2013 Benz rear axle crooked

P

Pilgrim Soldier

Member
I have a 2013 Benz sprinter, last week the alternator went and left me about 10 miles, (and 10 minutes), from home. So I called AAA to have it towed. 6 hours later it arrived at 11:00 pm at night. It was dark, but I did notice that every time they moved the flatbed, my van would roll forward or backward. A lot. The next morning I got a new alternator and got to work replacing it. When I was done, I got it started and took it down the road. There were 2 lights that I couldn't figure out on the dashboard and the check engine light. Long story short, I discovered that my passenger side rear wheel was rubbing on the mud flap and my axle was way crooked. So I got at that. I discovered 2 things, A) my U-bolts were loose, on both sides!!??? And B) there is NO pin to locate the axle on the leaf spring.

(the dashboard lights were on because the axle was crooked, once straightened, they went out).

Is it normal for the sprinter vans to not have the locating pin?

Thanks.
 

Attachments

L

lindenengineering

Well-known member
I see this a lot--sorry its bad maintenance.
When was the last time you checked the rear axle U bolts & fixing torque.

You will need two new rear road springs that DO have a location tit in each one.
Add 4 new U bolts and 8 new nuts.
Then inspect the axle spring bed perch and the tit locating holes!!!
Most likely the sheered tits will be stuck in the holes .
If not the holes will be wallowed out and the tits have flown south & gone forever ! (for winter presumably ) We at Linden weld & repair the hole bringing it back to standard as a cheaper recovery repair than replacing the axle case which is favored by the dealers. Don't forget a 4 wheel alignment check to avoid a CEL and stability light on.

All the best
Dennis
 
R

Rowlrag

New member
lindenengineering said:
I see this a lot--sorry its bad maintenance.
When was the last time you checked the rear axle U bolts & fixing torque.

You will need two new rear road springs that DO have a location tit in each one.
Add 4 new U bolts and 8 new nuts.
Then inspect the axle spring bed perch and the tit locating holes!!!
Most likely the sheered tits will be stuck in the holes .
If not the holes will be wallowed out and the tits have flown south & gone forever ! (for winter presumably ) We at Linden weld & repair the hole bringing it back to standard as a cheaper recovery repair than replacing the axle case which is favored by the dealers. Don't forget a 4 wheel alignment check to avoid a CEL and stability light on.

All the best
Dennis
Click to expand...
Why not buy new centering pins instead of complete leafs?
 
R

Rowlrag

New member
Can they be aftermarket? Way cheaper for the customer than new leafs? Definatetly new u-bolts and nuts.
 
P

Pilgrim Soldier

Member
lindenengineering said:
I see this a lot--sorry its bad maintenance.
When was the last time you checked the rear axle U bolts & fixing torque.

You will need two new rear road springs that DO have a location tit in each one.
Add 4 new U bolts and 8 new nuts.
Then inspect the axle spring bed perch and the tit locating holes!!!
Most likely the sheered tits will be stuck in the holes .
If not the holes will be wallowed out and the tits have flown south & gone forever ! (for winter presumably ) We at Linden weld & repair the hole bringing it back to standard as a cheaper recovery repair than replacing the axle case which is favored by the dealers. Don't forget a 4 wheel alignment check to avoid a CEL and stability light on.

All the best
Dennis
Click to expand...
I have had probably a dozen work trucks over the years, I've NEVER checked the U-bolts on my axles. As far as the tits go, I put my finger in the holes to find any indication of a hole or a pin, NOTHING. The springs are perfectly smooth. On both sides, (passenger and driver side), and the bolts were loose, on both sides, (passenger and driver), fortunately, during all of my hour plus trips up and back on the expressway, often at 80 mph, nothing shifted. The whole thing is weird. Why on earth would they be/have gotten loose? Seems like a factory issue. I did get the van used, so the truth is that I don't know the complete history, I do know it was a Fed Ex van and the previous owner took it to Mercedes for everything so if there was a broken leaf at one time I would have to believe that it was repaired BY Mercedes.

Edit: when I moved the tire forward there were rust marks, maybe wear marks, on the leaf. I re-aligned with that mark and secured it with the original bolts. I tightened all the original bolts. Nothing new.
 
Last edited:
Sprinter SS

Sprinter SS

Well-known member
The spring retorque is a requirement at the first A service 10k/20k depending on year model. Not sure when you do it again but I guess it's worth checking!
 
