My 1998 E300D needs the (rear) pinion seal replaced (accordeing to my area dealer). My local mechanic seems a bit hesitant to tackle this problem, thinking some special tools may be needed and/or there is an issue involved in removing the driveshaft to do the job. I have located a tool that seems to be half socket and half spanner that may or may not be needed to get at the seal, but don't have a clue why the driveshaft is an issue. Can somebody walk me through this process, pointing out any special tools that may be necessary along the way? Unless I buy a shop real soon, I'll pass this info on to the guy who does do most of the work on this car. Thanks much.

 

Mileage?
Is it leaking much?
i.e. Dampness vs drip.
Has the diff been overfilled? What is the current level?

IF only a minor leak on a car of this age I'm not sure whether it might not be better to leave this alone since the likely outcome will be that you will need to repalce the driveshaft seals as well once they have been disturbed and I suspect that whoever does this job is likely to make a substantial charge.

I wonder why it has only just started to leak? Mmm...
Stuart

 

I just learned that my pinion seal also has a small leak. There is never any amount of fluid on the driveway. My wonderful indie mechanic put in 1 pint (not even a full quart) of gear oil to top off the differential. He doesn't seem worried about it but suggests that I get it checked about every 9 months to be sure. I know that it was topped off almost one year ago. 1 pint of fluid lost in 1 year... not bad in my opinion especially considering the fact that I'm approaching 179,000 miles on my 1998 E320. The quote to replace the pinion seal and various other gaskets on the rear diff comes to $525. I think that I will continue to monitor the situation and make the call when the fluid loss is more notable. Any comments are welcome. Thanks in advance.