I was looking under the hood today because I heard some weird noise in there. Low and behold, there was a chuck of rubber spill out of the balancer. I did a search about it here in this forum, and found this is a very common problem among the v6 series engine. I am happy to find that there is no damage as of yet, so I would like to replace it asap.

I am pretty new to Mercedes repairs, but I am pretty mechanically able. Where should I buy a replacement? Since this is a common problem, would local Benz dealer provide me of one for no charge? Is there a step by step procedure about this repair, with proper torque specs for the nuts and bolts?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

According to my sources, there is no TSB (technical service Bulletin) saying the balancer is a safety/recall issue, yet this is a known issue to many of us. I see they cost about $50, and maybe the dealer you deal with might give you a break on it.
Sent you a PM

 

Only $50? If that's the case, I should not hassle with bargaining with the stealers. Do you by any chance have the part number for a ML320? Do you know if the part they sell at the stealer has been improved?

Thanks!

 

This what I get as the O.E.M part number - 1120351300, and is for the 1999 ML320.
I am not sure but I would assume they are using a different composition to make it better, unless by chance it is old stock, then would probably be the same thing.
Dosen't hurt to ask though, maybe see what the say first and go from there.

 

is MBUSA aware of the problem or are they just telling lies?

the MB dealers I've dealt with insisted they have "never
heard of any problems"regarding these harmonic balancers... I have these conversations on tape....

 

WhiteML, what year is your ML? From all the info I have read in many forums, it is a known issue, especially in the early models say 98 and 99. I think after that they changed things.

 

This isn't really a do it yourself project. It is highly unlikely you will be able to get the bolt loose.... They sieze over time, and can be very difficult to remove.

 

Creamypanda, here is some words from other people and places:
Quote:'98 ML 320, at approx. 75K miles; approx. 6 months ago. Balancer took out the front timing cover and oil pan; cost over $2200 to repair. Dealer denied ever having heard of a problem with the M112/113 harmonic balancers.

Contacted MBUSA Customer Service, who stated that there is no problem with these balancers and that the failure must have been a fluke. Attempted to escalate the matter but MBUSA failed to follow through.


Doubting MBUSA's response was truthful, inspected '99 E320T, 60K miles... rubber buffer in harmonic balancer was fatigued, with numerous partial thickness cracks. Vehicle has Star Mark warranty but dealer declined to perform balancer renewal, said balancer has no known history of failure. Had balancer replaced anyway, to avoid catastrophic failure.

BTW, a friend's E320 was recently towed to the same dealership... the harmonic balancer had failed, taking out the front timing cover and oil pan. The same service advisor informed him that he had never seen a balancer fail...

Quote:If your dealer says "Not a known problem", they are full of it.
If your car is out of warranty, the area market manager can decide to goodwill the repair.
Make noise. Call the MB Client Assistance Center and make noise.
1-800-for-mercedes. We have seen about 1 a month.
Most have been 98's.
Quoteespite what you might be told at a dealer, M-B has been aware of this problem for a while...


"Group 3 - M112 & M113 crankshaft balancers that fail should be replaced with part number 112 035 08 00 or 112 035 09 00. Improved balancers entered production as of engine end number 661775 for V6 and 166563 for V8."

I think they know about it, just do a search "ML320 harmonic Balancer problem" and see what people say. Seems most issues were 1998-2000 models.