peakbagger
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I have mentioned this before but found an official Mercedes reference from a 1300 owners manual. "Once a year spray 1 CC of anti corrosion oil into the pipe connection on axle drive housing of front and rear axles". Along with the quote there is photo showing the drain plug on the axle used to drain condensate from the diff lock cylinder. On my SEE the drain plug was painted over with factory paint that obviously had never been broken so I expect this lack of lubrication is common. I have not found any reference to this in the SEE manuals but its common knowledge on the 406 series that the SEE shares axles with.
From prior research, condensate will build up in the diff lock bore and eventually cause the piston to seize. The parts are cheap to replace the seals but it requires 12 to 16 hours to disassemble and reassemble most of the axle if you have the tools. As most of the SEEs sat for many years, odds are the diff locks need this lubrication. Others have reported that if the diff lock is stuck, the this may get it moving again. Most folks mentioned Marvel Mystery oil and that's what I used. I could not get my air fitting off so I removed the drain plug and squirted it up into the bore. I think one of my locks was stuck and this seems to have gotten it to work.
From prior research, condensate will build up in the diff lock bore and eventually cause the piston to seize. The parts are cheap to replace the seals but it requires 12 to 16 hours to disassemble and reassemble most of the axle if you have the tools. As most of the SEEs sat for many years, odds are the diff locks need this lubrication. Others have reported that if the diff lock is stuck, the this may get it moving again. Most folks mentioned Marvel Mystery oil and that's what I used. I could not get my air fitting off so I removed the drain plug and squirted it up into the bore. I think one of my locks was stuck and this seems to have gotten it to work.
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