Hello to all, I just found this forum and enjoy it immensely. My first impression is there are a lot of guys asking questions which could be answered by buying a Factory manual. I found one on eBay which is a 2 CD set for about 15 bucks which has helped me a great deal.

I bought a 1992 300TE wagon off of a local dealer with a large eBay sales department and was in for quite a surprise. Long story short, although I got a one-owner car for about 3,000 bucks I was soon to realize why he traded it in. I have it partially disassembled at the moment to replace the head gasket, right front axle, and the rubber boots and mounts on the front struts. It was seeping oil into the coolant and the tires were worn from the broken strut mounts. I have all the parts in now and am in the process of replacing the head gasket.

I am curious if anyone here has experience replacing strut mounts on this model or similar 4-matics...the manual shows mostly 2-WD models and the front struts appear easy to manipulate on them. The 4-matic, however, has an extended curl on the spring to clear the axle shaft and appears to be difficult to compress because of this. I have read somewhere that it is possible to drop the sway bar mounts on the front and get the clearance to remove the strut mounts and boots without unbolting the struts from the axle. The 4matic struts are attached to the spindle differently and the brake lines run thru a solid hole in a sheet metal tab on the strut itself. I wish to avoid any un-necessary disassembly, especially the brake lines. I believe I can get my spring compressor on the outside and drop the spindle with a jack if I drop the sway bar, but would appreciate confirmation from someone familiar with this repair on the 4matic. I am a capable mechanic and am not asking for much hand-holding, but front-end work is not a job I relish.

I beg your indulgence to ask one more question if I may...Is the axle spline pressed into the hub on the spindle, and will I need to press it out and the new one in? There appears to be an 8mm tapped hole in the axle for this. Thank you for your advise.