After some *****ing and moaning about my failing Crankshaft damper the dealer replaced it under "Good Will". So I have the new one in there. The C43 is very smooth.

They also replaced the crank position sensor as the car was having starting problems and this change really made a big differnece in the engine power and smoothness. Both were enhanced greatly.

Jeff

Wow, what an old thread! I still have the old ML from page 1 of this thread; 249,000 miles now.

__________________
Lenny

There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games. --Ernest Hemingway

'10 GL550/'04 BMW 545/'99 BMW 323/'98 ML320/'87 VW GTI (race)

Failure was experienced on our 1998 C280 at 125,000 miles. in 2005. A groove was cut in the oil pan, repaired with aluminum Devcon. Some weeping around the Devcon but not a serious problem.

MB service tech said he had seen several. The dealership sold me a replacement and a new crank bolt for $80.00 US. I made a wrench to hold the hub of the old damper and bottomed the handle out against the pavement, a 24" 3/4 drive broke the bolt loose with moderate effort. Used a Snap-On torque multiplier and the home made wrench to install the new part.

205,000 on the vehicle now will check it for signs of the rubber cracking .
T W Hudson
hpshooter@juno.com