How many miles on your GL?

128K... still going strong.

Front wheel bearings @100K. FCP EURO lifetime warranty.
Engine wheel bearing kit/tensioner/belt @100K. FCP EURO lifetime warranty.
Engine oil filter housing @100K. FCP EURO lifetime warranty.
Front struts R/L @100K. FCP EURO lifetime warranty.
Airmatic compressor/box @100K. FCP EURO lifetime warranty.
AT Flush @100K w/amsoil.
Front and rear Diff fluid @100K w/75-90 M1 LS.
Oil cooler seals..orange to purple.. @125K. Part of the BlueTec campaign recall, at my request.
New tires, 4. @100K.

Overall, car is running very good. A lot of this was just regular maintenance for me as I'm looking to keep the car for a while. I did the work myself and saved a few bucks. Front bearings and the oil cooler seals had to be done at the shop as I don't have a press at the house.

F4Windex said:

2008 GL320CDI Update:
Now at 203,500 miles. Still has a CEL, turbo controller malfunction was diagnosed by independent MB shop previously. Now there's absolutely no boost/turbo noise when "attempting" to accelerate. They quoted $3300 to replace the turbo assembly.

I am wondering how wise it is to keep it. Will a new turbo uncover other engine weakness, or a worn out transmission? The indy shop mentioned that the oil cooler eventually leaks, causing an expensive teardown to repair. They also surmise the DPF probably needs cleaning out. What other problems should I look for/save up for?

I got the MB dealer to pull the maintenance history, since it was unknown to me what had been done before my 1.5 years of ownership. Anything specific I should look for there? I don't see much related to the engine or trans in the history.

Thanks in advance,
Charlie F.

Click to expand...

Hello. Those engines are capable of reaching 500k to 750k miles without any major rebuild - with proper maintenance. All your fluids need to be done every 100k miles, at the minimum. Use OEM spec fluids and you'll be fine. With that said, one MAJOR update you can do to your engine post reman-turbo installation is to install a OIL CATCH CAN... That OCC is a life saver and will add thousands of miles to your engine and life of the car. Run 5w-40 low-SAPS oil ONLY in the OM642 engine (look for 229.52 spec oil). This will save your timing chain and ad longevity to your engine and DPF. Oil cooler seals are a huge problem on these cars. If yours are not leaking then you either have the updated seals or got really lucky with the quality of the old seals. They will leak anywhere from 50k miles to 150k miles, since you're at 200k miles, its safe to say you should be OK. DPF is easy to do if you got the time and patience. Basic maintenance will include, but is not limited to, belts, brakes, suspension, airmatic, tires, lights, etc.

You can buy a used turbo on ebay and save half the cost, however, the reman-turbos for the OM642 have a larger turbo blade and updated parts. You decide what route you want to take.

As far as, all the other maintenance on the car, parts will fail and you will need to do your best yourself or pay a mechanic to do it. Use fcpuero.com for your parts as they come with lifetime warranty, so long as you're the owner of the vehicle. GL.

Great video for ref...