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GLK 250/350(2013, 2014, 2015) Front Driveshaft/Propeller Shaft Replacement Explainer
Hey friends. I recently replaced my front driveshaft myself. The process was fairly frustrating, so I thought I'd try to help save some despairing souls the headache I went through (or the $3,000+ that MB quote to do it themselves).
First, here's the part I used. Fit perfectly. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X33RLBH?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I have done transmissions, suspensions, an engine swap, etc., and this job was the biggest headache, so prep yourself for that. This walkthrough won't have pictures, but hopefully will help someone out.
My propeller shaft broke at thr u-bolt flange and it sounded like huge marbles being tossed under my car. My clutch seemed to be slipping, and it still occasionally made marble noise in neutral. I got off the highway ASAP and had the car towed home. After research, a squeaking noise that sounded like a bad belt that had preceded the break was actually the joint wearing out. This replacement solved all issues.
Here are the steps to follow. Send me a message or email at samkonings13 @ gmail .com with questions.
1. Jack up the front of the car and set it it on two jack stands at the frame jacking points. Rear wheels can stay down, but be sure to use chocks and your e-brake. Remove your front wheels.
2. Remove the two rear-most bottom covers under the car. Use an 8mm socket or combination wrench.
3. Remove the two bolts that hold the SCR (component with flexibile pipeunder mesh wrap) from the bracket that connects to the back of the transmission, bottom passenger side.
4. Use an adjustable wrench to remove the small metal tube attaching to the top of the same component. Remove the collar/clamp that connects the part to the back part of the exhaslust (dpf).
5. Remove the bottom bolt of the bracket from step 3. Loosen the top bolt as much as possible--a metal tube prevents it from being removed entirely, which is not a problem.
6. Wiggle the SCR to the driver side as far as it will go. Use a socket wrench and short socket to remove the top collar/clamp on the SCR. Remove the part. If you can remove the O2 sensor easily, do that; otherwise, carefully leave the SCR hanging by the sensor
7. Remove the broken driveshaft by pushing it past the front differential and and then dropping the rear end low enough to slide out. Remove the broken heat shield as well.
8. Use allen wrenches or similar to jam the brake rotors by slipping them into the middle of the rotors in the center of the calipers, towards vehicle rear.
9. For me, the torx bolts holding the plate of the driveshaft onto the differential were ruined. They are either size T50 or T55. I used an angle grinder to grind grooves into the tops of the bolts, grind away the majority of the heads, and turned them out with a chisel once loose. Remove the plate.
10. Remove the hanging bracket for the bottom plastic cover that is below the shaft and along the pass side of the transmission.
11. Use a reciprocating saw to cut the small horizontal stud under the shaft from the bracket in part 10 as close to the frame as possible to clear more room for the new shaft.
12. Remove the rubber seals from the new shaft and install them directly on the splined rod exiting the transfer case (back of transmission)
13. Locate the 2-bolt bracket for the catalytic converter, which exits the turbo manifold above the front differential. You will need flex-socket extensions. Remove them. To reach the left bolt, you will need to remove one bolt of the heat shield; that bolt head faces the passenger side of the car.
14. Above the car, find the collar that holds the catalytic converter onto the turbo. Loosen it until the cat can move freely, but do not remove. Use a socket wrench or angled extension.
15. Remove the top bolt of the front differential.
16. Remove the 8 bolts on the transmission brace at the rear of the transmission. Lower the transmission as far as it will go using a floor jack.
17. Mark the king splines using a file on the outside of the new shaft. Do not use marker as it will be rubbed away.
18. Push the cat up and to the right as much as possible. Insert the shaft plate-first until it rests behind the front differential. Align the splines.
19. Push the rod back onto the splines by positioning your feet to the rear if the car for more power (downward, shoveling motion rather than upwards motion). This will be tricky to get the plate over the front differential and will require trial and error with position of the cat etc. I used a chisel like a shoe horn for the final up and over onto the front diff.
