Help me techs!!

[Benzmac]

I have a 1992 500SL that has a drive line vibration. When the car is at about 60mph, lightly accelerating, the car has a driveline vibration. I have swapped the wheels and tires with others and had the driveshaft rebuilt and balanced. Any help??

Driving me nuts!

------------------
Benzmac:
1987 16V
ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN
SERVICE MANAGER FOR 14 BAY FACILITY
MERCEDES SPECIALIST 8 YRS
PARTNER IN MERCEDESSHOP.COM

[Alain V.]

Are the flex discs ok? When you removed the drive shaft, did you replace the center mount and bearing? I've seen center mount bearings cause weird noises & vibrations. Does the owner drive the car aggressivly(hard),maybe check rear hub & axles for "play".... I have a 500e customer who used to run the car on the track alot, he wore out one rear axle, and after I installed a renntech limited slip for him he started having problems with the other one at less than 80k miles.

i had this problem today with a 300d. it ended up being a steering stabilizer. it showed no signs of leakage, but when you disconnected one end there was no pressure in it. not sure if that's the case with yours, but it sounds very close to the problem. have you tried loading the control arms and checking the front end?? just a thought. good luck with it.

[Tobias MB]

AlainV,
Your prognosis concerning the axles going bad reminds me of Porsche Turbo owner tricks to the cars that are tracked or abused on the street. At their 'annual' they would remove both axles, recheck the packing and boots, then replace them....but on opposite sides. This evens the wear in the CV joints and doubles the life of the axles because the internal balls are pressing on the opposite side of the joint. Lee and you others like me I thought would appreciate this.

TobiasMB
300SE,300CE,190/5.0

Check the motor mounts for collapse and the trans mount as well. the SL as well as other "newer" models are very prone to driveline vibs. The driveline angle is critical. MB dealers should have angle checking tools and the specs, our does (RBM of Atlanta) and can get the shaft angles correct. Be sure the center joint is not binding. I check them with the shaft removed and separated for a better feel.
Good luck
turbo herb

[Benzmac]

The shaft and the center flex and both flex discs are new!! I do not own the angle gauge to check the angle of the shaft. Do you check them on the flat lift? I would think so but this is the first one I have seen. Have you ever seen a faulty diff in these cause this? I whines a little when accelerating as well. Thanks for helping!

------------------
Benzmac:
1987 16V
ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN
SERVICE MANAGER FOR 14 BAY FACILITY
MERCEDES SPECIALIST 8 YRS
PARTNER IN MERCEDESSHOP.COM

[Alain V.]

I have seen bad diffs cause driveline vibrations in two 190e 2.6's and the old 107 chassis sl.

[Carrameow]

No help from me. Its great to see that even the best need help. Respectfully, Rich chang

[CMuc]

I have seen inner cv joints cause this type of problem in a few domestic vehicles. It might be worth checking. Hope this helps. p.s. please post the actual problem when found.

------------------
Chris Muc
Auto mechanic
'87 300E 330,000 km

I had a 1987 420 SEL that had the same symptoms and it drove us nuts in the shop. Almost everything in the driveline was replaced. We finally cured the problem after we replaced the transmission.

------------------
ASE Master Technician, Lead Technician for Deutsch American Inc. Over 6 years of Import experience-specializing in German Automobiles.