I have a 1980 300CD with 117,000 miles that I have been working on over the past several weeks chasing down the illusive driveline vibration problem. I replaced the rubber flex disks, carrier bracket & bearing. I also replaced the engine, transmission & differential mounts trying to get rid of the harmonic vibration that was most noticeable at freeway speeds.

Replacing these old rubber components reduced but did not eliminate the vibration. I was careful to maintain the original driveline position when I separated the sections to replace the carrier bearing & support, but I finally took the driveline into GRS Drivelines here in Salt Lake City to check the balance.

Turns out the problem was a worn u joint. Even though it only had a minor notch in the u joint flex, it apparently was enough to cause my problem. GRS Drivelines is one of the few places I know of that works on Mercedes & BMW drivelines and can correctly replace these u joints. They also did a spin rebalance of the driveline. Total cost for this rebuild was just over $200.

Just wanted to share this information with others who may be looking for a good source of driveline repair and balancing in the western states region. In my opinion they did a professional job at a reasonable price.

nice, I remember reading about a place in the pacific NW that replaced the non-greasable factory u-joints w/ a greasable joint.

Is that what GRS did for you?

Was there welding involved?

__________________
Cheers,
Robert

Hmm....my U-joint has a significant "bump" to it when you move either piece back and forth. Maybe thats what causes my driveline to shudder a little bit when coming to a stop. Oh well. I replaced the center carrier and flex discs but left the shaft itself alone. Its not bad enough for me to want to deal with replacing it...at least right now. In the future if I have the $$ I may replace/repair the shaft.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

GRS replaced the u joint with one that looked like the original - no grease fitting. It was pressed - swagged in place without welding.