20. Align the front dif. Install new bolts ($4.50 each at mercedes dealer).
21. Reinstall transmission brace.
22. Fit the heat shield at back of SCR around NOx sensor and mount the SCR to the cat. This was tricky. I aligned the pieces, used the floor jack to pin the SCR up, then reached through small hole under the SCR to fit clamp and bolt (lots of trial and error), and then used a pre-closed zip tie to pin thr clamp shut to fit the bolt. Install with the bolt head visible from bottom of the car (opposite of original).
23. Everything else in reverse order.
Hope this is helpful. Email with questions!
Sam
Last edited by Sam Konings; Dec 17, 2019 at 12:10 AM.
thanks for the thread, I have a slight squeek at lower speeds and I'm wondering if it is this. did you squeek progressively get worse before failure. that shaft from Amazon is discontinued but ill look around. thanks again
I will post my experience on my 2014 250 GLK here to add to Sam Konings' excellent write-up. I did read it before tackling my own repair, but found I had to go in a bit more extensively to get the job done.
The 2013 GLK (210K miles on the clock) had started to develop a clicking sound, last September, at very low speeds, as in, pulling into a parking spot, driving 1-2 miles an hour. Then as time went on, a vibration started to appear at higher speeds, from say 45 MPH. Finally, a 'whistle', like a small bird, started to become more and more noticeable on slight accelleration. I went underneath the car a few months ago to check what I could easily, being the front driveshafts (to the wheels from the diff) and the flex plates - all good. I did not think to check the driveshaft from the transfer case to the front differential - it's hidden by a splash guard anyway,
So fast forward to last Friday, when my wife and I were returning from Los Angeles on one of the major highways heading south to San Diego when, at around 75 MPH, a loud sound and big vibration appeared. I pulled off the highway at the nearest exit and limped into a parking lot. Had the car towed home and after removing splash shield, found the U-joint at the front differential had pretty much disintegrated. I replaced it yesterday with an 'A-Premium' driveshaft ($160 delivered home). I did contact my local MB dealer last weekend with the part request, but they never responded ..... So rather than the maybe $800 original MB part I went with the $160 replacement, no doubt manufactured in China. It seems to be of very robust quality and carefully made, time will tell of course.
So onto my repair experience. All in all it probably took me about 12 hours. And I am an experience home mechanic who has been doing all maintenance on my own modern, as well as a host of classic cars, including engine rebuilds, complete suspension overhauls, you name it. I may have not gone about it the most efficient way, for example I found I had to remove both catalytic converters, the ECU, air filter housing etc because otherwise my old driveshaft could not come out, no matter how I tried, and the new one not in. Maye it is possible, as Sam writes, but I could not manage. Removing both cats certainly added to the time needed.
Like Sam, I had to use an angle grinder to get one of the 4 bolts out that hold the front driveshaft flange to the front differential. All other bolts underneath the car came off very easily - this car has always been in Southern California -no snow, salt on the roads and very little rain- so everything still looks brand new underneath, despite it having over 200K miles. I also had to remove the top-right bolt that holds the plate that the front flange bolts onto, to be able to get the new driveshaft aligned with the output shaft of the transfer case so it could slide on. I had read many posts of guys not able to get the new driveshaft onto the output shaft, eventually giving up thinking the new shaft did not fit/was not the correct part. I had checked that before hand with a digital caliper, measuring all dimensions carefully.
The new shaft fits only 'just so' at just the right angle. A lot of prying the whole drivetrain while wiggling the new driveshaft, pulling, pushing. In the end I managed only after I put a good amount of dielectric grease onto the splines - more wiggling, prying, and then it just went on, finally! This took over an hour / two hours (getting the new shaft to slide onto the output shaft) and I can see how some people just can't get it to fit.
The other main issue that took me time, and my wife to help me, was to get the V-band clamp back onto the connection between the top and the bottom cats. In hindsight, I wish I had tried to remove them both in one go, from the bottom, so I did not have to separate them and consequently re-attach them after I had installed the top one. It was a major pain and I think would be impossible to do for someone with bigger hands than mine. Maybe someone can confirm here whether it would be possible to either remove them both as one unit or, whether as Sam wrote, it is possible to only loosen them and not remove them altogether, I did not try this to be honest, as my thought was they both had to come out completely. I did not think it would be possible to remove them as one unit, or to install them as one unit once the new driveshaft was in place (things are really cramped in that area) but maybe it is possible, then that would save a lot of time.
