Propeller Shaft Parts Source

[farmboybob]

I have a 92 500E with (128k miles). The car's original propeller shaft was rebuilt years ago by Southbay Driveline in San Jose, but it had some high speed vibration and after a few months it literally came apart at very low speed so I decided keeping it would be unsafe. Southbay doesn't repair/replace them anymore. Eventually I bought a newly made Dorman propeller shaft which made most of the vibration go away but not all of it (it began at about 50 mph and got worse as rpms increased).

After 15 months, my trans went out. I bought the last factory rebuilt transmission available from Mercedes. After the rebuilt trans was installed, the vibration returned much worse, with a big new wobble at around 33 mph in addition to the high speed vibration which became worse. Basically, the car wasn't drivable. Because there was some suspicion that the newly rebuilt trans had an issue, I took the car (and a BIG bag of cash) to the dealer. The trans checks out fine, but when chasing down the vibration, they removed the propshaft and the 2 halves were fused at the spline joint. All methods to separate the halves failed. Dorman has since sent a replacement shaft which was installed today and the vibration problems are even worse. All the joint angles are verified as in spec, the flex discs are brand new Dealer parts. The eng, trans and diff. mounts check out good. With the car up on the rack Mercedes took a video of the shaft as the car went through the rpm range and you can see the shaft wobbling a lot right at the 33 mph speed, settling down and then stating to wobble again at higher rpms.

Based on previous posts in this forum (in 2022), I called Driveline Service of Portland and they no longer make these driveshafts, but they said that they often have people bring them Dorman shafts which they frequently have to return to Dorman. They thought that possibly only US company making these parts is Driveshaft Pro in Southern CA. I called DriveshaftPro and am waiting for a reply from "the boss".

I haven't been able to find any other source for the part, which in my case would have to be a new build from scratch. Does anyone have any other source for obtaining the propeller shaft?

 

[gsxr]

I was not aware Dorman made a driveshaft / propeller shaft for the 400E/500E. Sounds like they do not balance them as part of the manufacture process, which is unacceptable.

I would recommend locating & buying a used factory propshaft and having a pro driveline shop rebuild / balance it with new OE/OEM flex discs mounted during the balance process. Not many shops can balance the 2-piece shafts, might need to call around, or search the forum for details.

 

[farmboybob]

Dorman says they balance them, but evidence suggests otherwise.

On buying used, I assume I can use one from a E500, though my car originally had a driveshaft with the nut on the spline joint. But I can't tell if a shaft from a 400E or 420E fits a 500E. It looks like the rear section of the prop shaft on the 400/420E's have the same part number as a 500E but that the center bearing supports are slightly different. Anyone know what donor cars work for the 500E?

 

[gsxr]

The 400E/E420 shafts are the same length and interchangeable with 500E/E500. Oddly, the 500E units don't have the nut in the center but that shouldn't matter.

The center support (rubber donut that holds the bearing) is the same part number for both.

Any year between 1992-1995 of 400E, E420, 500E, E500 should be an acceptable donor. If buying over the phone/internet, triple check that the donor is a W124 with M119 (124.034 or 124.036) as a lot of yards seem to think that an S-class or SL-class of the same year / engine is "close enough".

@jhodg5ck - you have any floating around for sale?

 

[farmboybob]

THANKS gsxr.

 

[cole67]

I installed a 400E shaft in my 500E about 15 years ago and have had no issues. Have about 50K of run time and yes it has the center nut.

 

[tuttebenne]

I was searching for info on driveshaft parts and came across this thread. My 500E doesn't get driven much - maybe 1500 - 2000 miles each year. A year ago I noticed a vibration that I originally thought were "square tires" since I had recently put on some new Continentals. I stored the car with a friend for a few months and encouraged him to experience the car. When I debriefed with him his comment was "once the tires warmed up that car was amazing." This supported my "square tires" assumption. The vibration has gotten worse now. The vibration starts around 40mph and fades off around 50-60mph. Once the car has 10 miles or so on it, the vibration diminishes significantly but not go completely away. Since it didn't disappear when warm, I felt the tires were not the problem.

