ML 320 Front Prop Shaft issue
 

I am getting a squeaky, almost chirping noise from my front area. My tech has narrowed it down to the front shaft and says that it has seperated internally and is causing it to be out of balance this causing a squeaking noise at the joints and or seals. Is this possible? Also, I recently (about 3 months ago) had some exhaust work done and they claim that they may have used a pry bar against the front shaft and caused the problem. I thought shafts were stronger than that. Any thoughts?

well
 

a pry bar against the front driveshaft would be a bad thing to do and hard to believe any decent mechanic would do such a stupid thing. but it seems possible at a muff shop. i would look closely at the ds and see if i could spot a dent. if you can show that they did it they should replace the ds. no repair possible on that, i would think.

tom w

ML Prop Shaft
 

Does anyone know where i can go online to view parts daigrams for the ML 320?

It doesn't exist -- I've tried.

Startek wouldn't have that info?

I have no idea just asking

The front end chirping/squeaking sound is more than likely coming from the water pump impeller. That the bearing inside the water pump is shot and caused the impeller inside to spin out of balance and scraping your timing cover. Check your coolant reservoir/expansion tank to see if there is any metal fines in it. If you have not checked it periodically, the cooling normally is yellowish. You will see the expansion tank gets darker and darker as time goes by (because of the grinding, therefore metal fines produced). I have a 98 ML and the same sound appeared during the summer this year. It would come and go but I noticed that the expansion tank got darker and darker and I figured that there was a problem. Check also the area under the water pump to see if you have any brownish liquid on floor or around the bleed hole of the water pump. If you have not replaced the water pump, I highly recommend you to replace it asap to prevent further damage. I have posted some pictures in the ML forum, do a search on water pump and you should find them.

Try ebay, they sell some bootleg copy for like $40, great stuff. every thing you need to know about your Benz is there.