But, in the end I managed and after all it just took time, and $160, for what I read Mercedes will charge between $3 and $5K for, so that feels great. All noises (rattle +whistle) are gone and of course so is the vibration. Drives like new again. Again, the new $160 driveshaft from A-Premium appears to be very well-made so fingers crossed it will last the next 100K or so miles at least.
I think the pre-facelift models (2010-12) are pretty much the same in terms of the joy of installing a new front propshaft. I bought my 2011 with a broken propshaft, and also a bad output shaft on the transfer case (be sure to check for any movement at the rear of the front propshaft when you are replacing it - if you can move the shaft more than a fraction of a mm in any direction, chances are good that the internal U-joint has been damaged).
Anyway, you may find the portion of the video I did on re-rebuilding my transfer case useful. This time, I buttoned up the transfer case with the propshaft out, to prevent damaging the (very fragile) output seal. I show a couple tricks that should make it easier to get the front flange to drop into place, including removing one (badly placed) bolt on the differential, and removing a small bit of material from the propshaft flange to get that extra few mm of clearance to get the edge of the flange over the differential yoke. It took a whole lot longer than you might guess just from watching the video.
Anyway, start watching at about 59:30 for the propshaft installation. It should help provide the background and context to interpret the (excellent) instructions presented in previous posts to this thread...
I think the pre-facelift models (2010-12) are pretty much the same in terms of the joy of installing a new front propshaft. I bought my 2011 with a broken propshaft, and also a bad output shaft on the transfer case (be sure to check for any movement at the rear of the front propshaft when you are replacing it - if you can move the shaft more than a fraction of a mm in any direction, chances are good that the internal U-joint has been damaged).
Anyway, you may find the portion of the video I did on re-rebuilding my transfer case useful. This time, I buttoned up the transfer case with the propshaft out, to prevent damaging the (very fragile) output seal. I show a couple tricks that should make it easier to get the front flange to drop into place, including removing one (badly placed) bolt on the differential, and removing a small bit of material from the propshaft flange to get that extra few mm of clearance to get the edge of the flange over the differential yoke. It took a whole lot longer than you might guess just from watching the video.
Anyway, start watching at about 59:30 for the propshaft installation. It should help provide the background and context to interpret the (excellent) instructions presented in previous posts to this thread...
thanks but we are talking about 250's here. I'm sure some of that applies though. just wanted to clarify
Great point.
Though given MB's penchant for reusing the same design across platforms (and because of the anguish I've read from those who've done the job on the 250 model...) I suspect we're all fighting the same demon. ;-)
I will post my experience on my 2014 250 GLK here to add to Sam Konings' excellent write-up. I did read it before tackling my own repair, but found I had to go in a bit more extensively to get the job done.
The 2013 GLK (210K miles on the clock) had started to develop a clicking sound, last September, at very low speeds, as in, pulling into a parking spot, driving 1-2 miles an hour. Then as time went on, a vibration started to appear at higher speeds, from say 45 MPH. Finally, a 'whistle', like a small bird, started to become more and more noticeable on slight accelleration. I went underneath the car a few months ago to check what I could easily, being the front driveshafts (to the wheels from the diff) and the flex plates - all good. I did not think to check the driveshaft from the transfer case to the front differential - it's hidden by a splash guard anyway,
So fast forward to last Friday, when my wife and I were returning from Los Angeles on one of the major highways heading south to San Diego when, at around 75 MPH, a loud sound and big vibration appeared. I pulled off the highway at the nearest exit and limped into a parking lot. Had the car towed home and after removing splash shield, found the U-joint at the front differential had pretty much disintegrated. I replaced it yesterday with an 'A-Premium' driveshaft ($160 delivered home). I did contact my local MB dealer last weekend with the part request, but they never responded ..... So rather than the maybe $800 original MB part I went with the $160 replacement, no doubt manufactured in China. It seems to be of very robust quality and carefully made, time will tell of course.
