creamypanda

Went into the dealership for front brake job this morning.
Arrived at 7AM and the car was ready by 7:50AM. I was
really shocked by how fast the pad/rotor/sensor job was.
(but that's another story)

After I left, I immediately got on the freeway.(dealer is just
next to the on-rampl) I immediately noticed that my car
is running smoother and slightly quieter. I couldn't figure
out why a set of new brake pads/rotors would do that.

When I got home, 20 miles later, I was reading the invoice
and realized the dealer had replaced my harmonic balancer
under the MB recall. There was no charge for it. I opend
the hood and looked at the new HB and it's kind of cheap
looking, compared to the old one. I had previously looked
at it because I was concerned about it, but the dealers had
repeatedly told me it was just fine.(this was before the
recall)

If my car is now running smoother and quieter than before,
does this mean there was already something wrong with
the original harmonic balancer?(despite the fact that three
seperate MB dealers have inspected it in the 12 months
BEFORE the recall)

Another thing that's on my mind... how did the dealer
manager to replace the front brake pads/rotors/sensors,
replace the harmonic balancer, and wash/vacuum the car
all within 50 minutes? Maybe they had two mechanics work
on the car at the same time, but that's still awfully fast.
...which leads me to believe they have a LOT of experience
replacing these harmonic balancers!

THANKS for any info!

Jakpro1

Maybe?? But most likely ECU was flashed when they did the recall.....just like rebooting the ole computer....she runs better usually after.

C43AMG

Pretty amazing , huh?Look at your invoice....when my HB was replaced they charged 1.3 hours to do the job.Now you know why their called "$TEALERSHIPS".

Frank Wiesmann

What is a harmonic balancer and what kind of car do you have? On which cars was this recall performed?

newton22

I think its basically the crankshaft pulley, or just the rubber part of it.

creamypanda

From this website:

http://www.pvgarage.com/id25.html


This one came apart, damaging the timing case & radiator:


Below is a new balancer:

Frank Wiesmann

I am worried about this. Does the recall apply to a 2003 E500? Could anyone send me a copy of this TSB/recall?

mleskovar

Could be the balancer was coming apart and you didn't notice vibrations until replaced.....consider yourself lucky if that is the case. The fix time does not sound out of normal for professional mechanics that concentrate their work on specific tasks. They are retained for speed and accuracy. Dealers will put up with a fast sloppy mechanic (within reason) before keeping one that is slow but accurate . Sad but true. Many mechanics (including all independents) are doing 'piecework', or by the job. The quicker they work, the more money they make for themselves and their employers (if they have one). Underpaid IMHO.

csumt76

Stealership my ***... you guys are crazy.

Honestly, I have no idea how they managed that in 50 minutes, but all dealers work differently. It is possible that they had a couple guys working on the car.

The balancer campaign pays a couple tenths to inspect the part number and then around 1.0-1.4 to replace it depending on the chassis. Now Mercedes Benz is paying these times, and there is no way they would cheat themselves b/c they run everything. Warranty times are created by technicians doing the jobs word for word per the WIS using handtools or they could gather an average of what was paid out under warranty before a specific labor operation was created.

The balancer replacement I can do in roughly 15minutes...Granted I have my own holding tool that I purchased from a tool company that cost me $180 out of my own pocket. It is absolutely the best you can buy and makes the job a little easier, plus I break the bolt loose with about an $80 dollar breaker bar from snap-on and a $40 socket. My first year in the biz I honestly spent about 11K dollars in tools to make my job easier. I have seen guys do complete engine swaps from the time they pull it in to the time they put it in the parking lot after the test drive taking about 5 hours. Not that they are cheating, just the repitition and knowing exactly what needs to be done and having a plan of attack can make you significantly more efficient. Why be punished for that? You think your next trip to the doctor you are going to get a discount b/c you got checked out in 10 minutes.. No problem found there means you still pay, if a tech NPF's your problem at the dealer he gets absolutley nothing.

creamypanda

According to the service manager at the dealership,
they replaced EVERY harmonic balancer on the
affected vehicles, even if the HB looked okay. To prove
her point, she showed me the dumpster out back that
had at least 3 or 4 dozen discarded harmonic balancers
from the last week.

Are they only supposed to inspect the HB and replace
with the newer-design HBs if necessary?

My friend who had the HB on his '99 W210 replaced at
this same dealership paid $760.(parts & labor) There was
nothing wrong with the HB, but he just wanted to be
safe then sorry. When he received the recall notice letter
from MBUSA, he contacted them to see if he could get
his money back. He did get reimbursed $760 after he sent
the original repair invoices/receipts to the dealer, who
forwarded them to MBUSA.

NoC

50 mins? That is crazy fast! I had my HB replaced and they had my car the whole day and overnight.

mleskovar

Give that dealer a gold star!!! If the HB is coming apart then it is almost too late.... I applaud any dealer that would not want to take the chance that because it 'looks' OK today, if it is in the questionable range, it will be OK tomorrow or next week/month/year/decade.

csumt76

According to the campaign, only two part numbers require replacement.

112 035 00 00 and 112 035 06 00

We have a handful of balancers that were returned and the warranty claims debited by MBUSA b/c they did not match the affected part numbers.

The campaign also covers car that have had sufficient damage to the front timing cover and lower oil pan. As you stated any previous customer pay replacement would be reimbursed.

mig888

Haha... got a letter in the mail about this too. Wonder what will happen if I take my car in to get this "part replaced" (staring at my stock pulley in the garage...). What do you think a tech would say? .

flip

mleskovar

Where is the part number? I looked for on my HB/pulley and couldn't find any numbers. I could see the inner and outer rings separated by hard rubber...which is showing minor surface signs of stress...but no numbers.

Eklass420Spt

so since i have a 97 benz i should have this checked out?

raymond g-

Flick key to induce engine crank and abort. Eventually, the HB part # should
revolve its way to the top to give you a visual and compare against the 'bad'
part numbers.