Well, a new year, and another MBZ to do some amateur wrenching on!

The vehicle in question is a '98 ML320, 50K on the clock, and yes, I winced when I heard that it was an early ML. Interestingly, the owners assert they have had only one or two problems with it. One of those was a roadside stopper under bad conditions, requiring the bugger to be trailered 300 miles to a service bay, so the early-ML curse seems intact.

I rode in it around Xmastime, and immediately noted some front end thumps and thunks over speedbump-sized perturbations. A bit of digging around in the ShopForum archives reveals that this is a common ML problem, and likely due to deteriorated swaybar bushings. Simple enough.

The invaluable Gilly also pointed out that there is an updated set of bushing *brackets* on offer for the early ML vehicles, but didn't indicate whether this is recommended, or required -- an important distinction. The worst offroad service this particular ML sees is a regular drive up and down a bumpy unfinished driveway in the boondocks.

If anyone has any suggestions in that line before I dial up the PartsShop and put in the bushing order, that would be very much appreciated.

While on the subject, any other hints or warning notes about MLs of this vintage are welcome. I am aware of the harmonic balancer failure risk, and will inspect that when I can get at the thing. Anything more to scope out or to do preventative maint on?

s/b