When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Differential Rebuild - Question About Keeping Vehicle
Dear Experts on this great forum,
I have a 2013 G 550 in beautiful cosmetic condition. Vehicle has 57k miles on it. Seemingly out of the blue the vehicle started making a horrendous mechanical noise and seized. Towed it to MB dealership. I was told the entire front differential needs to be manually rebuilt and bearings changed and they only have one guy capable of doing it. Estimated parts and labor ~$7,000 (initially $5,800 and then they contacted me again saying more damage found). I told them to proceed as I am not a mechanic and felt I had no choice.
My question is, given this has occurred and the vehicle has a locking differential system, in your opinion is it worth keeping the vehicle or swapping for something new with warranty? Would you expect a manual differential rebuild to last or other major issues down the line? I was hoping to get the vehicle to at least 100k miles. It has not had any engine issues yet. I appreciate any advice.
Its ironic that the same people who can repair our vehicles are the last people we would ask for advice.
Unsure on how you use your G, did they say why it failed at such low mileage? I have a 2015 with almost 100K miles. And so far its had power steering pump rebuild, cooling system refresh, engine and trans mounts, catalytic replaced, cylinder hear replaced, gear selector module replaced in addition to the usual Service A or B requirements. The G Im finding is not an easy car to keep and parts are usually more expensive than your typical MB SUV. The good thing is, it relatively has a higher resale than the less(er) models so it still makes sense to do upkeep
In the end, would you rather deal with scheduled/predictable new car payments or urgent/emergent service bills?
It is very unusual for a G differential to fail at that mileage. They are pretty bullet proof. I can think of two things that could cause sudden failure.
Low differential oil - this can happen if the pinion seal or the axles seals are leaking. Make sure the rebuilder replaces the axle seals in addition to the pinion seal.
Misadjustment and/or failure of the locking mechanism. The hydraulic cylinders that actuate the locking mechanism must be adjusted correctly or the locker teeth can contact each other and cause a metal chip to break off. Once that happens, it will get ground up in the ring/pinion gears and destroy the bearings. Make sure that the rebuilder has this adjusted correctly and evaluates the locking system for proper function.
Some special tools are required for a diff rebuild, so I hope the dealer has them (I have done a diff rebuild myself and was able to borrow the tools).
If it were me, I would do the rebuild and keep the 2013. The G-Wagen club is an expensive club to join and the dues can be steep. For me, 2013-2015 were the sweet spot for the G and therefore worth hanging on to.
I have a 2013 G 550 in beautiful cosmetic condition. Vehicle has 57k miles on it. Seemingly out of the blue the vehicle started making a horrendous mechanical noise and seized. Towed it to MB dealership. I was told the entire front differential needs to be manually rebuilt and bearings changed and they only have one guy capable of doing it. Estimated parts and labor ~$7,000 (initially $5,800 and then they contacted me again saying more damage found). I told them to proceed as I am not a mechanic and felt I had no choice.
My question is, given this has occurred and the vehicle has a locking differential system, in your opinion is it worth keeping the vehicle or swapping for something new with warranty? Would you expect a manual differential rebuild to last or other major issues down the line? I was hoping to get the vehicle to at least 100k miles. It has not had any engine issues yet. I appreciate any advice.
Where are you located? $7K to rebuild a front differential is insane. Even assuming the locker is $2K and the R&P is $1K, I can't see $4K in labor. You might want to look around unless they have already started.
z168: Wow that is a lot of upkeep for only 100k. Thank you for the input.
Floobydust: The dealership is charging me for those seals. They called today and said they drove my G for 2 hours (!!!) and it's working great... I am leaning on hanging on to it.
The Butcher: I am in LA.
hard top: I didn't touch the differential locks so I really doubt it.
I appreciate the input everyone.
Last edited by u_r_my_serenity; Jan 14, 2021 at 10:43 PM.
z168: Wow that is a lot of upkeep for only 100k. Thank you for the input.
Floobydust: The dealership is charging me for those seals. They called today and said they drove my G for 2 hours (!!!) and it's working great... I am leaning on hanging on to it.
The Butcher: I am in LA.
hard top: I didn't touch the differential locks so I really doubt it.
