blazinginder

I have a 98 ML320 with 189k miles on it...I noticed last week that there was a sound coming from what i thought was one of the wheels that increased with speed...so i took it in monday to have it checked out and they couldnt determine what it was til today...

they called and said it some part within the engine that was on verge of needing to be replaced, the part would cost $1000 and labor $3000 (30hours) OR they said i could, for about $5400 have them replace the whole engine and warranty it for 2 years....otherwise if i decided to do nothing i could drive it til the part broke and go with my options from there


I'm in a dilemma now, is it really worth fixing or replacing the engine for that kind of money? the car has cost/costs me around $1k a year in wear and tear fixes over the past 3-4 years, and this is the first problem relating to the engine

Im thinking I cant go buy a car for 5k obviously and would have to make car payments on w/e car i get to replace it...while on the other hand having just spent $1k on fixing 5 different leaks on this car...

I'm thinking paying $5k for a new engine will give me just that, a new engine, but it wont change the fact that the other wear and tear things that have cost me a good deal in the past, will still cost me a good deal of money over the next couple years, which is all im looking to get out of the car at this point...so basically the car will cost me $4-5k for the engine and assuming things need fixing etc. another $2k for that over the next 2 years to keep this thing running

What to do???

AMGfan

I wouldn't throw anymore money into the ML. I'd take the money you would have spent on the engine fix and wear and tear items for the additional 2 years and put it towards a new or preowned 07/08 vehicle that has a warranty (and lower operating costs).

mihir_d

Is there any part of the ML engine that would take 30 hours of labor to get to and replace???

I thought, it took less than 30 hours for an AMG technician to hand asssemble a whole new AMG engine..

ejsheltra

Agree with AMGfan. A 98ML is not worth the cost you are looking to put into it. Be smart and put that cash into a preowned newer model and maybe with small payments. To toss 7K into a vehicle worth half that is not smart financially. Best of Luck in your choice.

blazinginder

Appreciate the advice guys, I do have an 08 ML350 (got it new) but still need this/something to replace this as we need 4 cars in the house

i guess it really comes down to paying $7k to have this for 2-3 years then getting something new VS getting something new now and putting that $7k down and financing say a 30-40k car that would last be a good 8-10 years

jmf003

+1 on the advice not to spend multiple $ thousands on engine repairs for an 11 year old car with 189,000 miles on it.

What engine part(s) are they saying you need to replace? I can't think of anything on the engine that would sound like it was coming from the wheel well and varies with speed.

blazinginder

^ i dont recall the specifics of the part(s) etc. as i wasnt the one who spoke with them when they called the house...i just got an overview of the "news" about the 2 options when i got home today

Ausmbtech

Call them back and find out the specifics of what they want to replace. 30hrs labour is alot, find out exactly what they want to do. Secondly, $5400 for a genuine new engine installed sounds too cheap..........

denice25

Don't waste the money... just fix it!!!

sosh

Makes no sense at all to spnd that much on a 98ML. The ML is not worth what you will have to put into it and never will be even after the repairs. My suggestion is that while its still running trade it on a newer lower miles vehicle. As for the repair itself sounds to me that the repair would be an internal engine repair and to remove, tear down, reassemble and reinstall is where the 30 hours is coming from.

blazinginder

Here are the written estimates I received via email of what exactly they'd be doing if I decide to go ahead with this

This is an "estimate is for the replacement of the seal that is in the engine. The engine would have to be disassembled to have this seal replaced. It is a seal for the camshaft gear. If it is not replaced, the gear will premature wear and will damage the timing chain and bending the valves. The warranty on this would be 1 year."






This next estimate is "for the engine, it is a rebuilt. The only part that is rebuilt is the casting of the engine, the interior parts of the engine are new. This would have a 2 year warranty."

lkchris

Just remember that the resale value of your car is now $4000 less than what it would normally be ... unless you're not so forthcoming when selling it.

That is, one way or another, you'll pay.

Perhaps this dealer will give you a better deal trading it in for something in his stock.

azinn

Ditto ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

55fanatic

I'll just throw this out there... If you want another car you could have my ML55 for $9500, new tires, tune up, aftermarket stereo, lowered, 55W 6000k xenon Headlights, 3000k yellow HID fogs

Ausmbtech

[QUOTE=blazinginder;3469827]Here are the written estimates I received via email of what exactly they'd be doing if I decide to go ahead with this

This is an "estimate is for the replacement of the seal that is in the engine. The engine would have to be disassembled to have this seal replaced. It is a seal for the camshaft gear. If it is not replaced, the gear will premature wear and will damage the timing chain and bending the valves. The warranty on this would be 1 year."

[QUOTE]

I would seriously be getting a second opinion. If they say all this is to replace a cam seal then you REALLY need a second opinion.

Sounds like they think your noise is from the timing chain and they want to replace the timing chain, tensioner, and gears. it is a pretty big job, to removing the timing cover is about a 12-13hr job alone. All up it shouldn't be any more than 20hrs. It's pretty rare for a noisy timing chain on a M112 engine, but I would get a second opinion very soon because if they are right about the worn chain then you will NEED a complete engine if it fails.

sosh

In addition to the timing gear and cam stuff they also will replace the crankshaft gear. I believe that that will require that the engine be removed from the car and dissassembled. keep in mind also that when a very high mileage engine is opened up they will find more stuff that must be changed. Cost could escalate well beyond the estimate. My suggestion is again to replace the vehicle. Nothing else makes any sense, financial or otherwise to me. The cause of these issues could well be lack of oil changes, using the incorrect oil or the known sludge problem fom the lack of clean oil.

blazinginder

Thanks for the input guys, I'm planning on picking up the car from the dealer today (told them to hold off on doing anything)

I want to go to a couple other places to see if I can get an estimate for an amount that Id consider paying to fix...otherwise like you guys said it'll have to just be replaced (the car, not the engine )

eShawPM

If you are hell bent on an ML, you may want to look for a low mileage used one. We just bought an 02 ML500 with 62k for $9000 without a lot of strong arming the deal. While not a "new" car, it worked out really well for us, spacious, fully equipped, and inexpensive. Following that path, you are just over half way to a "new" car with the 98 intact for spare parts or potential sale to offset the remaining balance. If you knew the engine was faulted and sold it for $4000, you would be done. Food for thought . . .

Good luck.

jefferino

Shoot! For $4500 I will sell you my ml55 engine/trans/mcu or $3500 for the engine/mcu!!!!

sosh

That would be going from bad to worse!!

jefferino

Um ok? A perfect working 55 engine is worse?