Vibration in drive and reverse only (95 e420)

[dds28]

I have been having issues with my 95 e420 with 88k miles without ASR. The car runs great and smoothly but lately has been vibrating only when the car is stopped and in gear, reverse or drive. Engine doesn't stumble on idle (in park around 650 rpm and in gear around 450-500 rpm) There is no surge either. Just a steady annoying vibration in gear at idle. As soon as I put in park the engine is normal. I have changed all the ignition components in recent maintenance (ignition coils (old ones were original), caps and rotors, insulator caps, spark plugs and wires). I checked for vacuum leaks as well. Recently, I had a CEL and checked the codes on pin 19. I got code 6. Cleared the code and has since not return but still has vibrations. Anyone has an idea what may be causing this issue?

 

[gsxr]

Sounds like collapsed engine mounts. Do you have a record of when they were last replaced (if ever)? You can measure the distance from oil pan to engine crossmember to get an idea if they are good or bad, but if you know they are old, pull out the wallet. Get OE/Genuine only, all aftermarket are Chinese now. ~$400/pair from discount dealers plus 4-6 hours labor. Fun job, there's a number of "while you're in there" items to look at that could result in scope creep.

More info here:

Motor Mount Age of Replacement and While You Are In There | M119 Engine

Hi gang, One drawback to eliminating primary order vibration is that it makes you (me) so sensitive to vibrations that you (me) notice secondary and tertiary order vibrations. As a recap, I recently replaced my tires which were slightly flat spotted, which were causing primary order...

www.500eboard.co

 

[dds28]

Thank you Dave! I am going to have to give this repair to my mechanic but will definitely get the OE mounts. I noticed that on reverse on my driver with a slight incline, it almost sounds like metallic rattling sounds from the engine bay. I have no history of replacing engine mounts.

 

[Kridre]

Probably the exhaust manifold rubbing against power steering heat shield because of collapsed engine mounts.

 

[dds28]

Makes sense. Thank you.

 

[TerryA]

@dds28, Replace the trans mount while you at it.

 

[dds28]

@dds28, Replace the trans mount while you at it.

Great suggestion. I will do that. I wouldn't be surprised if its bad as well.

 

[dds28]

I just looked up transmission mount 140-240-03-18 and most MB part sites says its NLA. Is that true?

​

 

[gsxr]

UGH. Yes... appears NLA. Wonderful. @jhodg5ck , what are y'all using these days for trans mounts?

Mercedes-Benz Classic Parts Search.

Browse through the Mercedes-Benz Classic Parts Search to see the availability of parts, promotional and newly manufactured parts and order them online (only in Germany).

partssearch.mercedes-benz-classic.com

 

[Kridre]

Maybe this mount will fit? 140-240-08-18 It looks similar, only difference is the screw pattern at the bottom, but this shouldn't be that big of an issue to rig something up. Maybe drilling additional holes in the cross member?

Pictures for comparison

140-240-03-18



140-240-08-18

 

[dds28]

Just ordered the engine mounts yesterday from MB of Laredo. It was $171.36 each. I checked other sites a few days ago and this was the best price. Incidentally, a few days ago it was $178 and the price dropped yesterday.

 

[gerryvz]

I just looked up transmission mount 140-240-03-18 and most MB part sites says its NLA. Is that true?

​

I have a factory MB transmission mount that I would be happy to sell. But the price is EUR 5,000, as with all of the NLA parts in my stash.

 

[dds28]

Old vs new

 

[dds28]

More pictures

 

[dds28]

I have a factory MB transmission mount that I would be happy to sell. But the price is EUR 5,000, as with all of the NLA parts in my stash.

I was able to purchase a transmission mount. Saved about 4900 euros.

 

[gerryvz]

I was able to purchase a transmission mount. Saved about 4900 euros.

HOARDER ALERT !! Calling all @Jlaa's on the forum !!

Get your transmission mount while it is still available! Investment opportunity ... $100 --> $5,000 !!

 

[gsxr]

Those are MASSIVELY collapsed engine mounts. Possibly original from 1995, check for a date code stamped on the metal body. You should be pleasantly surprised at the change when you get the new mounts installed.

 

[dds28]

I’ll find out. I took it to my mechanic to do this job and will pick it up later today. I bet they are the originals. I bought the car 10 years ago with 50k miles.

 

[gerryvz]

I was told very early on in my E500 ownership: you should change your motor mounts by 80K miles. At 100K they are fully toast. It's more of a mileage/use thing than an age thing, though we all know that rubber doesn't get better with age.

 

[dds28]

My car currently at 88k miles. So definitely original. I’m sure the weather in Hawaii has not been kind to the car

 

[Redrodent]

I recently bought the Lemforder transmission mount and it was genuine Mercedes with the star ground off. The China one prior to that collapsed just letting the jack down.

 

[dds28]

Those are MASSIVELY collapsed engine mounts. Possibly original from 1995, check for a date code stamped on the metal body. You should be pleasantly surprised at the change when you get the new mounts installed.

Picked up the car yesterday. Car at idle is now super smooth. Thank you!