the intermediate shaft. While it did not just pop off I did notice it went a little bit farther than it did before so I would pry it back as much as it would go without too much force then push it back with my hand to loosen up more rust. I continue to pound on it another few minutes and eventually after some tapping and back-and-forth with the prying and pushing back in it popped out. So if anybody's having trouble getting the CV off just be patient, if you can leave the car in neutral and start hitting that end of the CV axle over and over spin it some so it hits in different spots and eventually you'll be able to pry it off without damaging anything else.
I Hope this helps!
Last edited by chrise&sclass; Jan 21, 2023 at 02:59 PM.
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 314
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From: New York
2010 CL550
I am not certain but I believe you’re dealing with a cracked intermediate axle shaft bearing. My cl550 4matic had this exact issue but I was unable to fix it myself and had to bring it to the dealer. See this video
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 44
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From: Illinois
2002 E 430 4MATIC - 2008 S5504Matic
Thank you! But.... The CV section that bolts to the wheel now turns independently from the rest of the axle so the car wont move. I havent taken the boot off yet but I expect it came apart inside the very outer boot. The rest all looks normal.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 44
Likes: 1
From: Illinois
2002 E 430 4MATIC - 2008 S5504Matic
I watched the video and that is not what's happening to me thankfully!! The inner (intermediate) shaft is very solid and has no movement of any kind.It all appears to be the outer cv section broke and will not spin the wheel/ The rest of the axle tries to spin it. It makes a horrible sound inside the outer boot. I expect I will find the inner parts in hundreds of pieces when I open it.
Even though the axle is junk I want to know how to get it out without ruining it just so I know. I guess technically I could just leave that end part on and put the new (used) axle on with the boot open and just put that inner end together when its on the car and seal the boot. But I really just want to know how to get it off as if I was going to re-use it
Even though the axle is junk I want to know how to get it out without ruining it just so I know. I guess technically I could just leave that end part on and put the new (used) axle on with the boot open and just put that inner end together when its on the car and seal the boot. But I really just want to know how to get it off as if I was going to re-use it
Last edited by chrise&sclass; Nov 26, 2022 at 11:28 PM.
