I dont mean to ruin the post but what is a Harmonic Balancer? What does it do

I call the MB 1-800 no. November last year and after reading my Vin no. to the rep. they told me that I should be receiving a letter in Dec. for my 99 SL, I call them today Jan 17 and they tell me that my vin no. is not one of the numbers affected, now I don't know wether to be happy about not having a potential problem or be worry about it that somebody is wrong.

Do you have the ML? Your post said "my 99 SL". If so, I have heard that the MB dealers check them all regardless of VINS, since a bad balancer is still bad and replaceable. I would recheck with the dealer, not MB USA by phone -- or at least look at the balancer to see if it shows any undue signs of wear or degeneration.

Ben Carter

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Ben Harrison Carter
1999 Mercedes ML320 87K
1992 Mercedes 300CE 89K
1995 Corvette 29K -- Sold Dec 09
1989 Mercedes 420SEL 99K -- (Sold 4/08)
1968 Mercedes 230S (106K) (Sold 9/06))
1976 Mercedes 450SEL 130K (Just sold - 06)
1961 Mercedes 220Sb (sold years ago)

1999 R 129.068 SL 500 with a 113.961 engine, I thought it apply to this vehicle

I wondered if that was a typo in the original message, but you really do have an SL -- so the recall is not for you...... Ben Carter

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Ben Harrison Carter
1999 Mercedes ML320 87K
1992 Mercedes 300CE 89K
1995 Corvette 29K -- Sold Dec 09
1989 Mercedes 420SEL 99K -- (Sold 4/08)
1968 Mercedes 230S (106K) (Sold 9/06))
1976 Mercedes 450SEL 130K (Just sold - 06)
1961 Mercedes 220Sb (sold years ago)

FWIW -

Campaign No. 2005020003
April 2005
ALL MERCEDES-BENZ CENTERS
SUBJECT: MODELS 163, 202, 208 210 WITH ENGINES 112,
MODELS 129, 163, 202, 208 210 215, 220 WITH ENGINES 113,
MODEL YEARS 1998 – 2000;
MODEL 170 WITH ENGINE 112, MODEL YEAR 2001
INSPECT, IF NECESSARY REPLACE HARMONIC BALANCER PU

Finally went to the dealer to question the service advisor about my 99 SL he submitted my vin no. and the computer read that my car was not included in the campaign, I asked him WHY NOT, he didn't have an answer so he went thru the service records for my car, I told him I'm 2nd owner of the car and bought it used with 46,000 miles, and there it was . The harmonic balancer in my car had already failed at 33,653 miles under the previous owner, July 2002, lucky him it was under warranty, the damage included, harmonic balancer, oil pan , timming chain cover, fan, chain tensioner , roller, belt and 28 other items, I told him that it explains the oil presently sipping in between the oil pan and the block and can they correct it since they did the job.NO it is only one year warranty parts and labor.
Oh well at least I don't have to worry about the balancer coming apart on me.

I suggest you go back and remind him that the recall also covers damage to the oil pan and timing chain cover.

The recall inititally only covered the balancer, but was later amended to include the oil pan and timing chain cover.

My balancer failed very early on in the campaign before I got my letter. I had my car towed to the dealer, where they replaced the balancer, and pointed out the damage to the oil pan and timing chain cover, and suggested I replace it.

I declined at the time.

Later, when the recall was updated, I took my car back to the dealer, and explained that had my balancer failed later in the campaign, that the oil pan and timing chain cover would've been covered.

They took the car, got permission from Mercedes Benz USA, and replaced them for free. They even covered the coolant and oil.

Since the dealer is being paid by the MB USA to do the work, they should be more than happy to do this for you.

Take your car back in.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I just got a print out of the the invoice and it shows that they replaced all of the items that were damage including fluids fasteners seals and hardware no charge to the PO back in 2002 it was under factory warranty including,
113-014-01-02 Oil Pan
112-010-07-33 Timing Case
112-035-08-00 Vibration AB
112-200-09-70 Tension Roll
011-997-97-92 V Belt
112-050-07-11 Chain Tighte
ETC,ETC.....

The current seeping leak around the oil pan is after the fact 4 years later and therefore on me.
Such is life.

I just had the dealer replace the Harmonic balancer under the recall on my 98’ C280. The engine ran rough afterwards (at 1,600rpms felt as if a cylinder was misfiring) and the seal behind the balance started leaking pretty good (after 5 miles of driving and the car sitting for a couple or so hours). I brought it back and they replaced the seal (I paid for the part, >$15) and now the engine is smooth again, and no leaks after 60 miles of driving. I don’t know if the seal went bad because it was damaged when the tech installed the balancer, or perhaps the balancer was not on completely straight (causing the vibration and elongating the seal opening), or if the seal failed due to age (8 years old now) and being disturbed.

MarkC

I just thought I would add my story to these. I am not planning on hassling the dealer or MBUSA -- it is not worth it. What jerks.

99 E430

- First HB failure at 56,985 miles: Paid replacement, no warranty help.
- Inspect at 72,110 miles: It's fine. Apparently the recall says just look at each one in the shop. How nice of them to do that. (yeah)
- Vibration at 82,100 miles: I paid for replacement. Likely caused water pump leak as well, which I also paid for.

So, my independent shop gives me the defective balancer. It has the marks from the tech at the RBM of Atlanta shop which indicate it was out of true by +.1" (or perhaps .1cm units are unclear) when inspected at 72K. The pic appears below. A paperweight to MB quality.

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GParker
'99 E430 - Smoke 'n Parch

I believe the harminic balance balances the crankshaft inside of your engine. I might be wrong, but I truly think this is what it does. Hoopefully one of the more technical minded members will go into mre detail.
Earl J
98 E320
99 ML320

Anyone had success obtaining dealer credit for a harmonic balancer replaced by an independent as preventative maintenance? I provided full documentation to my dealer but they haven't responded. I called the 800 number today to see if they would help. Thanks.

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Dave

1998 E320
2001 SLK320
2000 Lexus RX300

MB will only buy if you have or had the 112 035 00 00 or 06 00 part numbers.
They have refused payment to us on several 09 00 and others that were
wobbling all over the place.
We ended up having to eat those repairs.
It is a non stop fight to get paid by MB for these damn things!
DR.D

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Dr.Diesel -
Shop Foreman
Master Guild Mercedes-Benz Technician.

Think the dealer is expensive? Do you know how much it costs to train a dealer tech? Or buy the required MB special tools to have on hand?

MB Australia don't even recognise the problem. I guess our consumer protection laws and associations have a long way to go to catch up with the world around us.

I checked the harmonic balancer on my 2000 CLK320 and unfortunately I have to report it has the dreaded part number. I guess my local dealer will have a lot of pleasure replacing it at my expense.