1999 ML320 160,000 miles. was on the xway and got a shimmy, then a shake,
then I smell rubber with a metalic noise .....

I pull over check for the obvious. nothing.

drive another 10 miles,,,it gets worse and worse. I cannot drive it anymore.
I am hoping I threw a belt in a tire. It seems maybe more towards the rear.
So I put the spare tire on RR. No change.
I put the spare on LR no change.
I drove in reverse no change . still shaking horrible.
got going 5 mph and it shakes like a drive shaft is way way out of balance,
I put it in neutral no change, Still shakes. A friend came, he looked and we cant see anything wrong. I have to have it towed to a repair place in the morning.
I have fixed everything myself for 70,000 miles until now. I am stumped.
I do not do transmissions, Thats where I draw the line. I have replace several drive axles.

Anything come to mind ?

 

I paid $220 OEM bearing and $80 for 2 bolt installation.

the drive shaft centering bearing went bad. You can buy them on Ebay for $40.

If I would have been close to home I could have fixed it myself. I wasnt.

 

those bearings can be a bear..especially trying to get the 2 bolts that hold it in. sometimes pulling off the bearing is a pain too. if you have a lift it isnt to bad but i wouldnt want to do the job without one. dealer charges about 4 hours to do the job