2006 ML350 engine compatibility
New to the forum and I'm needing some help. I have one of the 2006 ML350's that needs a new engine. I have the old one out and am searching for another one now. My question is will a 2011 ML350 engine work in it? They both have the 272967 engine number and most of the parts seem to be interchangeable but before I order one I was hoping to get some professional input.
My ML and the old engine has about 101,000 miles on it. The body and every thing else is in really good condition. Unfortunately it had a hole in the back right corner of the intake manifold and I'm thinking it probably burnt some valves out in the two rear cylinders on the passenger side since they had no compression. It also had metal flake oil, ran very weak and was leaking oil like a sieve. With everything I've read about the balance shaft it probably has that going for it too. So I'm thinking go as new as possible and hope the newer engine will go another 100K.
My VIN is 4JGBB86E46A022716 and the donor ML is 4JGBB8GB8BA730899.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
- surf mbparts.mbusa.com for a bunch of parts numbers between your mode year and 2011 model year. If part numbers are the same for both mode years, that’s a good sign.
- do the same with EPC (you need to buy EPC on eBay).
Even if some of the part numbers have changed between model years, you could keep the old engine and transfer some of the parts off it onto the new engine.
The main candidates I can think of that might be different are vacuum and PCV related. MB seems to like to change those things. As long as the sensor architecture is the same, the old ECU should be reusable. Are you getting a new ECU with the new engine? A new ECU may need to be coded to the VIN.




Last edited by E55Greasemonkey; Jul 14, 2021 at 01:35 PM.
According to MBparts they use different drive plates but the same torque converter so I think if I use the drive plate from the 06 the 06 starter will work. Great site to check part compatibility Chassis!




