Albwil

I have been told by a shop the transfer case in my 2006 ML 350 is going bad. Noise when driving sounds like scrubbing sound. Price I have been quoted is $6000 for a factory updated transfer case and $4000 for a used one. This seems a bit much for a car that is barely valued at that level. Car has 110,000 miles. Does this seem correct to anyone?

Maj. Dundee

Why don't you try replacing the fluid?

Albwil

Thank you for the suggestion.
I did have that checked first. It was not the problem. I did find a used unit of the market. Cost as $1800.00 for the used unit. I was told that MB has a problem with the transfer cases and have improved them in newer models.

Maj. Dundee

But did you check it? It will take 5 mins. to see the condition of the fluid.

Albwil

Well, I relied on the shop that told me they checked it. Unit was vibrating enough and noisy enough to notice while driving and was my reason for taking to the shop to determine what might be wrong. All comes down to whether or not you can trust the shop.

Maj. Dundee

Crawl under the truck and locate the Trans. Case drain plug. Loosen it enough, but do not remove the bolt, to get a drip onto a paper towel.

If it's black, replace with new fluid, which is less than 2 qts.

flybd5

If it turns out you have to replace it, and the part number is A2512802100, eBay Germany has two of them for under €1000. Let me know, I can help you by receiving the part, and having it boxed and sent to you at a Mailboxes Etc. store close by.

C230 Sport Coup

It sounds like it's the chain. There's a few videos out there on YouTube of what the transfer case chain sounds like when it's dragging inside on the case.

https://m.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-ML-W164-R-W251-GL-X164-Transfer-Case-Chain-/222021866362