Hi Everyone!

My first Mercedes and not a great experience ... I just purchased a 2013 GLK 250 with 100k miles. Against my better judgement i didn't purchase warranty and after 1 week of driving my front driveshaft broke ... Dealer wanted to charge me $3k just to change the front driveshaft. No way does it cost 3k to change a driveshaft i thought and went to eBay to purchase a driveshaft to install on my own. I'm stuck and need help! I can't get enough clearance to squeeze the driveshaft over the differential to slide in to the front then pull it back so splines of the shaft is connected. The huge cat takes up a lot of space and i can't seem to maneuver around it. I removed the transmission crossmember to drop the transmission as low as i could without removing it so i can try and slide in the driveshaft but no luck. This shouldn't be that hard to replace what am i doing wrong? Any help welcome! Thanks!

 

Unfortunately I can't give you advice but sometimes the simplest job on a Mercedes can be a intricate process. Perhaps you could search for a workshop manual or possibly a YouTube video. Best of luck to you.

 

did you replace this shaft? where did you source the replacement? thanks

 

Hi,
I purchased it from Ebay. I think it was this one...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/19289686215...AAAOSwO8tcv27H
Works great, a bit bulkier than the OEM. I tried to install myself but failed so I took it to a local shop to get it installed. Let me know if you were able to install it yourself and how'd you do it? Thanks!

 

If your in Chicago I can get you to a guy that can help, my total cost was near 500$ , yes a stupid hard job

 

Unfortunately, you WILL have to remove DPF and heatshield in order to get the clearance. Majority of drivetrain components R&R requires either complete or partial exhaust removal on GLK250. Very tight packaging, especially on a diesel. I've pulled removal steps from WIS, hope these will help. Unless you got it resolved already

 

thanks dzl benz. I have had my dpf in and out before for servicing. I didn't find it too difficult on my hoist. it seems like a few people have used the glk350 shaft in there glk250 and say it works but I'm not sure. I was told they are different lengths which I confirmed. it appears as though the 250 shaft is 0.25" longer than the 350 shaft. so I would think the 350 will go in the 250 but not vise versa. I am very hesitant to do so but am considering it since the 250 shaft doesn't see available in Canada unless its oem. at $1400 for the part. ouch. the glk350 shaft seems to be available here aftermarket. can anyone confidently confirm if the 350 shaft is usable in the 250. again the 250 shaft is 0.25" longer so I would not put it in the 350 which is not my concern since I have a 250. if anyone wants to confirm this I got my information from dorman shaft lengths.

 

I got mine at FCP euro for about 250$ contact them they offer lifetime warranty

 

I only see the glk350 shaft. not the 250. this seems to be common. can you confirm you got the glk250 shaft 2044106901 or just used the glk 350 shaft 2044106701

 

Contact fcp euro , they will help you the best.

 

fcp doesn't have it. I called. Im going to assume you have a glk350. I'm still curious if anyone can confirm that the shorter 350 shaft will work in the 250

 

If it's only 1/4" difference (6.35mm) I doubt it's going articulate THAT much to pop out from the front diff. Yes, there will be some flex due to the torque but THAT much?

The transfer case is bolted to the back of the transmission which is mated to the engine. The front differential is bolted to the oil pan with a driver-side CV axel going through the oil pan. So the entire drivetrain unit is rigid and the only play would be at CV shafts connected to the suspension. That's just how I think but I can't confirm from the experience if the two are interchangeable 100%

Here is a good diagram that might give you an idea about tolerances (looks like it's from MBWorld as well) :

 