Today I got the car up in the air since I was planning to renew everything on the driveshaft. To my amazement, the flex disks were in great shape and the center support (although impossible to see) felt tight. I couldn't move the driveshaft at all. I looked further and found the front of the driveshaft tube was burnished as if it had been rubbing on something. Closer inspection revealed that the fiberglass transmission tunnel insulation had dropped down and was lightly rubbing on the flex disk and the front of the driveshaft tube. The insulation wasn't hanging down, it had just drooped over time and now was contacting these components. I cut away the area that was rubbing and took the car out for a test drive. To my amazement, the problem is solved.

I bring this up because I wonder how many people are swinging driveshafts in and out of their cars and having no joy for same situation I had experienced. I don't believe any other 124s have this insulation so this kind of problem doesn't present itself too often.

 

[Jlaa]

I was searching for info on driveshaft parts and came across this thread. My 500E doesn't get driven much - maybe 1500 - 2000 miles each year. A year ago I noticed a vibration that I originally thought were "square tires" since I had recently put on some new Continentals. I stored the car with a friend for a few months and encouraged him to experience the car. When I debriefed with him his comment was "once the tires warmed up that car was amazing." This supported my "square tires" assumption. The vibration has gotten worse now. The vibration starts around 40mph and fades off around 50-60mph. Once the car has 10 miles or so on it, the vibration diminishes significantly but not go completely away. Since it didn't disappear when warm, I felt the tires were not the problem.

Today I got the car up in the air since I was planning to renew everything on the driveshaft. To my amazement, the flex disks were in great shape and the center support (although impossible to see) felt tight. I couldn't move the driveshaft at all. I looked further and found the front of the driveshaft tube was burnished as if it had been rubbing on something. Closer inspection revealed that the fiberglass transmission tunnel insulation had dropped down and was lightly rubbing on the flex disk and the front of the driveshaft tube. The insulation wasn't hanging down, it had just drooped over time and now was contacting these components. I cut away the area that was rubbing and took the car out for a test drive. To my amazement, the problem is solved.

I bring this up because I wonder how many people are swinging driveshafts in and out of their cars and having no joy for same situation I had experienced. I don't believe any other 124s have this insulation so this kind of problem doesn't present itself too often.

Which Contis do you have? I have Conti Extreme Contact Sports. They do get square quickly in the garage when the car sits, so I have resorted to pumping them up to 48 psi while the car is in the garage if the car sits for more than 1 day. As well, when the temperature drops below 50F, the Conti ECS tires are even more likely to get square when sitting ---- as in drive to a coffee shop on a 45F day, go in and get coffee ....... then 1 hour later go to the car which has been sitting on the cold pavement, and realize the tires are square again.

I spent a lot of effort chasing vibes some years ago (you can find some "heebie jeeby shakes" thread around here). Are you able to isolate the vibrations more? Front Axle / Rear Axle? Do the vibes change if you put the transmission in neutral vs drive?

 

[tuttebenne]

Which Contis do you have? I have Conti Extreme Contact Sports. They do get square quickly in the garage when the car sits, so I have resorted to pumping them up to 48 psi while the car is in the garage if the car sits for more than 1 day. As well, when the temperature drops below 50F, the Conti ECS tires are even more likely to get square when sitting ---- as in drive to a coffee shop on a 45F day, go in and get coffee ....... then 1 hour later go to the car which has been sitting on the cold pavement, and realize the tires are square again.

I spent a lot of effort chasing vibes some years ago (you can find some "heebie jeeby shakes" thread around here). Are you able to isolate the vibrations more? Front Axle / Rear Axle? Do the vibes change if you put the transmission in neutral vs drive?

I have Continental Extreme Contact DWS on the car. What I thought was a square tire situation turned out to be a driveline vibration. Closer inspection revealed the transmission tunnel insulation was drooping and touching the driveshaft as well as the flex disc. The drive shaft has a flat metal weight welded to it at the point where the insulation was contacting the driveshaft. Today I took the car out on a 20 mile run and the vibration that seemed as serious as a bad flex disc or center support was absolutely gone after I trimmed the insulation back. I still don't believe that small amount of interference could cause such a large vibration but it is possible the airflow under the car was pushing the insulation further down as the car was hitting 40-45 mph and causing more rubbing than it was already just from drooping. It is all fixed and I am delighted I did not have to disturb the exhaust system. Thanks for chiming in!