All the needle bearings are gone completely. A few more miles, and this would have separated. At speed, it would have shredded the transmission, exhaust, and floor boards!

This is the axel from the transmission back up to the front diff that makes awd 4matic happen in a w212 mercedes. #car #carfur

Popped my lift cherry with the W212's famous front diff prop shaft. They did not make this easy. There are mm of clearance to work with.

What a luxury to do this in a 65 degree space with a lift. Living the dream! #car #carfur

This is what a spun bearing looks like on the oil analysis. Of note is the high silicon which confirms the suspicion that dirt and sand got in to the motor and scored the bores.

Fuel dilution is low so I don't think fuel was washing down the cylinders enough to cause damage.

There's only two track days on this oil and it shows lots of degradation already. Makes me think changing oil for each event is necessary long term. #car #carfurry #carfur