Grease is the word - W219 Front Wheel Bearings

[James Hay]

Had the daily MOT'd today! The only advisory was slight play in the NSF wheel bearing so I've bought a couple of complete Febi Bilstein hubs as I like to do things in pairs and don't have the equipment to press out and replace the bearings at home.

Has anyone got any recommendations for grease? The proper Mercedes stuff is on eBay but isn't available for a couple of weeks. Wondering if anyone has tried and tested alternative products?

Also has anyone got any tips for changing the hubs? I'm a little nervous about setting the preload but a few YouTube videos tell me it's literally a 'nip up' and it's good to go.

On a side note, 35,000 miles later and I still bloody love this car. Currently I have zero desire to change it, a wonderful bit of design.

[Paddymcc]

Are the bearings in the CLS not a tapered fit design so no need to press?

I had a bearing collapse on my CLS and subsequently seize to the hub while returning from holidays a few years back. There was no warning or noise until a large clunk and grinding. Ended up requiring a whole new stub axle assembly to repair things.

The bearings on the CLS seem pretty consumable due to the offset of the wheels.

[Stegel]

I’m not certain the MB grease is made by Fuchs, although they supposedly make quite a few original fill lubricants etc., but it’s the same lurid green colour and conforms to the required 265.1 specification:

https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-120914-fuchs-renolit-...

[James Hay]

Paddymcc said:

Are the bearings in the CLS not a tapered fit design so no need to press?

I had a bearing collapse on my CLS and subsequently seize to the hub while returning from holidays a few years back. There was no warning or noise until a large clunk and grinding. Ended up requiring a whole new stub axle assembly to repair things.

The bearings on the CLS seem pretty consumable due to the offset of the wheels.

Yes they're tapered but I believe there are still a couple of sleeves that needs changing in the hub.

They do take a lot of punishment. I'm pretty sure mine are still the originals so with over 130,000 miles in a car that heavy I don't think is too bad!

[James Hay]

Stegel said:

I’m not certain the MB grease is made by Fuchs, although they supposedly make quite a few original fill lubricants etc., but it’s the same lurid green colour and conforms to the required 265.1 specification:

https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-120914-fuchs-renolit-...

After a couple of checks I believe you're correct it seems to be the right stuff in terms of specification. Even better is that I can have some in a few days and I also have a promotional code for Opie.

Thanks very much!

Is there somewhere that I am able to access that kind of technical information? If I'd known the specification a quick search would have given me what I was looking for.

[Stegel]

James Hay said:

After a couple of checks I believe you're correct it seems to be the right stuff in terms of specification. Even better is that I can have some in a few days and I also have a promotional code for Opie.

Thanks very much!

Is there somewhere that I am able to access that kind of technical information? If I'd known the specification a quick search would have given me what I was looking for.

There you go - there are overview pages for each category (engine oil, ATF etc.) and then individual pages for each spec.

https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/index.php?language_...

[James Hay]

Stegel said:

There you go - there are overview pages for each category (engine oil, ATF etc.) and then individual pages for each spec.

https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/index.php?language_...

Excellent thanks.

However, how to I tell what is relevant to a particular car?

[Stegel]

James Hay said:

Excellent thanks.

However, how to I tell what is relevant to a particular car?

You need to navigate via a range of “features”, such as engine and gearbox reference numbers, for example for engine oils:

https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/d/d/en/Spec_223_2.p...

There’s normally an overview page which deals with general requirements for a particular fluid or grease group, and then individual pages for each spec item.

[James Hay]

I went with the Fuchs stuff in the end. Thank you for the advise.

Both front wheel hubs and bearings replaced today, although I still have a slight rumble above 70mph. this has appeared recently only in the last couple of months. I assume maybe the wheels need balancing or one/both may be out of shape. Failing that I'll investigate the rear axle and then driveline, I know the prop bearings and 'flexi doughnut' can fail.