I would like to know if anyone has a link where I can get the door seals on my 98 upgraded to a 00. I read in an earlier post that this fixes the noise problem that you get when you get up over 70mph. I live in TX, and here, I have to do over 90 just to keep up with traffic. At 90mph, the sound is especially annoying, and what good is having a Bose sound system when the white noise drowns out the music? Anyway, I would like to get the problem fixed, but I dont want to pay the dealer markup....I paid 6 dollars a piece for my C class lug nuts the other day....that adds up quickly...

Also, I posted this earlier, and Im not sure if its just me, or if there is a possible problem. My ML320 tends to be "jerky" when it shifts through the gears. Sometimes it shifts flawlessly, and sometimes it almost gives you whiplash. It has 76K miles on it and is out of warranty. Ive only had it for a couple of months and Im wondering if this could just be a minor problem. I know that the fuel filter needs replacing at 60K miles....Im not sure if it ever was replaced because the car came with no records. Could the fuel filter be causing the transmission problem if the fuel line is being clogged, or if it get temporarily clogged? I understand that the transmissions on the ML320 are very low maintenance, so Im ruling that out for now, please let me know if there is anything I can do to alleviate this problem. Perhaps a tuneup? Also, if anything else is recommended at this mileage(mercy kill?) or if anything else I should look for.

By the way, my C-Class is at 117K miles, and it runs absolutely perfect. It drives like it only has 7K miles on it.

__________________
1994 S320
131K miles

1998 ML 320
126K miles

1994 Blue C220
122K miles

Im going to Grad School @ the University of Iowa
Go Hawkeyes!!!

Yes, the 722.6 is adaptive. It should learn the new driving style on it's own, unsure how long it will take. An aggresive driver and a easy driver on the same car can cause this to happen after switching drivers. Any kids in the family borrowing it? hehe.
The sprak plugs are due at 100K OOORRRRR 4 years (1998 ML owners take note!!!! Many 98's were built in 97 and are overdue, the plugs can and will seize to the head!), also the fuel and air filters at 4 years or 60K!!!
Gilly
(I think I won't correct sprak plugs, sounds cooler somehow )

__________________
Click here to see the items I have up for auction at EBay

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163 720 05 78 (left side door handle area)
163 720 06 78 (right side door handle area)

You might need to drill a hole for this or use adhesive

163 720 07 78 (left side door A pillar side)
163 720 08 78 (right side door A pillar side)

You might have to drill holes for these our use adhesive

163 730 15 78 (left rear door)
163 730 16 78 (right rear door)
163 730 17 78 (left rear door)
163 730 18 78 (right rear door)

163 690 05 08 (left roofline)
163 690 06 08 ( right roofline)

RE: Tranny

The transmission is not hermetically sealed. The oil can be still good because it's synthetic but contaminated. This can interfere with the ball valve operation. Maybe you have low or high transmission fluid. You might want to have this checked. The part number for the tranny dipstick is 140 589 15 21.

Kuan

Oh yeah, adaptive transmission. Seems like I adapt to the shifting more than it adapts to my style of driving, either that or it's just amazingly transparent. I'd like to think that it adapts in almost no time at all, but there's no way I can really tell.

Kuan

Thanks for the part #'s...I dont like the idea of drilling into my car, so I may go with the 3M adhesive...but that would be a good opportunity to try out my new Dremel.
I will definitely get the fuel filter changed. I was looking at the part here on Fast Lane, and it said that the original fuel filter is obsolete and that I needed additional parts to make the replacement work. Is this correct? Is it going to be easier to just take it in to the dealer or a reputable benz doctor? I also wanted to look into getting all the fluids and other filters changed. Adaptive transmission eh? Well, I have to admit that I am the one that pushes ours to the limit. My wifes driving and mine are completely opposite. I will try to taper my driving habits off a little and raise her road rage a bit...(we have to meet in the middle).

There is a tranny dipstick? Can I check the transmission fluid? I thought it was sealed and unserviceable? I guess I need to break out my owners manual.


