cooperalp

I am new to the forum therefore will use this opportunity to salute you all.

I purchased my ML500 last year when it had roughly 60k (km) on it. So far i did not have any major problems, if you exclude the CPS sensor that I had to change in June, which appears to be a typical problem on these cars.

Long story short, it has been several months now I started noticing this fine vibration on the steering wheel. It has about 85k km clicks right now. Vibration is noticeable between 60km -115km. It is pretty intense @ 115km, literally numbs your hand. Once I pass 115km, it tends to fade away and if I set the cruise to 125km, I stop feeling the vibration.

I did quite a bit of research so far and found the related topics:

https://mbworld.org/forums/m-class-w...350-w-69k.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/m-class-w...ilure-fix.html

I have a pretty good and honest mechanic in town and he changed/inspected the following on the vehicle so far:
-Changed front and rear diff fluids, transfer case fluid. No steel shavings were found but they were all pass due.
-Changed transmission fluid @ 70k km before the vibration started.
-Changed all four tires, i have brand new winter tires on, tires all perfectly balanced.
-Checked stabilizers, CV joints and control arm bushing, I was told that the front end of the vehicle looks and feels solid.

My fear is that the front differential my be the cause however symptoms does not seem to match with the exception of the fine vibration. There is little bit of rubbing noise as well coming from the front end however i think that is the tire noise, with the winter tires on the tire noise is a lot more noticeable now in the vehicle.

If you were patient enough to go through all the above and if you have any recommendations/suggestions for me, please respond to the thread. I just wanted to ask the experts of the forum before I attempt to rebuild/replace the front differential.

Thank you in advance!

Moto One

Sorry to say, and I know this by first hand experience, It may be the front diff. I'm going thru this right now.

You can start out with the vehicle cold and as everything warms up the vibration (very fine with the interior sound like heavy lug tires) starts to happen. At highway speeds the vibration is most noticeable thru the steering wheel when just off center.

I was hoping that it was the front drive shaft CV, but after putting the ML on a lift and running it , It's the front diff. I too have changed the fluids ( mine was showing some very fine metal in the lube).

This sucks only because the cost to replace is almost 1/2 the value of the ML (06 500). Right now Im thinking about just parting it out.

Good Luck.
Mark

cooperalp

Thanks for the response. I think it is the front diff as well. I will try to get it rebuilt, i think it costs about $1500 with parts and labor so I would recommend that you think twice before parting your ML out. I would trade mine in if I had the resources to get a newer model however that is not an option for me at the moment.

Cheers,
Alp

davey one

Diff gone at 69k and you want another one??

cooperalp

Hello,

First I got the bearings replaced, whining noise was gone right after but the slight vibration was still there.

My mechanic took it apart again and found the spider gears were pitted. Also, the front drive shaft was seized. So he replaced both the spider gears and the front drive shaft. Spider gears are brand new and the drive shaft came from a used ML.

There was no vibration on the steering wheel for 2 days but it started vibrating again today. Vibration starts at 40km and fades away once you pass 80-85km. There are no whining/grinding noises, front end is very quiet.

I think it is related to the used shaft, maybe i need to get it balanced. Do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks!

Moto One

Follow up, we still haven't done anything to our ML. The more that I research the problem, I'm still thinking it's the front drive shaft. We have put over 2k on it since it was diagnosed (front diff) and the vibration has not gotten any worse (still vibration is still at 45mph, and again at 75 mph after 10 to 15 mile of driving) Weather here has improved so after Xmas Im going to pull the front drive shaft. If it is the problem I'll replace it with a new one.

Mark.

Moto One

Well I pulled the front drive shaft, and it's toast!! both CV on it are very stiff and have notches. Ordered a new one should be here next week.

Mark

Moto One

Well... Replace the old Front Drive Shaft, and it did't fix the problem totally. It's better but I'm guessing that the bad CVs in the old DS managed to put excessive wear on the pinion. Next faze it New Front Diff.

Happy New Years.

Mark.

jfb

Hi cooperalp and Moto One,

I have the exact same problem in a 2006 ML 280 with about 100k km mileage. Did you ever find out if it was really the front differential that caused the vibration and the noise?

Thanks

Maj. Dundee

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