A160 Bent Drive Shaft

[Thor123]

Does anyone know how a drive shaft ends up getting bent? Is it due to going over bumps or driving on rough roads?

Mercedes Benz have now said the vibration caused by the bent drive shaft is causing the seals in the gearbox to leak.

So I should just replace the entire gearbox.

 

[Xtractorfan]

Bumps or rough roads wont bend a drive shaft, It's more likely tht someone may have tried jacking the car up, putting the jack under the drive shaft. If the drive shaft is bent then it would need to be replaced and not the gearbox..

 

[Hertfordshire Merx]

Just about impossible to bend a drive shaft especially by jacking it up on an A Class as the lower suspension arm is directly underneath it.

 

[meanie]

The only way to bend a driveshaft would be in a heavy front end accident-do you know the cars history?Even with a minute bend I would have thought that the vibrations would have been intolerable-how bad was the vibration.
There is always,dare I say,a chance that they may be pulling your plonker!Say thanks,I'll think on it & then get an indie to look it over.

 

[jamesmc]

I agree with meanie....
Mercedes Benz outlets have often been known to be wrong. I would go for second opinion from an independent MB specialist before accepting the original MB diagnosis.

 

[Thor123]

Thank you so much for your replies. I too could not comprehend how anyone goes about bending a shaft that is encased in the gearbox. I have only driven it for about 5 months since purchasing it. I do not agree with the findings from the dealership. As it is a pre-owned vehicle and I purchased it from a reputable Mercedes dealership who sold it to me with assurance of a full service history. I requested the Mercedes Head Office to look into the matter and pull the entire service history of this vehicle up. Will keep you posted on the outcome.

 

[Thor123]

Hi Mercedes found out that the supplier of the refurbished gearboxes was at fault as they were not testing the refurbished gearboxes the fourth box that they fitted did not leak. They gave me a refund of R 15 000 on the R 30 000 because it had taken them 6 months to sort out the problem. That's South Africa for you! I had the vehicle back for about a week and then heard a grinding sound from the left front side of the vehicle everytime I went around the corner. Turned out to be the engine mount that has perished. I paid R 5 400 on Friday to get it fixed as I had to replace all 4 engine mounts of course. Does anyone know if removing the engine multiple times could have caused more damage to the engine mounts?

 

[pomm001]

That's South Africa for you!
good to know somethings never change !