1998 E300 TurboDiesel Engine Mount Failure
 

Having replaced engine mounts on W123's, W124's and W201's, I am somewhat confident I can do the W210 Diesel engine mounts as well, but it never hurts to ask here if there is any unusual feature, like you have to take the intake manifold off to work on the engine mount on the driver's side, or the like, before I start. I did a search and did not see anything specific about the W210's with regard to engine mounts.

It is the unit on the driver's side that has failed, which seems odd as the torque load lessens the compression of this mount. Along with this failure comes a noticeable rough start, beyond just the engine jumping around more. I get a few seconds of smoke and rattling that is new for this car. Has 144,000 miles, and consumes less than what it takes to make the low oil warning light come on in 8,000 to 10,000 miles using Delvac 1.

Anyway, if this is a task someone here has done and they can offer some view of the expectations I should have (it seems everything on the driver's side of this vehicle requires the intake manifold to come off, for example) it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Jim

They are not bad at all.

Just a few things to watch out for.
1. loosen up exhaust down pipe at turbo flange to avoid cracking the cat.
2. Disconnect the charge-air hose from the turbo and maf sensor.
3. loosen shroud or remove fan blade.
all these things can help avoid damage.
Just pop the upper bolts loose first from above with wobble socket.
Loosen lower bolt. (one side at a time.)
Jack engine up on oil pan sump with wood block.
exchange mounts. (one side at a time.)

The motor mounts got updated a few years ago to a more durable design.
They shouldn't pop again for a long time.

Have fun!
DR.D

Wow.

My expiriences were greatly different. Just pulled the lower bolt, then upper, pulled em out and put them back one at a time. Mine is a 99 but I think is identical in every respect to the 98 in this instance.

See this thread. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/170651-210-chassis-motor-mounts.html

Thanks guys. I will possibly take a few photos as I get into this one. Sounds pretty routine - almost amazing that I don't have to take that intake manifold off, it seems to be step one in every maintenance effort on this machine - so I will be on guard. Thanks again, Jim

Jim - as the reference to the other posts indicate, I have my new mounts on order and will likely tackle the job within the week. Let's talk to each other while we're doing this and exchange ideas, experiences and frustrations.

Len
'99 E300TD 97,000 miles

Len,

I just finished the mount and a glow plug change (#4 this time - so far I have changed all but one since I got the car with 40,000 miles) and, other than not being smart enough to stop working when it got dark and losing a bolt for the injector bay cover, all went pretty straight forward.

I put the car on ramps and removed the aerodynamic/sound absorbing plastic cover (center piece). Then I loosened the bolts to the mount. The bottom is a 13mm bolt while the top was a 16mm. I was a little surprised by the 16mm bolt - I tried a 15mm and a 17mm wrench for a few minutes before going and getting the nearly new 16mm combination tool. It was accessible from beneath the car, and I found once broken away with the wrench on the forward side of the mount, I got a better swing arc with the wrench on the aft side of the mount.

I removed both fasteners completely, then jacked the engine up with a hydraulic jack and a slab of 1"x4" wood between the jack and the oil pan. I had my son to help me by operating the jack while I had my hand on the mount and I minimized the lifting on the engine that was needed. Once the mount was loose, I had him stop lifting the engine. I did not notice any distress on any other "stuff" visible from under the car. The lifting was a fraction of what is necessary on a W123.

The mount kind of rolled out once it got loose. The new mount needed another pull on the jack to make it easy to fit it and try to align the angular locating pin with the slot in the top side mount connection.
I did have some trouble feeling the angular locating pin fitting into the slot in the top side mount connection. The new mount came with a separate, kind of molded on synthetic rubber shield, which was not on the old mount. I left it on, but I think it contributed to the problem I had feeling the locating pin fit into the slot. I loosely hand threaded the mount fasteners from both sides then drew them up snug by hand, making sure the pin was still in the slot, then let the jack down slowly until the mount was seated and snugged the fasteners up again. After the bolts were wrench tight, I took the jack out completely and retightened the fasteners (bottom one was still tight, top one was loose). Once again, there is more arc to turn the wrench on the aft side of the mount than on the forward side. I tightened each fastener to a one vein bulging in my neck tight. Pretty simple job, and a lot easier than a W123.

