[biffidum]

Me again... apologies as I sort through issues with this '99 ML320 of mine. I'm feeling a bit stupid as I am seeing stuff only now on the car. I did inspect it, but I guess I was not thorough enough. I was blinded by the low kilometers on the ODO.

You can see from the picture that the rubber is squeezing out and the HB has a slight wobble.

I did the search and discovered the info on the recall BUT it only applies in the USA Seems the US has a strong lemon law and most recalls are not provided for in Canada....

Has any Canadian out there managed to get their harmonic balancer done by a stealership for free?

The dealer wants $490 for a new balancer (part cost). You'd think they would at least give you a break on the part!

Other than that, is there any tips or pointers besides following the instructions provided by Mercedes? It sounds like the balancer is on quite tight. I may also have to fabricate a tool to hold the balancer while I loosen it.

 

[biffidum]

I ordered an aftermarket harmonic balancer for $130 so I guess I will deal with this when it arrives.

 

[43sqd]

I ordered an aftermarket harmonic balancer for $130 so I guess I will deal with this when it arrives.

Why didn't you wait for a response on the forum?

Parts.com which is original equipment (#39 in illustration) is selling it for $188 not including shipping.

Auto Parts - Parts.com, For Every Part of Your Life

 

[biffidum]

They only ship to the US (under FAQ - shipping). Good price for an OEM part - as usual us Canadians get the hose.

Fair enough on the waiting for a response. I am a bit busy these days so I just charge on ahead. I am mostly looking for any tips or pitfalls to look for on install. Specifically holding the harmonic balancer while loosening the bolt. Ironically, I had to do the HB on my 300D as well.... If I didn't like the ML so much I would say it was a bad purchase. Just have to get the wrinkles ironed out. Speaking of wrinkles just noticed I have a leaking brake line too....

I also wanted to point out that most recalls do not apply to Canada.

 

[43sqd]

I also wanted to point out that most recalls do not apply to Canada.

This is not true. When M/B issues a RECALL it is worldwide and it is not country selective. The dealers in your country are lying to you.

And the RECALL only applies to two specifically numbered balancers.

 

[biffidum]

Interesting... I did check and I have one of the two balancers (112 35 000) on my ML. So now I have to pick a fight with MB Canada??? Why would they lie? They get paid by MB for the work and the service department gets the business. I'm so confused.

Anyone in Canada have anything to say??

I'll look up a head office number and see where that takes me.

 

[DrX]

They only ship to the US (under FAQ - shipping). Good price for an OEM part - as usual us Canadians get the hose.

You can use a freight forwarder. http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w163-m-class/1782978-newbies-guide-freight-forwarding-non-us.html

Parts.com may not accept your non-US credit card, but you can get the same price at mbonlineparts.com (who take PayPal) or genuinemercedesparts.com.

 

[biffidum]

Thanks for the reminder DrX.

 

[43sqd]

Why would they lie? They get paid by MB for the work and the service department gets the business. I'm so confused.

They always lie in every aspect. Get that through your head now. Dealers hate to see RECALL repair work. The reason is that M/B pays for the part and the dealer cannot make their markup on it.

And whenever a recall is issued, the labor hours to remove and install a particular part is reduced by one third.

To them it is a waste of time and they would rather do regular repair work
where they can then inflate the cost of the part and the labor hours.

 

[Wragie]

Try Canada Parts Online | Auto Parts and Automotive Accessories in Canada for your parts if you haven't ordered. Pretty good prices and free shipping over $75 order total. I've used them a few times now and they are fast and good. They have several warehouses and I have had each order get here within a day or two. I know they have a warehouse in Ontario Calgary and Vancouver not sire where the fourth one is tho.

Anyway between the shipping and the good prices they end up being pretty cheap.

 

[biffidum]

The reality is I do most of my own auto work. Odds are if I went to the stealership they would have come up with some ways to charge me over and above the recall costs. The cost of the harmonic balancer is not significant and the job shouldn't be too bad so I'll just do it myself.

I already fixed the brake lines. Boy those brake lines get really rusty under those plastic covers. It's all smeared with grease now.

I'll check out the other parts suppliers in the future.

I find it interesting that I have only ever had harmonic balancer issues with benzes over all the cars I have owned over the years...

 

[Wragie]

MB Canada is actually not bad to deal with from what little I had to do. The dealer/stealerships I have run across drive me nuts.

I just read the recall note 43 posted and the problem is that it is at the discretion of the dealer. So if they don't think its bad enough or don't want to do the work you are SOL.

The only thing that might help is here all the dealers are independent so there are no common computer records for them to pull up. Just try to get access to your own vehicle info and you'll find that one out. All you might have to do is drive over to a more friendly dealer and get them to check it out. There won't be a record of you getting it checked.