L

lindenengineering

Well-known member
Pilgrim Soldier said:
I have had probably a dozen work trucks over the years, I've NEVER checked the U-bolts on my axles. As far as the tits go, I put my finger in the holes to find any indication of a hole or a pin, NOTHING. The springs are perfectly smooth. On both sides, (passenger and driver side), and the bolts were loose, on both sides, (passenger and driver), fortunately, during all of my hour plus trips up and back on the expressway, often at 80 mph, nothing shifted. The whole thing is weird. Why on earth would they be/have gotten loose? Seems like a factory issue. I did get the van used, so the truth is that I don't know the complete history, I do know it was a Fed Ex van and the previous owner took it to Mercedes for everything so if there was a broken leaf at one time I would have to believe that it was repaired BY Mercedes.

Edit: when I moved the tire forward there were rust marks, maybe wear marks, on the leaf. I re-aligned with that mark and secured it with the original bolts. I tightened all the original bolts. Nothing new.
Click to expand...
Yes the tit sheers off smooth but if you were to drop the axle giving enough space you will see visually the outline where the "tit come rivet" is hot swaged into the leaf during manufacture.

Service on a Sprinter demands you check the suspension & that does not mean a swift squint and call it good, but rather @ a D service (80,000 mile) you physicality release the nuts and re-torque to 145 ft lbs ensuring that the U bolts go loose in the axle eyes and not seized with corrosion spraying them with a rust/lube preventative!

I am sorry but don't need to point the finger at MB !
From your narrative the axle has been doing the the samba under the springs for some time and simply got to a point where the tits sheered. I have one in the shop for attention this week just the same !
Its a common observation & we catch this often at a service interval and the issue is dealt with by a re-torque but left it "as is" it will destroy itself as you have experienced.

Dennis
 
L

lindenengineering

Well-known member
Pilgrim Soldier said:
Can I drill a hole in the spring and put a bolt in using rounded off head as the pin?
Click to expand...
Well you would have a hard time puncturing a hole through it its most likely EN45 composition.
Besides the hole would be a stress raiser and the spring leaf being a singular blade would most likely crack and separate the leaf into two pieces in service.
The outcome could be suspension collapse in the worst case ultimo.
Dennis,
 
L

lindenengineering

Well-known member
No I would say that the rear axle was insecure from the onset and upon towing it with the tie down arrestor chains wrapped over the axle was enough to pull the axle out of alignment because the tits were sheered off.
Boiled down its a problem I see frequently, where vehicles, not just Sprinter are driven with major components insecure due to maintenance neglect or improper repairs.
Dennis
 
E

EBH

Member
My thoughts from aviation experience.
In most cases the nut does not come loose but the bolt itself stretches, in which case it should be replaced.
 
P

Pilgrim Soldier

Member
lindenengineering said:
Well you would have a hard time puncturing a hole through it its most likely EN45 composition.
Besides the hole would be a stress raiser and the spring leaf being a singular blade would most likely crack and separate the leaf into two pieces in service.
The outcome could be suspension collapse in the worst case ultimo.
Dennis,
Click to expand...
Linden, ok, advice taken. I wondered if it would make a weak spot or if the U-bolts on both sides would hold it stiff enough that it wouldn't flex or weaken.
 
P

Pilgrim Soldier

Member
EBH said:
My thoughts from aviation experience.
In most cases the nut does not come loose but the bolt itself stretches, in which case it should be replaced.
Click to expand...
So here is where my little mind gets confused, if a vehicle is supposed to have the bolts tightened @ 20k, 40k, 60k and 80k, doesn't that mean that the bolts stretched back then? So now they supposedly have stretched again, so why is it bad for me to just re-tighten?
 
sailquik

sailquik

Well-known member
Pilgrim Soldier,
The U bolts are re-torqued at the first "A" service.
That used to be 10k miles, then it was extended to 15k miles, now it's 20k miles.
As Dennis suggests, it's something that needs to be checked when your Sprinter is serviced.
The first "re-torque" is just applying a torque wrench and tightening all the U bolt nuts to the correct torque.
Dennis is suggesting that after the initial re-torque the nuts be backed off to zero torque and then progressively

re-torqued back up to the specification, a bit on one nut then the other nut then back to the first so the U bolts pulls
up on the axle symetrically.
Roger
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Top Bottom