UPDATE: not my secondary air pump..I wish it was though.. what now?
 

last week i posted a question about secondary air pump failure because that's what I thought was wrong with my car. I even swapped out a new one and still getting the whining noise when I go over 25mph. I took it into local MB dealer earlier today for them to take a look. this is from their write up

"customer states there is a whining noise that gets louder the higher the RPMs are. noticeable over 25 mph, thought it was secondary air pump and changed it himself but noise is still present.
109901 Bad trans road tested and heard the noise it is a bearing noise so put on rack and had a tech put into drive so we could find where the noise is coming from. it is not wheel bearing noise. the noise is coming from the rear pinion of the transmission. it is very loud and has a vibration also the parts are not serviceable. would have to replace complete transmission"

they quoted me $8,686.50!! i think that's about how much the car is worth now ahahah.

i love the car but i think i will just have to sell it now before the tranny completely craps out and let the next guy deal with it.

2010 4matic with 110K miles on it. so bummed.

Hit up an independent and get another opinion. They'll at least give you other options, like a used transmission.

Damn sorry to hear

A used transmission maybe?

My friend just had an issues with his tranny in 2011 bmw 528 , bought a used one .... long story short 8t all came up to 3k.

....just checked there are some on ebay (also i would check other places , and specifically car-part.com) from 800-1400. Plus labor another grand roughly depending on a shop. Some coding may be required also so another couple hundred bucks. So u probably be looking around 3k as well.
I know it is still a lot , but better than 8k dealer quoted you.

yup...already called up my indy shop mechanic to see what we can do. he's gonna check around for a used transmission.

i'm assuming i can swap out up to 2016 model?

722.960 type, part number: 2122701409

Doesn't that unit have a removable tail housing? If so, there's an outside chance there may be an issue with the spline coupler at the output shaft. But regardless, the dealer would usually replace vs repair. Have you looked around to see if there's a good rebuilder in your area with knowledge of these transmissions?

Well, that is not good news and sorry to hear. Thanks for coming back with your diagnosis as it will help others in the same situation. Lots of good help here and hopefully you will keep the car and make a more reasonable repair. Who knows, it may go for another 100k miles with no other big ticket repair for you.

i'm not sure about the removable tail housing. still waiting for my mechanic to call back.

I think it was in one of Tasos' videos where I saw him mention that it's typical for that vintage of 4matics to have center diff bearing issues, which has nothing to do with the transmission as they are 2 separate sealed units.

This is why its very important to find a local Mercedes wizard to do actual diagnostic on the car instead of just going out to get "needs new tranny" service write up. I used to think that the dealer was the know-all end-all mercedes Bible, but it seems like there is a technician lottery just as much at the dealer as any other mechanic shop.

I hope they didn't charge you more than $50 for that vague-azz diagnostic.

Thank you for the heads up! There wasn't a charge for them to look at my car.

Agree with this post 100%. The issue most likely is with the center differential pinion gear bearing. Transmission itself does not have a pinion if MB dealer you visited knows what a pinion is. It is the smaller gear that connects with the ring gear of the differential.

They also say it is non-serviceable part. This is total crap! Everything from the engine to the wheels is serviceable in the power transmission system but MB itself does not do that. They just change "modules" like the whole transmission for an issue like this.

Yes, it take work to get to the failed bearing that probably cost less than $100. Bearings are very cheap and as the bearing failed you could probably even replace it with a stronger one that fits in the same space.

But, in the other hand, if MB puts on a whole new transmission for less than $9000 it really is not that bad. My car book value is less than $10000. It has 161000 miles on it and no way in hell I would sell it. It has all options other than night view and I absolutely love the car. If my transmission went out I would not hesitate one second getting it replaced as the other option is WAY more expensive and for E-class I would not get one anyway. They are ugly!

Why spend way more money for another car that is no way better than what I have.

The car is old and no book value but I don't drive the book. I drive a very nice car with lots of smiles still coming.

This happened to me, same car roughly same mileage, it was a bearing in the transfer case. My Mercedes indie rebuilt it for $2300 plus transmission flush 500 plus a transmission mount all total with tax $3200

My 99 Audi made 220K and I tracked it without this BS. Splitting seats, fading wood, motor mounts that go, transmission that doesn't shift right. Its never really all that smooth (brand new Michelins) the car is really starting to suck.

Just curious, did your Indie itemize the repair bill for the bearing job. Wonder what the cost of that bearing was...?

Arrie,

Just for you I ran out to my car in the rain and pulled the receipt, There is a $35.20 charge for a transfer case bearing and another $130.90 charge for a Timken bearing plus $20.35 for a radial shaft ring plus $100 of stuff including parts for the license plate lights.

I've seen the parts on line for not too much money.

The point to the OP is you don't have to replace the transmission.

...

Thank you.

You are welcome. So if I had to do it all over again I would not have gone to my Mercedes independent I would have gone to a good, reputable transmission shop. I actually tried but they were so pissed off at Mercedes because of the need to have a DAS system to preprogam a transmission that they were nearly impossible to talk to. The guy did say if I could get the parts he would fix it but I felt too much pressure to get the car back on the rode at the time to make that happen. This repair does not require any reprograming.

I guess what I am saying is that I think that you can get it repaired even cheaper than I did. My son who is a pretty good wrench and even had his own shop for a short period of time thought I was overcharged for the repair.

I am new to this site, but can you share who your Indy mechanic is, since I am new to Noblesville. Thanks, Mark

Who are you directing this post to? Would think that you would want one in Indianapolis.

Indianapolis mechanic needed
 

Yes the name an independent Indianapolis Mercedes knowledgeable mechanic is what I am seeking. I thought there was a reference in this thread. Maybe I posted in the wrong place.