Thanks.

__________________
1994 S320
131K miles

1998 ML 320
126K miles

1994 Blue C220
122K miles

Im going to Grad School @ the University of Iowa
Go Hawkeyes!!!

Yep, the old fuel filter is obsolete. The new one is of a larger capacity so I think it's the fuel lines which need to be changed. There's also an updated fuel pump/sender assembly. There have been an inordinate amount of fuel pump failures due to the small capacity of the filter. The new one they say fixes this.

Your manual will tell you that the transmission is filled for life. I don't know how long that means, we Mercedes owners would like to think 500k miles, although I don't think I'll ever see that in my ML. Some techs say that changing the tranny fluid will dislodge the gunk which will clog the tranny and cause a failure. Others say if you don't go off road too much it should be fine. I don't know either way.

Kuan

In that case you very well may have to have the head removed to fix it.
I would probably try removing the plugs with both a warm and cold engine first to see if it makes a difference, I'd tend to think they'd come out easier if the engine was hot, but it would be alot less comfortable job.
You got some seized in there now, or just curious?

Gilly

I see my previous post is not in order. Kayooh, I believe you have your time zone set incorrectly, please change it to your time zone.
You do this by clicking on the "user cp" button, then the "edit options" button, then scroll down to the "date and time options" area and change your time offset.

Gilly

Gilly,
What would be the remedy if and when the plugs are found to have been seized by/to the head(s)??!!

Best regards.

Here is a link to another discussion which has most of the info you want on this

http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=49231

I checked my owners manual and it indicates that spark plugs should be replaced at 100,000 miles or "5 years." Gilly had previously indicated a 4 year replacement.

Based upon what Gilly is saying, plug replacement must also be based upon a time interval due to the possibility of the sparkplug seizing to the head. I always thought that was the reason for using antiseize compound when installing a sparkplug.

My 2000 ML320 has only 37,500 miles on it so far and would sure like to get more miles out of my 100,000 mile sparkplugs than they are going to have in 5 years of use. Seems like a total waste of 100,000 mile plugs to me.

Originally, in 99 and 98, they were recommending 4 years, 100,000 miles.
Then, they came out with this Maintenance Commitment Plan where mercedes pays for the FSS Services during the warranty period.
There is a little confusion concerning the FSS items that are affected by time.
Many techs assumed that the "born on" date on the door jamb would be the proper reference point for things like brake fluid, coolant and spark plugs for example. Some say No, the delivery date is the proper date to use, but it may be difficult determining the true delivery date, but the production date (month and year) is on this label in the door jamb.
SO, the thought I have in regards to changing the spark plug recommendation to 5 years is this:
Say a car was delivered in lets say July 2000, but it was built in January 2000, (car sat on the lot for awhile before being sold).
Car comes in, under 50,000 miles, in May of 2004, original owner, still under warranty, for an FSS service, Maintenance Commitment Plan, MB paying for it, right?
OK, tech is checking the "born on" date in the door jamb, hmmmm, car is over 4 years old, Spark Plug time!
I believe MB changed it to 5 years so there's no way the car will be eligible for free spark plug change, not unless the car sat on the lot for at least a year before being sold. (MB doesn't want to pay for those 12 or 16 spark plugs any more than you do)
I really though the interval was changed to 5 years in 2001, I could be wrong, as you seem to indicate.
But 98 and 99 it was 4 year time interval on plugs, I still believe this is better than waiting the extra year before replacing the plugs. First of all I'd worry about the plugs getting seized into the holes, and secondly, assuming the vehicle isn't constantly being stored, then it's being used in-town alot. Then you don't worry so much about the MILES being travelled but the amount of time (HOURS) the engine is running, in other words slow speed driving and idle time at stop lights, etc.
Hope this answers your questions.

Gilly

[ PS added to this post only:
If the vehicle is driven almost daily, such as in-town driving, then the engine is accumulating alot of hours. The engine is being operated a similar amount of HOURS as a car which has high mileage, just not accumulating the MILES as fast ]