98 E320 Harmonic Balancer

[JetTech]

Hi all,

I'm new here but was a member several years ago by the screen name of JetForeman and loved the site. People like Arthur Dalton and manny were my heros!!!

Anyhow I'm getting back into the Benz scene (been out of it for about 3 years now) and am looking at a 98 E320 with 99k miles on it. I've done a little research and found that one of the things to look for was if the harmonic balancer had been replaced. Is there any way visually that I can tell if it has been replaced? I see they are fairly cheap to buy but can wreak havok if they are the old ones and let go. Also are there any other issues or items I should be aware of with this particular model?

Thanks all and it's good to be back!!


Oh yeah, one more thing. It has a slight rattle at idle, I think I've narrowed it down to a loose element in the right cat. I know these things aren't cheap but is this common? I pressed on all of the heat shields so I know it wasn't one of them.


Dale