HEY DR DIESEL,
THE SILVER JOKE IS NOT FUNNY. THAT IS THE COLOR OF MY CAR. BUT THAT WAS A GOOD ONE.
DO YOU RECOMMEND REPLACING THE HARMONIC BALANCER EVEN IF IT LOOKS OK NOW. MY CAR HAS ONLY 27K ON IT.
THANKS EVERYONE FOR ALL THE INFO

So far all the talk has been about the V6 and V8 engines. Should I be concerned about my 199 E300 Turbodiesel? After all, it is brilliant silver!

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Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

Brilliant Silver is the most popular Mercedes color. I cannot remember the exact statistics of MB's produced with this color, but I believe it is more than 50%.

2 days ago, this happened. Actually the story all too familiar, after reading rest of the posts. clicking sound while wife driving. slowly increased to clucking sound. a big thick rubber ring fell off and started to smell like burned ruber. got it towed to Sun Motor cars, in Harrisburg, PA. After $432.20 , they replaced belt, replaced crank shaft balancer pulley or whatever that is, the center flat face pulley, and told me the the cover the timing chain case or whatever it was, was somewhat eaten up, not too bad. the guys tell me that if it was driven for another 20 miles, it would have punched a hole through. They duidnt tellme about JB weld or any other compound use. They just said, it may eventually leak oil, and then it would be a 18 hours labor and some decent chunk for parts job.

SHAME od MB for having a repeating failuer part to still sell!

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I am an enthusiast but you can't pry money outta my hands... Help me to get to full throttle on the Harmonic Balancer Crank Shaft Pulley RECALL!

SHAME od MB for having a repeating failuer part to still sell!

Given your experience......I understand what you say....and I feel for you....however, I would not expect more.

I bought a 2001 CLK320A just over 2 years ago....and have yet been called by my dealer and/or MB-NA concerning my delivery and/or service experience.....could this have something to do with why MB ranks poorly (i.e. lower than most Ford-GM products in customer satisifation in the recent J.D. Powers survey)? However, the good news is that MB midway among Chrysler products,

Perhaps I'm spoiled.......my prior car was a BMW 3 series and both the dealer and company always called after delivery and/or service visit.

P.S. Had anyone bothered to call....I would have quite a few things to say.

P.S.S

Although I don't expect that I will be called by J.D. Powers.....I do subscribe to Consumer Reports and will voice my concerns/issues in their annual survey,

J D Powers usually contacts buyers of "new" vehicles. I have been contacted by them twice for the purchase of my wife's new 2003 C230K coupe. First contact was for dealer practices and second contact was for the vehicle.

As for the survey on the vehicle, I am not sure how valid of a statement you can make on a vehicle that you have only owned for a month or so.

That is the problem with all of the surveys. It is what you measure and how you measure it. It can have a definite effect on the results obtained. It's almost like accounting in how you present the numbers! Remember Enron!!!

So do I need to inspect the balancer on my 89 560SL and 96 S320? Any history of failures on these cars?

Nah, I asked the same question before only I have a 86 and 95, nothing to worry about. Seemed like they started that on the 97 or 98 models.

No, the crankshaft balancer in question affects M112 and M113 V6's and V8's produced from 1998 to the middle of 2000 (when the updated part was installed).

Your 1996 S320 is also a straight six, not a V6.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I had my harmonic balancer checked out on my 98 E320 with 68K miles.

My independent shop said it showed some sign of small cracks and he pointed them out to me. With the engine running the balancer seemed to be running true and not out of round.

I also took it to my dealer and had them offer their opinion. They basically gave the same response, but said to keep an eye on it. The dealer confirmed they've seen problems with harmonic balancer failures on this engine, but offered no assistance. The response was if and when it fails, we'll talk about it then. And since it didn't show signs of immediate failure, they won't do anything about it now.

I plan to have my indendent replace it in the next 1-2 weeks. My service shop charges less than $200 to replace it. The dealer wants close to $500. It's just not worth taking the chance and not replacing it for a cost less than $200.

Shame on Mercedes-Benz for not taking a proactive position and performing a mandatory recall. As in the case of FSS and the oil change fiasco, it'll probably take a class action lawsuit and years of haggling to get any resolution on this. Which by the way, was the FSS lawsuit ever settled?

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Dave

1998 E320
2001 SLK320
2000 Lexus RX300

Dave, FSS lawsuit was settled in June 150,000 engine warranty for oil sludge related failures problems and $35 oil change coupon (BIG DEAL) I hope they really follow through on the warranty part of the settlement.

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1999 C280 Sport, 1967 911s Porsche

Thanks for the info on the FSS settlement. I received my letters with the coupon but never received any follow-up indicating the lawsuit was settled and the coupon was valid.

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Dave

1998 E320
2001 SLK320
2000 Lexus RX300

IMHO, you cannot "check" the balancer with any degree of confidence. I had the balancer on my E430 changed in October of 2002 (my dealer changed it under warranty before it failed). At the same time, I advised my 87 year old mother (in California), who drives a '99 C280, and still runs a business some 100 miles from her home, to inform her dealer of the problem and to have hers changed out even if she had to pay for it. When she took the car to the dealer in December 2002, they advised her that they had not seen much of a problem with these and would not change it, even if she paid. They told her they would "keep an eye on it" and in fact, it was checked in June of 2003. Last Thursday (August 28, 2003) the balancer flew apart. It went with no warning - no noise, squealing, or vibration. The car had to be towed 45 miles to the dealer. The dealer "goodwilled" the repair, which fortunately involved only replacing the balancer and belt - the timing cover and pan were not damaged. During my discussions with the Service Director, he admitted that checking the balancers is not reliable. So, get yours changed. In the overall scheme of things, it is a cheap fix.

I would be willing to bet the reason there is not a recall or even a service campaign is because of the pecentage of failures so far.
When you think of world-wide production and distribution of MB's
from late 97' to mid 00' that have 112/113 motors,
compared to the actual count of failures. The percentage has to be pretty low. I can't help but imagine there are at least 500,000
Benzes built between these years and the amount of balancer failures must still be pretty small in the big picture.
Give it time, just like the ML clamp. There will most likely be a
campaign soon.

DR.D