Engine Shocks Critical?
 

I have an '85 300d Turbo and I am changing the mushy motor mounts to facilitate changing the oil cooler lines. Are the engine shocks necessary or more about luxury? I am afraid the new height will make a difference.

There's been some debate as to whether the engine shocks are useful/needed, and the answer I liked most was "Mercedes wouldn't have put them on the engine if they didn't think they were needed".

The new height shouldn't matter to the shocks. The new height will be the correct height. You should examine the rubber parts of the shock when you take it apart and see if they are shot. I think you can buy the new rubbers. Also be sure that the shock has some good resistance when you push on the rod. The entire shock can be replaced but if I recall they are pretty expensive.

From what I've heard the engine shocks are mostly for when shutting down or starting up, to help keep the engine from shaking the whole car. My wagon's shocks were shot, and I never really noticed any difference in engine smoothness without them. Mercedes did put them there for a reason, but for comfortability and luxury in my opinion. The new motor mount height should not affect the shocks because that is where they are designed to be. Make sure you take the nut off the top of the shock when you replace your motor mounts or you will destroy your shock mounts, ask me how I know!:P:o

Think of it like a shock & spring combo. The spring is what keeps you from bottoming out. The shock helps dampen that movement and slow it down. My prediction is that a motor mount sans shock will fail faster than with. The two work together to reduce engine movement and transfer of vibration to the chassis.

I believe the engine shocks are really only gonna make a difference upon start up and shut down. Otherwise the motor doesn't move around an excessive amount, or it shouldn't...

We decided it was too expensive to replace our shocks but might put them in someday just if we decide there's nothing else that needs fixing worse.

No data on whether the mounts fail faster without the shocks or not. Seems like it probably will fail faster, but we don't know how much or if it's a significant difference.

I think a pair of new shocks is $74 if I recall. Not cheap to replace. But I will tell you one thing. When my mounts were shot I quickly found out that without the shocks I probably would have had some major fan/fan shroud and radiator damage. They were the ONLY thing keeping the engine somewhat in check!

$74 for a pair isn't too bad. (Sorry sponsors, Fastlane is higher priced on this article). The real pricey component in this repair is if the mount has gone. A full re-hab (if necessary) involves the shock, some bushings and the rubber/metal mount.

Yeah the mounts cost the big bucks. I bought new shock when I put the engine back in, but skipped out on the mounts! Got them from Garrett who picked them up at the junk yard!

When I put the 617 turbo engine in my '85 300D (which being a Euro, originally had the non-turbo engine), I discovered I could no longer fit the engine shocks. When driving the car, there is no difference, as far as I can tell. The difference comes at idle, where the engine rocks gently without the shocks. It's nothing harsh or dramatic, but it is noticeable and isn't very Mercedes-like. And as mentioned above, you probably feel the engine shudder a bit more at shutdown. But again, not a big deal.

Incidentally, the diesel G-class of the day had the same engine, but didn't use engine shocks. The motor mounts were beefier to help compensate, but some vibration is still present. Refinement was obviously less of a priority in that vehicle back then.

I only have one of them on my car as one of the two was bad so during my engine removal for trans swap I just didn't put the dead one back in. No difference in how it feels. My engine is super smooth so they really are un-necessary. It shakes a bit when turning off, but thats cool. :D

When I got the 81 SD the engine oscillated side to side.
I read a bunch of threads on the shocks for starting and stopping only.

Whunter pointed me in the right direction.
I replaced (repaired) my top shock mounts and the engine responded.
Its been smooth as glass ever since.

Here's the post
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/2492583-post19.html