ChristoFir

Hi,

Photos of ML with 18" rims and of the raised rear floor are attached.

After much indicision I chose Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season tyres and was very happy with them. Good handling and quiet. While we didn't do much off road, they handled it without issue. Wear was good, we did 14k and the tread depth changed from10.5 to 8 (using an old tyre depth gauge that is in 32nds of an inch)

The rear floor frame is 100x30 made of two sections of 50x30 RHS Aluminium then covered in black carpet. The frame uses the standard floor.

Yes, the ML was a joy to travel in. It ran without any issues. Heaps of get up and go when needed, very quiet, comfortable and Command was great especially as we preloaded our music and audio books on 64gb Ultra SD cards. I needed to do some review of the off-road controls and when the right mode was selected all was very easy.

While it wasn't due for a service I had an early service done at 12k before we left with oil change and new filter and a top up of adblue. The ML didn't use any noticeable amount of oil.

Overall a great vehicle for what we were doing.

tigertas

Thanks Benz Werd for all your info. Also been trying to get a nudge bar for my W166 ML350. Have spoken to 3 different bar manufacturers here in Australia and none want to touch it. No reasons given apart from one that casually mentioned the ML350 W166 did not have a full chassis like the W164. I an clueless about this but others may know how true this is. I think the sensors are a big concern as well as the airbags. I used my "profound knowledge" and non-degree in engineering, (ha ha) to investigate myself and decided that it was very tight under there and would need some work and designing to make it useful as well as look reasonable. I currently have it being looked at by a Mercedes Benz service company here in Perth. Not holding my breath.
As for your mount did it fit between the grill ok and not rub. Do you think that your mount would handle a 3ft aerial with a spring base? Every time I have used a fixed base aerial it has been either hit by a bird or been deliberately broken. I had a good look at my car and you must have spent some time and "patience" getting yours done.
Anyway I will update this post IF anything eventuates. Thanks again for your input and I liked your spare wheel mod too. Mine has what I believe is an air bottle under the skinny wheel so not sure if that would affect doing something similar to your setup. Maybe using a roof pod to carry a full wheel could be my answer for my long trips.

Zuffen

I use a magnetic base for my CB.

I do Oversize load escort work for a relative (he doesn't pay me I do it for fun) and the reception is good and no holes drilled and the cable just passes through a rear door.

The Benz door rubbers are soft enough to not damage the cable and also keep water out.

I used the same setup on my W163 and did many thousands of K's with it and it never gave trouble.

Sometimes I wish I'd kept my W163, I far preferred it to drive.

Benz Werd

Hello tigertas.

I ended up selling my W166 ML around 2.5 years ago now without ever getting any type of nudge bar fitted. I gave up in the end as I wasn't able to find anything suitable either.

Best of luck to you though, and please post some pics if you do end up getting something fitted!

Cheers from sunny Melbourne!!

tigertas

What did you do with the UHF antenna bracket?

Benz Werd

tigertas I didn't have a UHF antenna bracket. Perhaps this question was for another member who posted in this thread?

tigertas

Sorry, my silly mistake. Must be the West Aussie water.

tallen1984

BUMP.

I bought a bull bar for my W166 during the pandemic (too much free time on my hands, I guess), but have no idea how to install it. I've seen mentions of bolting directly to the frame; does anyone have SPECIFIC install instructions? Also, since it was an eBay special (and 3 years ago), I don't recall if I was provided with mounting brackets. ANYONE who has experience installing one of these unnecessary add-ons to a ML350, please share!!! Thanks!

tigertas

Interesting news. Be very keen to know more about your bull bar as I still haven't made any progress my end. As I have not seen a fitted bar I cannot advise of how it is mounted to the ML. What could be a start though is to see if you can jig it to emulate the bar on the ML. That way you can see is it is built properly to accommodate front sensors and lights. Fudging it into position also may help decide if it actually bolts directly on or needs brackets. Another thing that has always concerned me is the front clearance once after it is fitted. Sorry I cannot be any real help but wouldn't mind a pic and possible seller info if you can please. Good luck.

tallen1984

Here's a link to the A Bar I purchased:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/254570757542

Additionally, I've included the PDF for mounting instructions.

I've now confirmed I didn't receive any mounting hardware, as I found the original box. Both AutomotivepartsUSA on eBay & Black Horse haven't been helpful to this point. Because of that, I can't say I'd recommend doing business with them. The A Bar seems to be high quality, but it's just taking up space in my garage until I find out how to get my hands on the hardware.