So onto my repair experience. All in all it probably took me about 12 hours. And I am an experience home mechanic who has been doing all maintenance on my own modern, as well as a host of classic cars, including engine rebuilds, complete suspension overhauls, you name it. I may have not gone about it the most efficient way, for example I found I had to remove both catalytic converters, the ECU, air filter housing etc because otherwise my old driveshaft could not come out, no matter how I tried, and the new one not in. Maye it is possible, as Sam writes, but I could not manage. Removing both cats certainly added to the time needed.
Like Sam, I had to use an angle grinder to get one of the 4 bolts out that hold the front driveshaft flange to the front differential. All other bolts underneath the car came off very easily - this car has always been in Southern California -no snow, salt on the roads and very little rain- so everything still looks brand new underneath, despite it having over 200K miles. I also had to remove the top-right bolt that holds the plate that the front flange bolts onto, to be able to get the new driveshaft aligned with the output shaft of the transfer case so it could slide on. I had read many posts of guys not able to get the new driveshaft onto the output shaft, eventually giving up thinking the new shaft did not fit/was not the correct part. I had checked that before hand with a digital caliper, measuring all dimensions carefully.
The new shaft fits only 'just so' at just the right angle. A lot of prying the whole drivetrain while wiggling the new driveshaft, pulling, pushing. In the end I managed only after I put a good amount of dielectric grease onto the splines - more wiggling, prying, and then it just went on, finally! This took over an hour / two hours (getting the new shaft to slide onto the output shaft) and I can see how some people just can't get it to fit.
The other main issue that took me time, and my wife to help me, was to get the V-band clamp back onto the connection between the top and the bottom cats. In hindsight, I wish I had tried to remove them both in one go, from the bottom, so I did not have to separate them and consequently re-attach them after I had installed the top one. It was a major pain and I think would be impossible to do for someone with bigger hands than mine. Maybe someone can confirm here whether it would be possible to either remove them both as one unit or, whether as Sam wrote, it is possible to only loosen them and not remove them altogether, I did not try this to be honest, as my thought was they both had to come out completely. I did not think it would be possible to remove them as one unit, or to install them as one unit once the new driveshaft was in place (things are really cramped in that area) but maybe it is possible, then that would save a lot of time.
But, in the end I managed and after all it just took time, and $160, for what I read Mercedes will charge between $3 and $5K for, so that feels great. All noises (rattle +whistle) are gone and of course so is the vibration. Drives like new again. Again, the new $160 driveshaft from A-Premium appears to be very well-made so fingers crossed it will last the next 100K or so miles at least.
that driveshaft still holding up ok for you? my original one is fine but I may just change it out anyway. 350,000 kilometers on it. no issues with it but maybe I should just change it. im not sure if they all fail or if some last forever.
Yes, driveshaft holding up perfectly, and I expect it will for the next 100K miles.
On your car, try getting your hands on the driveshaft at the front u-joint and see if there is any play in it. We got a warning of sorts before it started really making noise, as in a 'click click click' when driving at crawling speed, into a parking spot for example.
I pulled the shaft out today. took me 2 hours to remove.
-unbolt computer and flop to the side
-pull air box up at the from and slide out forward
-unplug electrical to cat, i didn't remove any o2 sensors ot metal lines at all. it all came out the bottom as one piece after the drive shaft was unbolted and off to the side.
-drop the skid plate
-remove dpf, i just left the o2 sensor in and hung the dpf to support the wires. I only had to remove one metal line.
-remove 8 bolts from trans and lower and inch with jack supporting it.
-remove one bolt on side of transmission for more clearance, u will know the one, 8mm ratchet wrench works well.
- remove the little protection plate at the front of the drive shaft. one bolt is removed from the top.
-remove the one bolt at the top if the front differential. again u will know the one when u get there. shaft flange will be bumping it.
- i didn't have to grind anything yet the shaft is out but the new one isn't in yet. I just ordered it today.
