My 700 has had a howl or whine since I purchased it this January. I put it on jacks last week and listened to various parts of drive train with a stephoscope, and it is pretty clear that the noise is from the rear axle. I am guessing that since it has held together this long that it is not wheel bearings but worn diff gears. The axle seals also leak slowly.

I am planning on getting an axle from a yard and swaping it in. Are all of the 200 and 700 solid rear axles the same except for gear ratio? That is what I gathered from the FAQ and a few posts I found, but would like some one to confirm this before I buy an axle. Also would I be able to fit one into the trunk of my car using the port into the cabin?

thank you

Part of what makes the 200s so "cute" or charming or whatever is that they are... you have seen it already... NARROWER than 700s.

AND, regarding the rear axle, different bushings (what?! I don't get to replace trailing arm bushings on my 700? I was SO looking forward to it!) and such.

So: 200 <> 700
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Gregg; Mpls, MN; 1987 745, 1967 Amazon 4-dr.

NO they are not all the same, unfortunately. They will however, bolt in and work.
The important thing to figure out is whether the new axle comes from a car equipped with ABS or not. The 760T and 740T cars will likely have ABS, and the base models will not. However most cars after 1991 DO have ABS, turbo or not.

So that's the key. Otherwise, the "tone ring" for the speedometer is different and it'll read way off. At least, that was my experience last year, fitting a late model axle to a 1988 745.

Ideally there will be a tag on one of the axle housings indicating a model number (DANA 1030, 1031) but I wouldn't bet on it being there. Better to just match up models and find the right axle.

HOnestly, although it's not TOO hard to put in a whole axle, you might want to just install bearings and seals. That's really quite easy on these cars and I would have done it myself if I had it to do over again.

The axle does come off the control arms quite easily. 4 nuts- 17mm? Think so, and then the hoop or clamp that actually holds it on is released. Note that early and late parking brake cables are completely different and incompatible. Also, I had a LOT of trouble with the bolt for the bottom torque arm on the one I installed. I won't go into it but if it doesn't come right out on either car, prepare for a fight. Try to get both torque arms with the new axle, just remove the bolts up forward. That will give you a second option in case one is really tough to remove.

Good luck!!
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '87 244DL/M47- 230K, 88 744GLE- 220K, 82 245T-181K Also responsible for the care and feeding of: 88 745GLE, 231K, 87 244DL, 239K, 94 855GLT 189K