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Long time DIY wrencher, and buyer of problem cars (hey, I keep a 5-series BMW running). ;-)
Anyway, I've had my eye on the GLK for quite a while - love the styling (like square corners, like on my vintage Jeep Cherokee). One popped up locally for chump change (under $4K). One owner, very clean (almost perfect), with "reasonable" miles (about 150K).
BUT (there's always a but...) apparently the front driveshaft broke at the back of the transfer case yoke, and the owner's mechanic suggested replacing:
The drive shaft
The transmission and transfer case
The oxygen sensor (that's probably the rear one)
The front differential yoke
Obviously, the stinky wrinkle is replacing the tranny and transfer case.
I looked high and low on this forum, and can't find much of anything specific to doing that. I've dropped transmissions before, but hoped to get an idea what I would be getting myself into with the GLK 4Matic.
And beyond the mechanical, I am getting mixed messages about the need to drag the repaired car to a dealership to get the new tranny modules programmed (or not).
Any help / advice / screamed warnings would be appreciated much!
And I'm thinking it's worth the (semi-long) drive just to crawl under it to see if the mechanic is just full of Mercedes Beans.
Last edited by habbyguy; Feb 8, 2023 at 04:34 PM.
Reason: added sentence about inspecting the car
Look down below at my “Left 4 Dead GLK Back in action” thread for some guidance on this problem. Most likely the integrated trans/t-case is ok and no chunks have broken off the case (From Output shaft breaking). This issue however, does NOT automatically mean one needs trans/t-case replaced. Tons of YouTube vid on folks doing this fix as well.
Agree that the t/case and transmission are not guaranteed to need replacing. Need to see, touch and smell it to know for sure.
If it does need replacing it's just a 7G. Lots of posts on this site. Buy WIS and a XENTRY setup from @BenzNinja and you're good to go. The transmission is coded to the VIN, so it is a fact some coding will be required if the transmission is replaced.
I had my front driveshaft replaced since I ruined it stuck in snow. My ujoint was clunking . My mechanic said I was lucky it didn’t break or it could have ruined the transmission- transfer case ( they are one unit) and it could have ruined my front differential. It seems mb in their intelligence and cheapness did not include any kind of bracket that would contain the flailing driveshaft incase it broke. Another guy here had the same issue, mb wanted 10,000$ to fix a Glk valued at about 10,000$. So yes you need to look at it, but it’s very likely a big expensive mess. You can do eBay for a guaranteed transmission, but does that really mean anything? No. Its possible a module could work if it’s from the same year Glk, but who knows.
The price is too high for the risk and headache. Price out the parts new, mb will probably want 10,000 to fix it. And this guy knows that.
I went and checked out the car, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I suspected it might be. The front differential yoke is toast, of course, but looks like it should easily unbolt, so easy peasy. The driveshaft is a paperweight.
The "big issue" is that there is about 2-3mm of vertical / lateral play in the driveshaft going into the transfer case, though there's almost no rotational play (just enough to feel a slight click when trying to rotate the shaft).
Is there any reason to think that if the transfer case IS shot, that it's trashed the transmission as well (I assume they share fluid, and would start out by dropping the pan and doing a normal service / filter swap).
I did a short (no production value...) video showing my quickie inspection.
I'm thinking this is a fairly easy fix, and well worth the money. The only real down side I saw on the car was that it had a little damaged area on one of the driver's seat bolsters (which I know is VERY common). A couple of the wheels could use a little touch-up, but overall it's a very nice, clean vehicle that needs a little love.
The shaft is NBD but you want to make sure there is no damage around where it broke.
Probably would want to replace the other end as well, which requires opening the transfer case, which part of the transmission and hence the official fix is replacing the transmission.
At that point you might as well replace the roller bearings, which tend to fail with age.
The worst case is if it cracked transmission case. I know that transmission is coded to the car so I'm not sure what it takes to install use transmission and have it re-coded and who can do that.
150k mile GLK should be 7-8k. This one doesn't drive. I think 4k is a bit too much for this. I'd offer 2k if you want a project.
I didn't see anything that made me think that there was any horrendous forces applied to the transfer case, though of course there was enough to take out the output bearing and/or seal. The other end (at the differential) looks to have broken off pretty cleanly so that should require only swapping the yoke.
Is there any reason I couldn't replace just the transfer case? It does seem to be a separate entity hanging on the back end of the transmission housing.
And I've seen some info on rebuilding the transfer case (bearings and seals). Doesn't look too complicated, and it would be nice to have a "zero mile" unit, especially if they're problematic. Might take a little longer, but could be a nice bit of preventative maintenance.
Silly question - can you drive a GLK350 4Matic without a front driveshaft, if only temporarily to get it home and/or to move it around when working on it.
though of course there was enough to take out the output bearing and/or seal.
I'm not sure what you mean by that. Search for my thread or do some research on what GLK/E/S transfer case looks like inside. There are a ton of videos.
You can't really swap transfer case. The part that you want to swap are the bearings and the outter races sit in the housings, one of which sits in the transmission housing. Those bearings are the weak part and fail just from wear an tear. Mine started going at 105k miles. You can search for my extensive thread, it should make things more obvious.
The u-join on transfer case side is part of a giant gear that can only be replaced by opening and taking apart the transfer case. It's not a big deal, since it's pretty simple and not a classing transfer case that you find on bigger suvs including (ML/GL)
Silly question - can you drive a GLK350 4Matic without a front driveshaft, if only temporarily to get it home and/or to move it around when working on it.
to move a bit, probably.
To drive longer is questionable. There is piece with splines that will stick out and bang around without the shaft
.
