i brought my 190e2.6 to the benz service center for them to diagnose the rear axle noise i have been having for a while, and after a road test and testing the car on the hoist, they determined that the noise was coming from the differential unit.

now this seems to be a bearing noise, because there is no difference in noise pitch/tone when you gas the car and engine-brake it (it has a 5spd manual), or if you disengage the clutch. Also, there is no oil leak from the unit.

i set up an appointment to bring the car in at the earliest possible date, but this is 2weeks from now.

my question is: can i safely drive the car even with the differential noise? The noise has slightly increased after about 2000km of driving it after first noticing it. Will the differential "eat itself up" if i just continue to drive it for 2 weeks? I cover about 100km a week.

I have a 1990 190E 2.6 auto with 160k miles. When I bought it (it had 100k miles) I noticed a whine from the differential. I asked my Mercedes technician about it and he said that was normal. I haven't had any problems with the differential for over 60k miles. Hope this helps.

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'Stormin' Norman
'90 190E 2.6 (160k miles)


[This message has been edited by Stormin (edited 09-05-2000).]

i used to have the same "normal" gear whine, which i can attribute to gears because the sound changes between stepping on the gas and engine braking.

but now this new noise completely drowns out the old "normal" noise, and the Benz mechanic concurs that it is not normal, and definitely sounds like a bearing noise.

i just hope it lasts about 300km before i bring it in ...

Sounds like the pinion bearing is going bad. If your repair shop can replace bearing(difficult job) then driving can ruin other bearings in the diff. If they are going to replace the diff then don't worry, until it wont move.

Red line makes a good oil that works very well. As long as the noise is not too severe, it will eliminate.

It's called Heavy Duty Shock proof gear oil.
Made many a happy 190 customer from using it.


Master Guild Tech - 2 Years
Dealer exp - foreman 20+