hey, someone mentioned that they had a creaking sound before they did this. i have it when i have the car in D and when i let go of the brake. when i start to drive it goes away. will this fix that problem?
It certainly wouldn't hurt to try. It probably needs a change, anyway.
__________________ Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.- Mark Twain
It certainly wouldn't hurt to try. It probably needs a change, anyway.
i know. btw, one of the bolt on the transfer case looks like its allowing a leak through there. what can i do to change it?? can i just take it out, put a new seal and bolt and thats it? or is like everything gonna come out?? unless i take out the fluid before i change it, replace the bolt and gasket and torque it correctly
i know. btw, one of the bolt on the transfer case looks like its allowing a leak through there. what can i do to change it?? can i just take it out, put a new seal and bolt and thats it? or is like everything gonna come out?? unless i take out the fluid before i change it, replace the bolt and gasket and torque it correctly
As long as it is removable strength (the non-removable I believe it's green and impossible to take out unless you cut the bolt or apply heat) high strength is fine too.
But there's a problem here. You have to unscrew the screw at least half way to apply the threadlocker. If the screw is located under the oil line, once you do that, the oil will most likely start leaking out so you'll have to be fast and than re-fill. So that means you'd have to take the oil out first.
The fact that is leaking around the bolt means that the bolt is either loose or rather an indication that the gasket is bad. I would change the entire gasket. You can check if the screw is loose or not, if it's not loose than the gasket has a problem. Changing the gasket might be a bigger job than you expect. You probably need to check the repair manual for that one.
Great post cmitch and everyone in between. And DETANE, the vid shows it all.
This is probably one of the easiest DIY projects and also the most neglected.
I have four 2 x 8's sawed 16" that I place in front of each tire & then drive the ML onto. This gives me just enough height to get under and keeps the ML level.
I used Mobil 1 ATF and after 2 changes, the noise went away. I plan on changing the fluid every spring. For under $20, it seems like good preventive maintenance.
After changing the fluid, I also take the ML to a grassy field and switch it into low gear for a little exercise (15 -30 min.) It's a good time to feel the power of low gear and helps keep things working.
I was pretty messy and almost 500ml of the new replacement tranny oil ended up on the garage floor.
I had huge difficulty filling the transfer case. I finally went back to canadian tire to get more fluid (due to possibility of not having enough after spilling so much) and I also purchased this crappy pump/siphon thing. It was really terrible but it barely got the job done.
Turns out I didn't need the extra 1 quart bottle.
I read some pages back that someone mentioned the transfer case takes 1.5 quarts not 1.8. This was correct for me, because I only used a bottle and a half and it says 1.5 in my manual.
I never had any transfer case symptoms like clicking but it was due for a service. The old fluid was dark brown, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and it had no foreign particles in it. I thought it would be bad because I don't think it has ever been replaced in 10 years.
$50 total for everything I purchased for the job (3 bottles of fluid)
I used Amsoil Synthetic Dexron III ATF. It was the most expensive one they had...hopefully the higher price means higher quality... if that were always true, I would not have joined this forum.
I live in a townhouse without a personal garage space, so I took my '98 ML320 to the local Oil Pro shop with these instructions, and for $30 the transfer case fluid was replaced. I was a little heartbroken driving from the shop home, but after driving a few miles and making a short stop, the noise has completely seized. Not even my wife's sensitive ears can hear it. I am very excited, and I hope the noise is gone for good.
Both Mercedes and my local mechanic were quoting $4500 and $3900 respectively to replace my transfer case. Thank God for cmitch and all your wonderful contributions. I even contemplated trading my car in for under 5K at a carmax.
Somebody tell me, is the merc dealership just ignorant of this issue or were they trying to rip me off?
I am really disappointed with my ML, I spend almost 2K to 3K a year fixing issues: replaced catalytic converter once, replaced driver window swith three times and many more...my '93 Nissan altima barely gives me any problems.
If you can drive it... it's driveable! 
Works like magic...the clicking noise stopped. 
Linear Mode