I've gone through some online resources, and feel pretty good about what's inside the case. The assembly that includes the front output shaft seems to be fried (since I can move the shaft vertically and horizontally. not just change the angle of the output shaft). I'm guessing that the bearings are probably going to have to be replaced as well. I'm just now starting to dig into sourcing the parts I need, but I'm guessing that the hard / expensive bit is that output shaft assembly (with the helical gears and internal U-joint).
I didn't see anything that I thought was going to be overly difficult (though that's easier to say without transfer cases scattered all over my garage). ;-)
I've gone through some online resources, and feel pretty good about what's inside the case. The assembly that includes the front output shaft seems to be fried (since I can move the shaft vertically and horizontally. not just change the angle of the output shaft). I'm guessing that the bearings are probably going to have to be replaced as well. I'm just now starting to dig into sourcing the parts I need, but I'm guessing that the hard / expensive bit is that output shaft assembly (with the helical gears and internal U-joint).
I didn't see anything that I thought was going to be overly difficult (though that's easier to say without transfer cases scattered all over my garage). ;-)
Yea the TC is pretty straightforward. Just get the wsm pages. There is one bolt that's one time use.
Once the TC is fixed it should be pretty robust vehicle. Ive had mine for almost 14 years since new when it came out.
If you are diyer it's not a bad car to work on.
No I would NOT attempt to do anything other than Lot drive this vehicle with this damage. This Output Shaft is centered only by the front driveshaft. One cannot even remove the driveshaft and drive it as the Output Shaft will just flop around and cause further damage.
Mmr1 (if that even is your Real name!!) loves to pop off these $7000 to $10000 repair numbers, but One does not Have to spend anywhere close to this to fix the issue. Provided no additional damage has been caused by the front driveshaft flopping around after the front yoke broke.
Thanks GLKattitude. I'm not going to drive it at all, for now. My plan is to get it home, and use my trusty Sawzall to remove the front end (differential end) of the driveshaft. I believe I should have plenty of access to that area. Once the broken end is gone, I'm thinking that the remaining driveshaft should behave itself, and I might even just pack a bit of cardboard around it (away from the cats!!!) to keep it from wandering. That should make it easy enough to move the car around while working on it.
And yeah, if I was the guy who would buy a "wounded" car like this one and trailer it straight to the MB stealership, Mmr1 would have a point. I ain't that guy. ;-)
My plan is to pick up the car this afternoon. Other than the driveshaft / transfer case, it's super-clean, and (apparently) has had all the scheduled maintenance done at a local MB dealership, by the folks who bought it new. I'm going to be running a Carfax on it - just to be sure. I can't imagine that I could do TOO badly on this vehicle.
Then the plan is to alternate between the GLK and my 2006 BMW 530xi (wagon) and see which one we like best, ultimately whittling my fleet down by one.
Ok GlkASSitude , prices were posted here and it’s super easy to figure out, I looked into it . Maybe you need help . And what does it matter what my post name is.
Old Piggy, FWIW, the N52 is considered by far the most reliable engine offered in the E60-61 5-series vehicles (straight six, no turbos). It's overly complicated, and prone to leaks (ask me how I know). ;-) But I've gone through it and done a ton of maintenance on it to make it a reliable road trip car for many more miles / years. That said, it's going to be a LOT higher-maintenance than the Merc 3.5 V6, no doubt.
I just ran the CarFax on the GLK, and it comes back very clean (suggesting a value of $11.2K). Shows that the "recommended maintenance" was done on the vehicle at the various mileages, so that's a win.
2014 GLK350 base model (active) ; 2001 E320 base (retired); 2001 Wrangler soft-top
Originally Posted by habbyguy
I just ran the CarFax on the GLK, and it comes back very clean (suggesting a value of $11.2K). Shows that the "recommended maintenance" was done on the vehicle at the various mileages, so that's a win.
If you know the dealership where the vehicle had its maintenance done, request a Vehicle Master Inquiry (VMI). That'll show the complete history of maintenance of the vehicle.
That's way more revealing than any CarFax.
If the dealer is within reasonable driving distance, your best bet is to drive there and request the document. It might require a bit of "social engineering"
If you know the dealership where the vehicle had its maintenance done, request a Vehicle Master Inquiry (VMI). That'll show the complete history of maintenance of the vehicle.
That's way more revealing than any CarFax.
If the dealer is within reasonable driving distance, your best bet is to drive there and request the document. It might require a bit of "social engineering"
Most people don't take 13 year old car to dealer to get ripped off. Any decent mechanic can do maintenance on this thing, which amounts to mostly fluid and filter changes. I stopped going to dealer 8 years ago and have maintained my car better than any dealer would.
He is looking at 5-7000 to fix It. 10000 by mb, Offer 1500 less. It should drive with the front shaft removed if everything else is ok.
He is planning to do his own work. Taking sub 10k 13 year old car to be fixed by a dealer is plain stupid. It's much easier to just light money on fire.
2014 GLK350 base model (active) ; 2001 E320 base (retired); 2001 Wrangler soft-top
Originally Posted by NYCGLK
Most people don't take 13 year old car to dealer to get ripped off. Any decent mechanic can do maintenance on this thing, which amounts to mostly fluid and filter changes. I stopped going to dealer 8 years ago and have maintained my car better than any dealer would.
Your reply to me has ZERO to do with my reply to the OP
I suggested to get a vehicle history report (a paper document) from the dealership ... I did NOT recommend taking the vehicle to a dealership for repairs.
Prob need to read replies more closely
Last edited by calder-cay; Feb 10, 2023 at 12:48 AM.
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