Hello all,

I know this sounds like a dumb question but I have seen conflicting info on this so I want to check for sure.

I have a '97 S320 (M104) that has developed a rattle that I have traced to the front part of the engine bay. It only rattles in gear when the car is at operating temp. Everything I have read says that this is most likely the belt tensioner/shock.

I have looked around a good bit to try and find it but I can't seem to locate the shock because there's not a whole lot of room up front to get a real good look. So...

1. Should this car have the old-style (with shock) or new-style (no shock) tensioner.

2. If it has the new-style tensioner, is the above diagnosis still valid for do I need to start looking at other things?


Thanks!

__________________
"It's not about how fast you can go, but how well you can go fast."

Bob in Richmond

'97 S320 (LWB), Ruby Red Metallic, 73k miles
'97 S420V, Smoke Silver Metallic, 155k miles