'88 190E 2.6 five-speed manual trans

I finally found the source of my 14-17 MPH driveshaft squeak.

Suspecting the collet nut may be loose (thanks for the suggestion S-Class Guru) I removed the catalyst heat shield (3 8mm hex screws then roll it off the driver's side) and found the nut tight, but the rubber in the center bearing support was mostly gone, so the driveshaft had no center support. It was basically just flopping around.

This pillow block is not a solid rubber donut, but has an "accordian" section to allow flex and vibration damping, but it's not very durable. (See attached photo.) The center bearing itself is okay. It was replaced on warranty at about 40K miles due to making a low frequency growling noise - typical of a spalled ball or roller bearing.

This center bearing support can go overlooked because you can't see it unless you remove the catalyst heat shield, and it may be the source of several "mysterious" vibrations including some you feel through the steering wheel that you think are tire related.

I'm not sure removing the driveshaft and attendent displacement or removal of the exhaust system is something I can do (or WANT to do), so I am considering buying a new support, slicing it at the top so I can bend it out to get around the bearing and then bolting it down. I could use some contact cement on each side of the cut. The load from the weight of the driveshaft is on the bottom of the support.

I searched and found some threads on replacing the center support and most remove and disassemble the driveshaft, which also requires displacing or removing the exhaust system. This is a big job compared to what I am thinking of doing.

Pelican has several driveshaft center bearing supports as low as about 15 bucks, so what do I have to lose?

Has anyone tried this method... or what do you think?

I'm down to driving this car less than 1000 miles/year, and if I'm still around in 15 years they may have already taken my driver's license away.

As a temporary measure, I used wood blocks to jam the center of the driveshaft as high as possible, then cut about a 1/2" length of heater hose, sliced it open and jammed it between the metal support and the remants of the rubber. Then I let the driveshaft down, so now, at least, it has some support.

There was no squeak when I drove it, today, so this will work as a temporary measure until I decide on the long term fix.

Duke

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Get the Mercedes branded part !

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'84 300SD sold
124.128

I did this before. I was able to tighten the nut with a big crescent wrench and some other wrench. I think I used a pipe wrench. I removed the entire exhaust. I undid the four bolts at the union of the exhaust manifolds and the downpipes and removed all the rubber exhaust hangers. Support the rear of the exhaust on blocks then drop the front. It is a little tricky to get the front lined back up when reassembling but not too bad. While you are in there check the bushing for the shift linkage and the front flex coupling. Not too bad to replace
I have a 91 300e

buy the best part you can.... also the front flex disk might be going out too... i would have someone else do it... it cost me 400 and I supplied both flex disks and the center bearing and support... exhaust had to be partially removed and the bearing pressed off and on

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1989 300ce 129k
( facelifted front,updated tail lights, lowered suspension,bilstein sports, lorinser front spoiler, MOMO steering wheel, remus exhaust,stainless steel brake lines). (Gone)

1997 s320 154k (what a ride). Sold with 179k miles. Replaced with Hyundai Equus

1994 e320 Cabriolet 108k



1972 280se 4.5 153k Owned for 12 yrs, sorry I sold it


[/SIGPIC]

if you cut the support - it becomes useless no matter what glue you use. Disassembly of the D/S is required for this job. If you are on a budget for parts then choose the corteco brand, they are one of the OEM and the quality is really good. The Uro branded part that comes with its "pre worn out" bearing and junk rotted rubber is good to throw in the trash as soon as UPS hands over the box to you.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

After contemplating the difficulty of doing this job on jackstands, I took it to A and R German Motors, 725 5th St, Hermosa Beach, CA about 1.5 miles from my house.

I've known about the shop for years, and current co-owners Al and Ralph bought the business a yearsago from the retiring owner after having worked there for over a decade. The shop is tidy and organized, and they do all the work. Al is the BMW guy and Ralph is the Merc guy. They both ride BMW sport bikes.

Using a two post lift with arms that lifted the car on the rocker panel jack pads, Ralph disconnected the center and rear exhaust mounts, lowered the system, and supported it with a transmission jack and did the same with the the transmission since the mount had to come out. He pulled the shaft out from the front.

The attached photo shows the damaged center bearing support with the bearing still installed. The bearing was okay - both the support and bearing were replaced on warranty at 16K miles (the bearing was growling), so they both only have about 67K miles, and I agreed that the bearing should be replaced, too.

It's tough to tell from the photo, but the outer part of the diaphragm that's molded to the outer steel ring is only about 1/16" thick and is separated nearly the entire circumference. Ralph said he doesn't see these go bad anywhere near as often as the front flex disk.

Ralph was great about letting me poke around under the car, and he checked some other areas that I was concerned about. Both flex disks are okay. (The front was replaced by the dealer at 60K, so it only has 23K miles of service.) The ball joint boots are split, but the joints are okay as are the A-arm bushings. I have one bad joint on each of the tie rods and centerlink. I can probably replace the tie rods, centerlink, and ball joint boots myself, but if I get lazy, I'll take to to Ralph. The centerlink jount is probably the source of the occasional "creak" I hear in the front end while turning.

His initial estimate was 2.5 hours labor, but he did it in two and that's what he charged me for. The shop rate is $100/hour, and the Corteco part is what I would have bought from Pelican if I had done the job myself, although I paid a bit more for it compared to Pelican's online price.

It's nice to know that I have a good shop walking distance from my house if anything else comes up that I can't handle, and I recommend A & R to anyone else within reasonable driving distance, which IMO would be just about anywhere is Southern California.

http://www.argermanmotors.com/

Duke

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