1996 Mercedes SL500 R129 Project Heidi Part 8: Driveshaft, Flex Disk, and Bearing Repair. FIXED!!!

What's all that noise under our project SL500? Welcome back to W140 Restorations as we get to the root cause of everything "thumpy" under Project Heidi. This happens to be one of my favorite videos to date as we level up both our editing and videography to show how bad the center support bearing/mid-shaft bearing is on this 1996 R129. We use a lot of science to drop a bearing perfectly on the driveshaft using nothing but ingenuity and gravity. We encounter our first ever "triple square" bolt on the frame cross bracing and uncover a missing transmission shifter bushing on Heidi. I hope you all enjoy watching this video as much as I enjoyed making it.
Parts used:
Flex Disc Meyle 2304100115
Automatic Transmission Shift Linkage Bushing Mercedes 202920010
Drive Shaft Center Support Bearing Rein 0089814325
Drive Shaft Center Support Febi Bilstein 1404100781
Mercedes Drive Shaft Coupling Boot Rein 2024110497

[@tomcorno7148]

Thank you just inherited a 97SL500 that my dad owned since 2000. He did this and that’s along the way but I just did gaskets plugs and coil packs. Radiator hoses and belt were also done so I can drive it confidently. Car has 119k and I know the rear disk was done but down the road this will be great info. Love following your progress as it will be me soon.

[@w140restorations]

Thanks for watching the channel and posting your comment. So glad that the videos are helpful and happy motoring in your R129. There’s a lot to do remaining on Project Heidi so stay tuned for the next videos. Hopefully they come in handy when you’re working on your R129. Cheers and thanks again for watching!

[@tking686]

Thanks for this video, love the derailed explanation I also have a 2001 R129 just love these cars

[@w140restorations]

Thanks for watching and for the kind words. Love the R129, all years, and colors. Glad you found the channel and thanks again for watching. Cheers to many more miles or kilometers on the odometer.

[@PerBerglund68]

Really great video and helped out alot! Thanks man!

[@w140restorations]

Thanks so much for the kind words. Appreciate you watching the channel and leaving the comment. So glad the video helped. Thanks again and cheers.

[@Cameron_Bell]

Is the roll bar still functioning? It's in raised position at the moment, shouldn't it be lowered?

[@w140restorations]

Thanks for watching and for leaving your comment. It 100% should be down and unfortunately the red lights are lit up on the center console. Mechanical and road worthy repairs before the top. Thanks again for watching the channel. Cheers!

[@rioraton]

Nice Job! How much do you think that would cost if a shop did that job?

[@w140restorations]

Thanks for watching the channel and for posting your comment. Parts and Labor manual for R129 says nine hours for flex disk repair. Granted the manuals I have are old, but current rates may differ slightly. Local Dealer rates are approximately $200 per hour around the Tampa Bay Area. That’ll set you back almost two grand just based on book rates alone without parts. Your local Indy should have better rates and not keystone the part costs if you’re lucky. Although pricey the repair should last other 100k miles if you don’t drive like I do. Thanks again for watching and posting your comment.

[@w140restorations]

Didn’t set well with me for nine hours. Looked again. Center support bearing is 3.7 hours and flex disks are 3.3 hours per. 10.3 labor hours for the entire thing or 6.6 for both disks but why not do the bearing while you’re in there.

[@rioraton]

@@w140restorations so 10 or 11 hrs @125/per plus parts wish I could do these things myself good job!