The Mercedes-Benz GLK350 is a small luxury SUV that offers a nice balance of comfort and performance. It's a good choice for those looking for a stylish and practical vehicle.
The transfer case is a part of a vehicle that helps send power to the wheels, especially in four-wheel drive cars. It helps the car handle different types of terrain better.
The front differential helps the front wheels of a car turn at different speeds, especially when going around corners. It's important for vehicles that can drive all four wheels.
The steering rack helps you turn the car when you move the steering wheel. It's an important part that connects your steering wheel to the wheels, making sure they turn in the right direction.
The pinion gear is a small gear that helps transfer power from the engine to the wheels. It works with another gear called the ring gear to make the car move.
The ring gear is a big gear that works with the pinion gear to help turn the wheels of the car. It helps transfer power from the engine to make the car go.
Metal filings are tiny pieces of metal that can appear in the oil of a car. They usually mean that some parts of the engine are wearing out and might need repair.
A pre-purchase inspection is when a mechanic checks a car before you buy it to make sure there are no hidden problems. It's a smart way to avoid buying a car that might need a lot of repairs later.
Car
Mercedes-Benz GLK250
The Mercedes-Benz GLK250 is a small luxury SUV that comes with different engine types, including a diesel option. It's generally considered a reliable vehicle.
LIVE
Hi, it's Mark Bossard. I'm here with Bernie Pawlik, Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
Vancouver's best auto service experience. Many times voted that by their customers and
we're talking cars. How are you doing, Bernie? Doing very well. So today's guest is a 2010
Mercedes-Benz GLK350. What was going on with this vehicle? So the owner of this vehicle
had just purchased the vehicle and noted there were some noises in the drivetrain. He'd actually
seen one of our videos on transfer case bearing problems on this vehicle and figured he had
the same issue. Lived actually a long ways, like 80 kilometers away from our shop, but
decided to come in because of our previous experience and expertise with this vehicle.
So brought the vehicle in, we did an inspection on it. We verified that, yes, the transfer
case bearings were worn out. It's a common problem on these vehicles. But we also
found another surprise that the front differential was making noise as well. So our inspection
process is, of course, to drive the vehicle and listen to it. You can hear the noises when
we drive it. Then to do a hoist inspection and we can listen with a stethoscope to make
sure where the noises are coming from because noises can be deceiving. Sometimes it sounds
like it's coming from the right, but it's actually the left. So in the process of
doing that, we found the front differential was very noisy too and recommended replacing
that. So not an inexpensive or uncomplicated repair, fair enough. No, no, a lot need to
be done. And we won't really talk about the transfer case bearings because if you want
to look at our list of podcasts, you'll find one on a similar vehicle, same vintage and
get all the details from that. But we're going to talk about the front differential
here. So there we go. So this is the front differential. Now this is the front subframe
removed and a lot of components gone. The red arrows point to the differential
assembly, which we replaced with a used unit. It was the most economical way to do
it. Rebuilding them can be a bit sketchy. Some things are rebuildable. Some things
are better just to be replaced and we chose to do a used one based on cost
and availability. This looks like something out of a movie. All the parts
have fallen off the car. What's going on? Yeah, well, they were gently
unbolted. Yeah, these are all the parts that need to be removed to do the
transfer case bearings and the front differential. So, you know, that big
chunk of metal in the front, that's the subframe. The engine mounts sit on
there. The steering rack is mounted there. You can see the wheel hubs on the
outer sides. There's an axle shaft sitting near the front. There's an axle
shaft back there. There's a stub axle there. There's more access.
Doss, et cetera, et cetera. Doss, yeah. So in all fairness, to do just the
differential, there would be a few less pieces removed, but most of the
items that you see there would need to be removed to just to do the
front differential. So people often ask, yeah, why is a job so expensive?
Well, nowadays this is just what it takes to do a lot of repairs on cars.
A lot of things need to be removed. This is more of the items that need to be
removed to do the transfer case bearing. So here's a view with the differential
removed. So you're basically looking at the engine oil pan there. So the
differential actually bolts up to the side of the engine oil pan. And again,
you can imagine just doing an engine oil pan gasket on this vehicle, how
much work that is, because you have to take the differential off and the
axles and the subframe and da da da da. This is the oil pan, don't you?
That's the oil pan there. Fortunately, no leaks, so we left it alone.
What's this?
So that's the differential with the cover removed. And if you look on the
right hand side, you can see a bit of a spirally shaped thing. That's the
pinion gear. The ring gear is the other sort of main component of
the differential. That's not in the picture. But basically, it's kind
of difficult to see here, but the oil, we didn't find any bearings
that were completely fried, but you can certainly see metal filings
in the oil. So that's, you know, good indication.
It's little flex, your pimples.
Yeah, exactly. There's a lot of flex, goldy colored metallic flex in
the fluid. Yeah, yeah. All over the place. Not a good sign.
Yeah, not a good sign. So things are worn out. So yeah, major
amount of work to do this job. And you probably can ask how was it
afterwards? It was nice and quiet. No humming noises or loud
sounds. Don't need to turn the radio up to drown out the noisy
bearings.
Yeah. So this is a new owner of this vehicle. Didn't do a
pre-purchase inspection.
Did not do a pre-purchase inspection. Very expensive repair.
However, he did tell us the price he bought the vehicle for and
it was a very good price, very low price. I think they never
disclosed to him, hey, by the way, you're going to need to spend
this kind of money because people will often go, well, I don't
know. And they didn't say anything. I think some car
dealerships are, in all fairness, a bit ignorant. And
there are people who sell cars that are ignorant, which is
why you should always get a pre-purchase inspection to
know what's going on with the car you're going to buy. But in all
fairness, I think the price the guy paid for it was very low. A
good deal. But it'd been a better deal if he didn't have to
spend the money on these repairs. And the mileage was low
to 130,000 kilometers, which is quite low for a car like this
of that age.
15 year old vehicle. Yeah. And how are these GLK350s other
than the transfer case differential issues that you
might run into?
Yeah, they're generally pretty good. We don't see a ton
of them for repairs. You know, the transfer cases seem to be
getting to be problematic. But you know, if that's the worst
thing that happens, it's not really too bad. Other than that,
they are pretty good decent solid cars. Probably recommend the
gas motor over the diesel is a GLK250 diesel, which is
actually probably more reliable than the three liter v6
diesels. But you know, that's a whole new podcast.
Yes, diesels. So if you're looking for service for your
Mercedes Benz in Vancouver, the people to see are at
Pollock Automotive, you can reach them online. Pollock
Automotive.com. You can book your appointment right there, or
you can call them at 604-327-7112 to book your
appointment. They're always busy. You have to book ahead
Pollock Automotive in Vancouver. Thanks so much for
watching and listening. Thanks, Bernie.
Thank you, Mark. Thanks for watching and listening.
About this episode
A 2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 presented with drivetrain noises, prompting the owner to seek expert help. After inspection, worn transfer case bearings and a noisy front differential were discovered. The discussion highlights the complexities of the repair process, including the extensive disassembly required. The hosts emphasize the importance of pre-purchase inspections to avoid costly surprises. They also touch on the general reliability of the GLK350, noting that while transfer case issues are common, the vehicle is otherwise solid.
