Hello Everyone, I Am Very Impressed By The Info That Has Come In. It Seems The Mileage Is Really Stacking Up To Give Us Some Decent Indications Of Possible Issues.

Glad To Hear 'waybomb' Survived His Incident And Is Looking For Another Ml', Guess The Ultimate Test Is Totaling Out Your Ml With 152,000 Walking Away & Having The Confidence ( By Experience ), That The Ml Not Only May Have Saved Your Life, But Mechanically Held Up Well To The 152k Before It Was Totaled . ...
Oh Yea, .... And Already Looking For Another One. ...

The One Point I Note The High Mileage Vehicle Owners Seem To Keep Reinerating Is Service Service Service, Oil Changes, Fluid Changes,
( Trans Fluid Included ) ... Appears We Are Getting A Look Into The Questions Concerning Durability Of The Ml. And It Is Looking Pretty Good So Far ...

Lets Keep The Posts Comming.

** By The Way Lets Through In Paint Durability. Mine ' 98 At 141,000 Has Perfectly Fine Silver Original Paint, And Actually Looks Brand
New When Washed ... Waxed It Over 2 Years Ago,... Yea In Need To Get To That Asap.

98 ml 128,000 no major problems -gets great mileage Fuel gauge will need to be replaced the third time. seals in rear and transfer case, harmonic balancer,
crankcase senor, MAC sensor and other routine stuff. I change the trans fluid and filter every 60,000mi. Change plugs and oxygen sensors at 90,000 miles Runs great and plan to keep it until the "wheels fall off " .Waiting for the ML270 ad blue diesel..............Teacher...Key to owning a "old "ml...you need to go through it with all the upgrades then yo have a good SUV...........

175,000 miles on the '98 ML. No engine or trans issues to this point. The bearing on the drive shaft support bracket failed. Without vehicle for one day.
Getting ready now to do rear shocks/springs and ball joints all around.
Ken

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2014 E250 Bluetec 4-Matic
2014 GL350 Bluetec 4-Matic
1996 Chevy Tahoe 4 x 4
2009 ML350 (sold)
2005 SLK350 (sold)
1999 E300 Turbodiesel (sold)
1998 ML320 (sold)
1991 300D 2.5 Turbodiesel (sold)

I worked on a 2001 ml320 last week with 130,000 on it and checked out the vmi. Engine rebuild for oil consumption, transmission replaced, transfer case replaced. Of course, working at the dealer I see the worst of problems.
Dustin

99 ML430 w/ 117k miles.

Replaced transmission at 80k miles but that's the only major thing that has occured. *knock on wood*

'99 ML430 101Kmi with no major issues 1-4.

Just changed the trans fluid (all MB parts and fluids) and now it shifts hard out of first when it is cold. How much does it cost to have the transmission replaced or rebuilt (just in case)?
I am on my second set of window switches. I don't mind the nagging cheap and easy fixes like that but am a little worried about the transmission as I have about 40K miles of towing a 5K# boat.

Loren

Changing the fluid should have improved things, even if only slightly. I would go back and double-check your fluid level. These transmissions are VERY sensitive to fluid level, and should be checked with the special MB dipstick that is calibrated to temperature.

Unfortunately, been there, done that recently. My cost was $2500 for an indy to do it. I understand it could have been up to $6500 to have the dealer do it.

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Behind every great man is a great woman. Behind every great woman is a great behind.

Concerning The Tranny Hard Shift Issue, It Could Be Worth While After You Check The Fluid Level, To Have The Tranny Reprogrammed.

This Was Done On My '98 Ml About 6 Weeks Ago, ( Along With A Fluid Change ) And If I Did Not Know What They Had Done, I Bet It Was A New Tranny. Much Crisper And Responsive. ( I Think They Call It The Adaptive Codes ) Once They Are Reset, How You Drive For A Couple Of Miles Or Not Much More Than That, Is How The Tranny Programs Itself To Shift Etc.

The Tech Changed The Fluid & Filter, Reset The Codes Then Drove It Sporty For The Required Miles. Amazing Difference In Performance And Best The Mileage Is Down By No More That 3 Tenths Of A Mile Per Gallon.

I Would Really Encourage Others To Do This With A Fluid Change.
Unless Of Course You Are Happy With Your Current Settings.

...but previous owner had all the major (problem) repair work done, i.e. fuel filter, harmonic balancer, front end (ball joints, etc...) windows, yada, yada, yada....

Have new 4+ plugs to put in soon/when I get the time...

New MAF sensor installed last week... Helped performance a LOT !

I change the oil every 8-10k miles & use 5-30 synthetic...

Get about 20-22 on the hwy @ 80-85, less around town...

Tranny probably needs to be serviced, but no noticeable problems, & I pull a 20' Boston Whaler on a regular basis, plus in & out on a steep boat ramp...

Fuel gauge going to 0 when filled completely, drives wife nuts...

Love the truck & will have it a LONG time !!



SLN

mine has 25965 miles on it. put maybe 30 gallons of premium fuel in it for its entire life, the rest was 87 octane. Tow trailers once a month. and change the oil every 500o miles.


So far i have had no issues. Except now it's stuck in low range. but it is expected.

This week i'll get the tranny serviced and change the timing belt and pump.

I LOVE THIS TRUCK!!!!!!!!!!!

No timing belt on the ML320 - timing chain and you don't even think about the chain until you get well above 150K.

Tranny service won't help low-range - this is part of the transfer case. I believe the solenoid is the usual culprit on problems with hi/lo range.

1999 ML320 just bought for my wife. Now it's got 100 k miles BUT had gearbox (5-speed auto transmission) replaced by a new MB unit at 86,741 miles at a cost of some € 5,000 ($ 7.000 !!!!)

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Mortinson
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+/- 175K on my folks '99 ML320 with no major engine or tranny issues yet (they've owned it since it was new). They did have the transfer case done just before it went out of warranty along with an updated trip computer, fuel sending unit, etc..etc...and there have been a few little things along the way that are typical to the ML (window switches, etc...) but so far so good! We have serviced it every 5K with Pentosin 5W-40 synthetic oil and have done the ATF and filter every 30K, plugs at 75K, EGR around 100K, coolant every two years with Zerex G-05 and brake fluid every spring. It's held up amazingly well for an early year ML but with diligent maintenance I think one could even run a first year W140 to near 200K

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Regards,
Aaron

i have a 2001 ML 320 WITH 167000 MILES ON IT WITH NO PROBLEMS SO FAR.........1 THRU 4............