Because everyone's been stewing in suspense over this, I'm sure, here's the motor mount resolution:
I did check these out and noticed, as I said in the above posting, that the driver's side looked cracked and had a gooeyness emerging from it. Knowing that there was no way in heck I was going to be able to do the job myself (no lift, no jacks, no tools, no knowledge ... bad mix), I took it to my indy back home and left it there for a week (it was a long, sad, Benzless week). As it turned out, the mounts were quite bad (not disastrously so, but enough to certainly explain the vibrato), so he replaced them. Unfortunately his assistant tossed the old ones ... he was going to show them to me so I could get a better look at how they broke down. Anyway, new mounts now, and the difference is very nice ... still rattles (it IS a 19-yo diesel), but not like a massage chair in a swanky mall "gadget store." So my baby's back, and smooth.  Thanks for the various tips ... I feel some level of accomplishment when I can go in to the mech and sound like I know what I'm talking about ...
__________________
1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)
|