Mid-shaft bearing '98 ML320

[itb76]

I've never seen the mid-shaft bearing go out on one of these, I'll keep my eyes open for these now.... Gilly

(Quote was from 3/1/2003)

Mid shaft bearing failed when my wife was 16 hours into a 20 hour drive home (fortunately she was that close; I borrowed a Suburban and towed it home on my trailer). The dealer in Bourbonnais, IL had never seen this problem before, and didn't have one in stock, but my local dealer (not a great big shop) had three and has replaced several. The part only became available recently; before you had to replace the whole shaft to get the bearing. The car used to make a noise like a turboprop airplane tawking off when it was cold. The noise would gradually go away as you continued driving. At the last fuel stop before it gave out, it was louder than ever before. The car has 110,000 miles.

What's worse, my wife has lost all confidence in the vehicle and wants to get a more reliable car. We traded an '88 Nissan Pathfinder to buy the Benz; 215,000 miles, rusty as all get out, but the only trouble it gave us was a bad fuel pump and clutch cylinder. Still had good compression when we traded it in. Obviously not as nice to drive as the M, but it was a more reliable car.

Any advice on the job, or on how to reassure my wife that the car is worth keeping, would be appreciated!

Lenny