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Old 11-21-2004, 10:19 PM
DieselHead's Avatar
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Just got a "new" C43 but there might be a few issues (bearings and temperature)...

Hi all,
I just flew down to Miami to pick up a 1999 C43 (with 40K miles) and while it has been great for the most part, there are two issues that I'm a little concerned about; hopefully you guys can help me out. I drove from Miami to New York and while driving at fast speeds (people down there cruise at 80 to 90 MPH), the car was great. It had great pick up, didn't make any strange noises, was absolutely rattle free and quiet, and got pretty good fuel economy (25 MPG). BUT, at slow speeds, at 25 MPH and slower, there was this really odd groaning/rumbling/low pitched whining. It changed pitch with speed (lower at 10 MPH, higher at 20 MPH) but there was no changes while turning, and it got a little more pronounced when braking. It's not a horrible, painful sound, but it's noticable and definitely doesn't sound normal.

The tires are standard size Michelin Pilot Sports while a little less than 40% of the tread left. I have read that these tires get loud when worn, could my problem be tire noise? It's a little weird that the noise is only there at slow speeds.

My other hypothesis is that it's the front bearings, although it doesn't get more pronounced while turning in one particular direction, and also, the car only has 40K miles on it and it seems like bearings should last longer than that.

What do you all think?

The other issue is that while driving, the temperature gauge is at, or just above 80 degrees, but when stop-and-go driving, or right after coming off the freeway at a stop light, the temp. gauge creeps up to 85 or so degrees. Is this normal? I would think that the temperature should stay steady no matter what the situation (within reason of course).

Thanks for the input, so far I'm pretty pleased with the purchase.

Alex

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  #2  
Old 11-21-2004, 10:57 PM
orvals
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My Michelin MXV did the same thing on my C280 during the last part of the thread life. New tires fixed the noise. I would say it is probable that the culprit is the tires, but it would not hurt to get the car checked/aligned.
As for the temp, both of my MB run between 80-95c, they do vary depending on the conditions.

Enjoy your new car!
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Old 11-21-2004, 11:02 PM
DieselHead's Avatar
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Thanks a lot for the reply. Sometimes I'm inclined to think it's the tires, other times, the bearings. It's hard for me to believe that tires that aren't even to the tread wear bars could make those noises, but it's also hard for me to believe that bearings would fail so early.

Alex
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Old 11-22-2004, 12:21 AM
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Location: St. Albert, Alberta, Canada
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Michelin tires have a great rep, but in my experience, undeserved. I have had many sets over the years, and all but one set went bad prior to reaching anywhere near the wear bars. I was about to rebuild the suspension of the 190E when a simple tire replacement solved ALL it's driving problems. Noises, pulling, shaking, you name it.

Have it investigated, but I would not be surprised if those tires are junk.

Temps are normal. Both our W202's (98 C230 95 C36) would be 80-90 degrees depending on traffic, and around 100C with AC going in hot weather. Normal.
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  #5  
Old 11-22-2004, 08:47 AM
kim Langley
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You can do a quick check to see if the problem is with your bearings by jacking up the car and grasping hte wheel at 9 oclock /3 oclock position and push/pull >> ascertain if there is "play" in the wheel.... "excessive" play is an indicator that bearings are going/gone

I've also experienced the issue of where new tires cured a host of steering, noise, alighment mal-farctions

kim

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