Hi. I have read somewhere about supposed availability of rear and/or central locking differentials for the w163 as an off-road package back in the day. Supposedly, this used to cost around 2,000 euros back in the day. My question is: is it possible to retrofit anything like that in a regular w163 M-Cass? Don't tell me about ESP-ABS simulating diff locks and being great and stuff.

 

It is pretty great at working like diff locks, though.

 

Never existed in the W163 ML's from day one.
Only existed in the G Class, Unimog and some other Military vehicles in the past.
Mike

 

I was hoping there is some kind of kit or something that could be retrofitted into the w163 to have at least rear diff locked. Apparently not... I presume a G-class diff would not at all fit into an M.

 

We have looked into the possibility of installing a Quaife ATB into the ML55 before, but unfortunately Mercedes parts data doesn't show what's inside the final drive. We've done a lot of Quaife installs into BMW X5 cars here in the UK, some of which have been used for the Sahara rally, so we know it works really nicely on 4wd cars.

What we would need to initially discover whether an existing Quiafe would install in the ML rear end is to have the dimensions and numbers from the existing differential (not the final drive, you understand, but the differential case inside, where the crownwheel gear is bolted).

As with all of these things, if it doesn't exist yet, it will be possible to manufacture, provided there is enough demand.

If anyone is interested in getting their hands dirty, I will let you know what we need.

All currently available Quaife ATBs are listed here.
http://www.birdsauto.com/quaife/sear...ercedes&s=&mi=

Regards, Kevin Bird.

 

This is interesting, if there is no differential lock kit, an LSD could also be great perhaps? I just do not have enough automotive/technical knowledge figure this out. I'll do some research. How are these things comparing to geared LSDs? How dramatically would this improve off-road capabilities of an M-class?