I can see running an assembly up to speed and then ever so slightly touching it with chalk, just enough to contact the high spots, which would show up where it's heavy.

Fortunately for me there are two local shops in the Salt Lake valley that work on M-B and BMW driveshafts. I'll let those guys do the balancing for me! I've already paid for the shaft to be rebuilt and balanced, so I am still holding the idea that it's OK and the cause of my problem is something apart from the shaft itself. These same folks rebuilt the driveshaft in the '74 and it runs smooth as butter, so I have confidence in them.

Thanks for the suggestion. :)

I too have run into that scenario in my searches. I've changed the diff oil twice since I got the car a year and a half ago. First time it was old and dark but clean otherwise. 2nd time it looked fine, too. Both times the magnetic plug was not covered with a lot of steel particles. I don't feel or hear anything odd when turning the wheels.

I'll keep this in mind as I move forward. Thank you for the suggestion.

I appreciate everyone's suggestions. At this point I've clocked the tranny flange through all three positions. The vibration is still there and it might be a little better since the last try, but that could be my wanting it to be better interfering with my perception. I'm going to move to the rear and clock the diff flange next.

I realized that for each of the three positions the flanges can be in in relation to each other there are three positions the drive shaft can be in in relation to them. If clocking the diff flange alone doesn't stop the vibration I'll keep going until I've tried all possible scenarios.

I'll report back after I've got something.

I'm fairly certain you will get it have you marked or painted the yokes and taken notes on each try. It may come in handy at some point.

My 190D had a tire that was out of round which shook the whole car!

Yes, absolutely. I've marked all flange "ears", tranny, diff, and both ends of the drive shaft, with numbers 1 - 3. I've got a chart I'm using to keep track of where I am in the process.

Appreciate the vote of confidence!

I hear that! Vibrations and noises drive me batty . . . Unfortunately for me a new set of tires did not eliminate this vibration.

How about the rubber mounts on the diff. I've seen them cause problems on a 124 chassis but not on a 210 chassis. Also the rubber subframe mounts could be contributing to the problem.
Just something else to think about.

A good thought. Thanks for posting.

It's pretty much the same setup as W124 back there, three diff mounts, two in back and one up front and off to the RH side a little, where the shim stack for pinion angle goes. I have removed and added shims there to see if that would affect the vibration but it didn't noticeably. The three rubber diff mounts look fine. As for the subframe mounts, they look OK too, none are squished out or cracked up real bad. Rear wheels align fine. I'm operating under the assumption that rear end rubber mounts are OK for now.

Have not had time this week for more flange clocking. Will get back into that this weekend. If no joy there then onward.

I've completed the flange/driveshaft clocking exercise, and out of the 9 positions (I'm pretty sure that's all the possibilities) I went through I found one that runs with less vibration and noise than the others. It's not perfect but it's better, almost good enough to live with. I'm going to play around with the pinion angle some now to see if it makes a difference I can notice.

Thanks again everyone for the ideas and suggestions. I'll report back after I've messed around with it more.

Ages old thread but any updates?

No updates, other than the car is as good as it was and I'm living with it just fine. I cannot recall discovering anything significant with the pinion angle, and if memory serves me right I ended up leaving that where it was originally.

I still am getting some droning and vibrations that come and go depending on speed but it's really quite tame. I think the driveshaft is as good as it gets and that maybe, if I am really am hearing anything, it's coming from a rear hub. More time and miles will tell.

Yeah I hope I can find and correct the vibration in the shifter as it 'droives me nuts'. 1800-2100 just about every time and in city driving that's nearly every stop and go. Replaced trans mount and 2 flex discs and nothing. Anyways glad you're making do with yours and good luck!