- my shaft looks and feels like new with 350,000km on it. I assume since its all highway it has lasted. I'm going to replace it anyway. date stamp on shaft is 10.02.13 pretty sure its 2013
one fellow mentioned the front output shaft shouldn't move. mine moves, it seems to move freely like its a small cv joint or ball joint in there. (obviously not a ball joint but moves like that) what was your output shaft like guys? rigid in place or could pivot around? 2013 glk250
Absolutely zero movement on the joint part, all it should do is allow some movement / angle between the transfer case and the transmission. If you can move it even a little bit, that means it's on the way out, is wearing and the wear will accelerate as it becomes more and more, until you will hear the 'banging of death'.
Absolutely zero movement on the joint part, all it should do is allow some movement / angle between the transfer case and the transmission. If you can move it even a little bit, that means it's on the way out, is wearing and the wear will accelerate as it becomes more and more, until you will hear the 'banging of death'.
you are talking rotational movement not angle movement. I don't have any rotational movement but it does pivot like a CV axle would
well its back in anyway, 5 hours to get it in. no clunks or anything in and out of gear. i didn't remove the scr or o2 sensors, just hung things and supported the wires. I hope the movement buddy was referring to was rotational. like u joint play, I don't have any of that. anyway here a few pics of the bolts that are handy to remove. I had no problem getting the shaft on. I marked the king spline with a white marker on the shaft. I tapped the spline end in the Grove for the rubber collar/seal using a 2 foot long flat head screw driver I have and it went right on. I tried pushing with zero luck. couple taps and slid on no problem.
Thanks for the pic. What steps would you recommend for me to get access to it? Do those rubber lines go to the differential pressure sensor? Did you have to do anything with the sensor to get access? Thanks!
Oh, what is the tab that looks like Greek "Psi"? I don't know if I have that. It didn't fall out with the other part.
Just as a clarification (since it was a bit ambiguous in previous posts), the output shaft IS on a U-joint, so is free to pivot a good bit in any direction. But it should have no movement when you grasp it and attempt to move it up/down or side to side (without pivoting the shaft itself). This can be a little tricky since - like any U-joint - even a bad U-joint will only move in one or two very distinct directions. That is, if the U-joint shafts are pointing at 12, 3, 6 and 9o'clock, the worn out bearings will allow movement in only 12-to-6 o'clock, or 9-to-3 o'clock directions. Well, unless it's really worn out badly, in which case it might move more.
From a design perspective, relying on a small U-joint inside a gear cluster which is inside a "transfer case" that MB considers an integral part of the transmission - seems like a really bad idea. It does appear that the vast majority of them have lasted for at least a decade, and for 100-300,000 miles, though.
I'm kicking this thread alive again...
I'm working om an 2011 GLK220CDI.
The front differential is bad, so I'm replacing that one.
But after reading this post, I deceided to have a look at the drive shaft between the tranny and the front differential.
I have a little movement up/down and side to side where the drive shaft is leaving the tranny.
Its less than one mm, but there is a bearing there...
Does this mean that I should replace that output shaft bearing or is 1mm within the acceptable range?
After I first rebuilt my transfer case, including replacing that u-joint gear cluster, I checked the drive shaft in a few thousand miles. I actually did feel some movement up down and side to side. I was fairly horrified, and tried to get clarification from the vendor, who took the opportunity to be snarky rather than helpful. :-). However, I took the whole thing apart again to check it, and it was fine. I needed to do that anyway to set the preload on the bearings properly, since I had convinced myself it was too high during the initial reassembly.
Rebuilding the transfer case is a pretty big job, so I'd suggest that if the play is actually in the sub-mm range, I'd be tempted to let it ride and see how it goes. The play in my transfer case u-joint was considerably higher than that when I bought the car, after it had thrown the front drive shaft and presumably destroyed the u-joint in the process.
I hope that helps. These cars are very much worth putting the time and effort into to make them as good as we can. Mine just turned 200,000 miles, and feels, drives, and looks like a virtually new car.
because mine is far away from that one.
Bute it was an interresting video though.
Also my left CV axle needs to be replaced. It's way too much play in the spline in the joint between the intermediate axle and the CV axle.
Like what's shown in
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.