I appreciate the input everyone.
Having done it, I know how much labor is involved, so the cost at dealer labor rates did not surprise me.
Did the dealership do a postmortem on the old differential to determine a cause of failure? Was it metal chips? Also, when you drive the truck, listen carefully for differential whine under both acceleration and deceleration. Stetting the backlash and the pinion preload are very tricky on a G diiff.
As I said, being a 2013 with the mileage you have, I would want to keep the truck.
The price is steep, but with a dealership, do they offer any warranty on their work? Either time or miles driven? There's a pretty long thread over on the ClubWagen forums bout axel rebuilds and the complicated nature (more so since very few shops have the know-how and specialized tools)
Floobydust: Does this hint as to why there was a failure?
Verified grinding noise when driving determine that noise coming from front diff. Drained diff found that diff oil was burnt, determined that pinion bearings have been worn out and overheated, front diff needs all new bearings. Disassembled front axle to replace bearings with new, during disassembly found that both front inner axle boots have a come apart and right front knuckle bearing is worn out. Replaced CV boots and worn out bearings, replaced all seals on front axle, grease knuckles reassembled diff with all new bearings, filled with fluid test drove now OK vehicle no longer making grinding noise.
If not I can call the dealership and ask to speak to the mechanic directly. I've decided to keep my baby. The dealership appraised it and offered me $50,000 for it.
Shian: The dealership does offer a warranty on the service but it's not for long. I believe he said 90 days. I think they would work with me if it was the same issue. Besides the steep prices, they've come through for various things over time with this and other vehicles.
Wow, you must have a Monday axle! You have experienced two different failures with your front axle.
It is unusual at this mileage, but pinion bearings do fail which causes a misalignment of the ring and pinion gear set. This in turn causes heat build up and ultimately failure of the entire diff.
And both of your CV joint boots failed! This is a very common failure item on a G, so much so that I would almost consider it normal maintenance (I have done those too). But normally the boots fail around 80K - 100K miles, so failure at your mileage is unusual.
But now you have brand new bearings and CV boots! I doubt lighting would strike twice, so the bearings should last a long time. I would have the diff oil changed after about 1000 miles, and the change it every 10K ish miles, just to make sure all is well. If done outside the dealership, make sure the correct weight and grade oil is used (Mobile 1 synthetic, 90 weight, IIRC). And, now you have another 80K - 100K miles on the CV boots, so I would really lean toward keeping the truck.
I'm glad you got it fixed and are happy with the outcome. I'd suggest finding another mechanic if you ever have similar troubles. Essentially they replaced the bearings and seals. Time consuming, but not terribly expensive parts. If you were in Texas I bet my mechanic would have been able to do it for a fraction of the price. At the end of the day, and axle is an axle, seals and bearings are seals and bearings, and the general process is not terribly dissimilar from other manufacturers. My mechanic did a ring and pinion swap on my first G55 and charged normal labor rates for the job (about $1,100 for front and rear). Granted, with the inner and outer seals and bearings you have to pull the axle shafts, and do some more in depth stuff, but I think @z168 was probably right that an outside vendor did the job for $1,500 and then the dealership tacked on their ridiculous mark up.
Floobydust - I appreciate the advice again. I'll change the diff oil as you said.
The Butcher - I wish I knew how to identify the shop that did the work if the dealership did send it out. I'll look for a good G 550 shop now while things are well.
Floobydust - I appreciate the advice again. I'll change the diff oil as you said.
The Butcher - I wish I knew how to identify the shop that did the work if the dealership did send it out. I'll look for a good G 550 shop now while things are well.
If I could add a little post script . .
I re-read the dealer's statement and from that, I do not believe that the subcontracted the work out. And even if they did, it would been just the actual diff itself. There is still a huge amount of labor in the R&R of the front axle assembly, the steering knuckles, and the CV boots.
And (I missed this on the first read), you actually had three failure. One of the CV joints failed because of the boot failure (a common consequence of boot failure). MB does not replace just the CV joint - they replace the entire axle sub-assembly and depending on the side, that can be $1000 to $1400. Indeed, I know of one dealer that replaces the entire sub-assembly for a CV boot.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
