Shack1

Bet you I win. I just had the repair done at the dealer for $6400, luckily 15% of it was covered by MBUSA so $5400 out of pocket, after me personally contacting them and stating the case for help covering the costs on my 2006 E350 with 44700 miles and had the codes at 44600 miles.

They gave me the parts and the teeth were in bad shape I bought the car with 22k in showroom condition.

kjb55

I think you are the winner. I was afraid of this very scenario. Bought my 2006 E350 with 670 miles on it 2.5 years ago. Has 26,725 miles on it now. Had a 2 month window of time that I had an extra car - so I took on the job. I simply didn't want to worry about it and I didn't want the metal bits circulating. Plus - by the time I'm ready to sell, it will have 90-100k miles and most likely a family member will want the car. no way I could pass it on in good faith. Bought the kit for $370 and the dealer thought I was completely bonkers. Lucky I had the time - it's a helluva job. Lucky mine is RWD - not sure I'd take on a 4Matic. Granted - the gear looked perfect, timing marks spot on, etc, etc. But it seems once it starts to wear - its a rapid wear. Thanks for sharing.

Strigoi

You're obviously proud of your waste of money. Good job!

cetialpha5

I'd say that you're not completely bonkers, just partially. Did you change the lever on the intake manifold while you had it all apart?

OnlyGerman

Could of bought another 2006 E350 for 5K.

cetialpha5

Why would you want another one when they all have bad balance shafts? You'd have to go to a later 2007 which didn't have the the problem. Still he didn't spend 5k on the repair, sounds like it was a DIY and people never seem to value their time as high as the dealer or an indy mechanic.

kjb55

I changed the lever with the aftermarket kit from eEuro (billet aluminum). Plus plugs, filters and motor mounts "while you're in there" type of stuff. The OP has a showroom condition car, that now fixed, will go a long way. I'd say money well spent. This whole debacle is a black eye for MB for sure. Whether they did it, or it was a tiered supplier - this should have been an official recall. The last attorney or firm that did the class action settlement was a complete joke also. Accomplished nothing for the owners, just lined their pockets. It's still a relevant issue almost 12 year later.

Shack1

With less than 50k in mint condition BS

Shack1

I agree, it's in near mint condition, so it was fix it and have a $60k car that will do 75k more miles easily or don't and get $800 to scrap it.

I'm not proud of having bought the worst merc in history, but very much upset at the company for not standing behind their products, It will be my last MB.