Just finished the drive shaft replacement on the GLK 250. First you have to clear everything around the drive shaft. Start with the DPF, remove/disconnect all sensors, including the one to the transmission. The hardest part here is removing the clamp between the catalytic converter and the DPF. I did it from under the car. Extend the ratchet with a pipe to get to the clamp. Remember/record the position of the clamp. Will explain later how to install it back. Go from the top and remove the intake filter housing and put it on top of the engine. Disconnect whatever is on the way . Remove the 3 bolts that hold the rear bracket on the filter housing and loosen the 8mm bolt at the back that holds the 3 little tubes and remove the tubes from the bracket. remove the nut that holds the Catalytic converter to the exhaust manifold . Remove the clamp to the turbo. At this point it is loose and lift it up as high as possible to give more clearance for the drive shaft. Then go under the car again and remove the heat shield around the drive shaft. The rear top bolt is the hardest ( use fingers to locate) . Now you have clearance to remove the 4 bolts that holds the drive shaft. Mark the position of the drive shaft -letters D and A . Remove the rear crossmember that holds the transmission mount and lower the transmission as much as it goes. Secure with something. Push the drive shaft up and forward- should come out of the transfer case. Wiggle it and take it out. If you are using after market drive shaft get a small file ( semicircle) and file each groove at the splines side. ( 3-4 strokes on each side is enough, just to remove the imperfections. Otherwise you can not insert it) . Use some grease to make it easier. At the transfer case use a prybar to move the transmission away from the drive shaft and use 2x4 to secure the clearance. Insert the new drive shaft toward the engine and up. Install the rubber boot on the transfer case side. Then insert the splines side and the rubber boot should come in place . Then will be easy to install the bolted side. Some manuals recommend removing the collar with the 5 bolts, if you need to. Personally i had it removed. Now the drive shaft is in place and it is time for the small heat shield. Will be easier to install then to remove. Next position the catalysator loose and install the clamp on the down pipe on catalysator side and secure it with one rubber band just on the edge of the pipe( wrap were the bolt goes in to hold it in place). Go under the car and install the DPF. Go back on top and position the catalysator to sit properly on top of the DPF to align the pipes. Then push carefully the clamp down and should click around the two pipes. the rubber band should keep it tight enough .until you install the bolt . The bolt was easier from under the car. Tighten the clamp and move to the clamp after the dpf to the muffler and tighten it. Tighten everything under the car and install/ reconnect all sensors. Tighten the transmission mount as well. Go on top and tighten the clamp that holds the 3 small tubes behind the catalysator and reinstall the aluminum bracket. Install the last clamp on the catalysator to the turbo and reconnect all sensors. Reinstall the filter housing and you should be good to go.

 

really appreciate your write up on this seemingly difficult job. I’m currently doing this job and can’t seem to get the drive shaft to slide into the spline. I’m unable to find the correct angle to get the driveshaft past the front differential. Is there a trick to getting it to mount up properly?

 

there is a king spline, match it up. I used a hammer and a long bar to tap it on. the hammer seemed to really help. pushing didn't work, tapping it on did. use the long bar to catch an edge or lip of the shaft near where it slide on. then tap it on

 

get a small file or fine sandpaper and run every groove a couple of times , just a touch not too much and will slide in

 

Gents, paging experts such as @habbyguy and @gramada who have done this front driveshaft re/re before. Anyone else that's done it before, please chime in as well. I'm in the middle of this job and need some pointers.

Firstly, I've removed the cat and DPF so I have plenty of space directly above the front axle. I've lowered the transmission at least an inch and it's currently supported by jackstands. Before unbolting the 4 bolts that hold the U-joint to the front axle output, I just did some general wiggling around to see if and where I have play. As it turns out, the U-joint itself seems sturdy and nothing loose, no rust or metal debris to indicate anything amiss.

However, towards the transfer case, as I wiggle the driveshaft I can see a little bit of play where it comes out of the transfer case. It's not knocking loose or anything, but there is definitely play there.

I now have 2 questions:
(1) should there be play at the transfer case end? If so, how much is allowed?
(2) I've tried removing the driveshaft and I just can't seem to get enough forward clearance to pull it off the splines completely; what am I doing wrong?

I've removed top bolt on the axle output flange that was in the way of the driveshaft, as well as the little 8mm bolt on the side of the transmission, should I somehow wiggle the transmission backwards some while pulling the driveshaft forward?

Supposing I'm able to remove the shaft and slide the new one on; what is the collective wisdom as to the 1-2mm side to side wiggle at the transfer case end? Should it be there? Do I need to pull a habbyguy and rebuild the transfer case??

Pennies for your thoughts and thanks in advance.

 

Hi, Andreigbs...

Ouch. Sorry to hear that. There IS some play in the driveshaft at the transfer case end. Here's a (bad) video showing the play at the transfer case end of the propshaft. You can see quite a bit of movement, and that was definitely a bad U-joint.


And FWIW, I checked my output shaft after I noticed the leak (between the first and second "rebuilds") and felt SOME play. Long story short, Maktrans (the manufacturer of the output shaft) was "less than helpful" and never bothered commenting on whether it was excessive or not. Turns out it wasn't. Again, not a great video, but hopefully you can kind of compare the two videos with your situation and see if it is closer to one than the other...


I put in quite a bit of info on getting that extra couple mm on my second transfer case rebuild video - just scan toward the end. I took out one of the bolts in the way on the diff housing, and actually ground a little relief from the flange to get the extra little bit of play. I've thought over the process since then, and think it might make sense to actually unbolt the two motor mount bolts (if you can get to them without total disassembly - not familiar with the diesel variant at all) so you can literally give the whole rear of the drivetrain a little bit of a twist away from the front diff. If it's a RWD vehicle, that's easy peasy (well, on a gasser).

Hopefully all that makes sense. I do hope you don't have to rebuild that transfer case, but you'll be starting out from way, way further ahead than I did! ;-)