I used Lightman's fabulous instructions to remove the intake manifold and change out the #4 glow plug(http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=88574). No problems, except as noted, I didn't finish until after dark and I was working by flashlight - lost a bolt on the injector bay cover. Also had to vacuum a bunch of acorns from each injector well. Freaking field mice. Car fired up and idles nice and smooth now.

Don't hesitate to ask any questions. I did not need to do the other side, so I didn't. That side looks like you will need to at least loosen the exhaust pipe connection. Good luck and I hope this helps. Jim

Thanks for this post. My mate and me are tackling this job next week, so the information is invaluable.

Did you have to do anything to your tools for access? Shaving mm off any sockets, bending extension tubes, etc?

What was the condition of the old mounts, once they were removed?

I used strictly stock Craftsman tools for the mount and the glow plug jobs.

I only changed the driver's side mount, as that mount was the only one I determined had actually failed. When I removed it the most obvious sign of failure was a crack in the rubber around the entire upper bolt hole flange. If there was liquid in there once upon a time, it is either still in there or it leaked out so long ago it is not evident any longer.

The mounts are not "square" meaning the top surface is not parallel to the lower surface, so a quick height measurement was not attempted that was definitive anyway. So I cannot really tell, other than I found it necessary to lift the engine slightly higher to get the new mount in, if the old mount was significantly shorter than the new mount.

The passenger side mount (right side of the car) looks like you will have to do some of the stuff identified by DR. DIESEL. As I lifted my engine I left the right side mount attached and the engine rolled over, so that side did not get as much movement as will be needed to remove the mount. Good luck and I hope this helps. Jim

I've done the passenger side mount several months ago,tomorrow I do the driver's side,really vibrates shock waves in reverse.

As described above,only 2 bolts,floor jack with a 2x10 under the tranny and there you are. I did it from below driving the car up steel ramps.
Can be a little dicey lining up the thread holes with the bolts though.But the easiest mounts I've ever changed.

Thanks Jim - good info. My mounts came on Wednesday. I'll probably attack that job next week. I'm going to do them both figuring that if one is bad, the other can't be far behind.

Len

Thanks, will post an update once the job is done.

Right, changed them today, I just wanted to ask.

When you guys did yours, were there any visible differences between each mount?

My old mounts were identical to one-another. The new mounts had slight differences between them.

Is this because they were perhaps manufactured at different times, by different manufacturers, or for some other reason? The part numbers are also different.

Just wondered in case I put them on the wrong sides. The differences were one of the new ones had a flat base, the other new one had splines, and one had slightly more rubber around the circumference than the other. None of these differences appears to affect the way the mounts are fixed in place, or how they operate. They just appear cosmetic.

The thread is here: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/171879-how-change-om606-engine-mounts.html?posted=1#post1343257

Just did my driver's side this morning. Based on Jim's note above and common sense, it seemed to me like the driver's side ought to be the mount needing the rubber cover, since that's where the fuel leaks would occur. However, when I took the driver's side mount off and compared it to the new ones, I thought that the mount without the rubber cover looked more like the one that came out. Comparing part numbers convinced me to use the mount without the rubber cover. The mount that came out had the number 202 240 28 17. The new mounts had the numbers 202 240 30 17 and 203 240 06 17. The 203 mount had the rubber cover on it. The 202 mount looked more like the mount that came out and it's number also appeared to be a later edition of the correct original mount. But that's what I get for thinking!! Before I did the right side, I figured that I better double check with my EPC. Turns out that my original thoughts and Jim's directions are right. The mount with the rubber cover does go on the left side and the 202 240 30 17 goes on the right side. So back to redo this job and put the right mount on the right side. Fortunately, the job is not that tough and ought to go even quicker this time.

BTW, the only thing I might add to Jim's excellent report is to run a die over the threads on the bolts to allow them to screw in a little easier and I also used locktite which there appeared to be on the ones I took out.

BTW, a short test drive with the new mount showed that all the roughness had disappeared. It definitely made a nice improvement.

Len
'99 E300TD 97,500 miles

Len - Confirming that the mount with the rubber boot goes on the left (drivers) side. The numbers didn't match my existing OEM's either. I beleive it is because that mount is updated.

Were yours leaking or just cracked/separated on top?

Of course I can't quite remember which is on which side now, but I'm fairly certain that the mount with the extra rubber bits on is now on the driver's side (passenger side for you), next to the exhaust manifold.

God this is bugging me now. I'd love to know internally if there were any differences. If the differences are manufacturer driven, and purely cosmetic, I'll just forget about it.