SyHS

My 2007 ML350 has the notorious balance shaft problem. I'm an auto dealer and picked this up as a flip, but the seller cleared the codes, put some really heavy oil in it, and removed the check engine light bulbs lol. Now I'm stuck in the car and buried pretty good, but I see this as an opportunity to retire our old SUV / parts car and replace this with it.

My question is...
All of the ml350, glk350, e350, r350, etc have the same M272 engine with small differences such as mounts and exhausts, etc.
Will any M272 fit in my ML350? Would a 2wd engine work on my 4x4, or do I need a 4matic variant since my ML350 is a 4matic? Some of the engines to a glk350 or e350 4matic are almost 50% cheaper, so I prefer that route...

I've found a used e350 4matic engine from 2010 with 60k miles for a great price that I'm considering purchasing, aslong as it is doable. Thanks in advance, hope it ends up working out, and looking forward to hear what everyone thinks.

Tsumi

If the transmission hasn't been rebuilt/conductor plate repaired, you can count on that going out sometime during your ownership as well. Take that into consideration as well before trying to restore the ML to life.

Yes, any M272 engine will work. At most you will have to swap the oil pan and pickup.

SyHS

I appreciate it. The transmission seems to have been serviced and overhauled near the 100k mark. Does this mean I can even throw in a 2wd m272? Or should I look after one that is 4matic to match my transmission? I don't know if the adaptor plate is different from 4matic to rwd. Trying to become more mechanically inclined on MBZ platform, quite familiar with old BMW's and a lot of Japanese. I'm really only familiar with the old MBZ OM engines, and m113 / m156 platforms. I always stayed away from other ones, but here I am trying to fix a mistake, on the bright side my old Acura with a 1/4 million miles will be retired and sold

Tsumi

4matic, 2wd, doesn't matter. The transfer case is after the transmission, and all the engines bolt to the transmission the same. Heck, you can throw in a M273 engine if you wanted to.

If you get an engine out of a 4matic W164 or W251 you are guaranteed the oil pan will clear/fit with the front differential. If you get it out of another platform, as I said, worst case is swapping the oil pan. Make sure you get 09 or newer, if you're looking at 08 and older you're better off rebuilding your current engine.

SyHS

Much appreciated. I'll grab a 09 or 10 engine and drop it in. Thanks for the information, definitely will save me a lot of $$ compared to buying a $3000 used ML350 engine when I can get a E350 or GLK350 for almost a third of the price..

Tsumi

It's what I had the shop do when they swapped a CL55 NA engine into my R500. Picked up a 72k mile engine for about 1400, was far cheaper than C55/SLK55 engines (those run 3-5k), and 500 engines weren't that much cheaper (500-2k depending on mileage).

SyHS

They didn't run into any issues with sensor plugs / harness? I imagine some stuff had to be spliced in, or was the DME identical to the CL55?

Tsumi

Engine was physically and electronically identical. Kept the R500's air intake, MAF, fuel injectors, and harness, though I could have swapped in the CL55's injectors as well. Based on the specs I could find online, the flow rate between the two weren't significantly different, and the R500's injectors had maybe 5k miles on them. MPG went from about 19 to 18 (can probably improve this with a differential swap from a Durango) and passes California smog just fine.

Was it financially stupid? Yes, yes it was, especially for a 160k mile salvage title car. My consideration is that it would cost about the same to find a replacement R500 of equal trim level, an R350 with the same trim swapped to the M273 engine will be more expensive and have smog and resale problems, and a full size SUV that can match it in interior comfort is a 2020+ GLS, way outside my price range.

I had done a fair number of mods to it and the transmission was rebuilt by the previous owner at around 120k miles. The R class is unique, the closest thing I can get to a station wagon while still keeping the ability to tow, not to mention the comfort of the airmatic system and middle row captain chairs. Probably the only R55 AMG in the world. Not quite as crazy as the R63 but way more affordable.

Mike58

I was reading this post and I have exactly the same issue, I am about to purchase a m272 tha came out of a c300 2011 and I´m tryng to figure out if this engine will fit my 2007 ML350 4matic, any help will be appreciated, thank you.

BlackML550

When buying a second hand engine, read the attachment and focus on engine numbers that fall outside the range MB has stated as those with the balance shaft issue.

Mike58

Thank you so much for your help and for the useful information sent, have a great day.

CJ23

I have a 2007 Mercedes Benz C230 2.5 V6 RWD Engine M272. My Question is what other Models are interchangeable with mine?