Yes John. After a lot of research (the dealer had no idea) I decided to look for some used plates. I found a wrecking yard that specializes in Mercedes and worked out a deal of $20 a piece. I received them last Monday and you're right, they are perfectly flat. I'll bet a million $ that these bent plates and the notches in the front subframe was caused by someone trying to replace the rear differential mount. If someone were to have loosened the differential mount this would swing the subframe down which could have caused the oval in the subframe and would have bent the plates. I can't think of any other way this could have happened. The vehicle has never been in a wreck and careful inspection inside the bare trunk and back seat area of the car including an inspection under it says this car has never been in an accident. When I purchased the car I had the VIN ran through insurance and through the DMV and nothing came up.

Since I dropped the differential I decided to go through it and reseal the inside axle seals, front seal, rear cover seal and CV boots. This also gave me a chance to take a look inside to see if there was much wear. I was surprised to see everything looked like new inside. I have compleded the reseal of the differential and replaced the boots this past weekend. Today I'll be slapping on some paint and let dry overnight. I also decided to purchase a center support and bearing for the drive shaft since it was all out as well. I plan to have the rear subframe, trailing arms and differential completed this week. Possibly this weekend I'll be able to test drive and get it to Mercedes for an inspection and alignment.

Later!