I have 2000 clk 430 and my car idles rough and is louder than normal at idle.
As soon as I step on the gas and exceed appro 700 RPM all is fine. At normal and high speed the car is fine. As soon as I stop it adles rough. The car idles at approx 600 - 650 RPM.

Can anyone help ??

Allan

Don't know if this car has any but...Motor mounts?

While under there also look at trans mount, exhaust hangers and driveshaft flex disks.

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Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

i have the exact same problem - 97 E420 w/ 105k miles

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Current cars:
2001 MB E55 AMG
2003 Honda S2000
2000 Honda CRV

Gone but not forgotten:
2004 BMW 325i 5sp sport
1999 BMW 540i sport
1997 MB E420
1995 BMW M3 coupe

sounds like the motor mounts. This car uses a liquid filled mount that is prone to failure, and will cause engine vibration to transfer to the chassis. I have the same car, and would probably benefit from new mounts as well. I wonder how tricky it is to DIY?

Also check codes. Sometimes emission system stuff that is faulty can make funny sounds and noises at idle.

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64 European Coupe Brilliant Silver with Red interior 4 Speed Sunroof
87 TDT 286k
87 SDL 195k
83 SD 202k
83 SD 201k
83 D 286k
02 R1150RT 32K
00 122HP FLSTF
07 KTM 250SX

"Danger takes many forms"

i've read hundreds of threads and ppl seem to have taken care of the prob by replacing:

motor mounts
o2 sensor
MAF
spark plugs/wires/connectors
vacuum hoses
CPS
EGR

or a combination of above. so start w/ the cheapest and move up. my car is not behaving too badly right now and i can live with it, so i'm just gonna keep on driving for a while.

__________________
Current cars:
2001 MB E55 AMG
2003 Honda S2000
2000 Honda CRV

Gone but not forgotten:
2004 BMW 325i 5sp sport
1999 BMW 540i sport
1997 MB E420
1995 BMW M3 coupe

Thank you all

Replaced bad motor mount and the problem went away.

Thanks for the help !!!

I am working on a 2000 clk430. Rough idle hot or cold and runns great otherwise. First suspected motor mounts and here is the test i did to eliminate this. If car runs with same roughness whether it's in drive or reverse i usually can eliminate the motor mounts as the problem. Poor motor mounts will generally give different rough idle in drive vs reverse. If the mounts are completly ruined you might not see a difference between drive/reverse but you should see the problem by prying on the engine and looking for collapsed mounts. For the trans mount do a visual and then pull down on the drive shaft to make sure there is still some flex.

If you suspect the exhaust system is causing the rough idle, jack up the exhaust a few inches (don't jack the car!), if vibration dissapers that is the problem. Also remove all the rubber exhaust mounts and see if vibration dissapears (don't drive the car in this condition, w/out the exhaust mounts).

This engine has 2 plugs per cylinder (a and b circuit). With a MB computer tool you can turn off the "a" plugs and see if the idle gets better or worse. then turn off the "b" plugs and observe. If there is a problem with only one ignition wire, plug or one side of a coil you may be able to see it because the imbalance is removed when you eliminate the faulty "a" or "b" ignition circuit. Furthermore with the computer tool you can see which cylinder is running poorest. Without the MB computer you must first take off all the "a" circuit ign wires and run the engine, then plug them back and take off all the "b" circuit ign wires. Just take them off from the coil side which is easy. What you may feel is the circuit that has the imbalance if the problem is exclusively in one of the two circuits. This is what i discovered, so I know my problem is ignition related and the "b" circuit in my case. The miss is not strong enough to trigger a check engine, but it is is noticeable.

The manual method i described above will trigger a check engine but it will go away after a few drive cycles or you can erase with a generic OBDII tool.

Don't forget to check for vacuum leaks, also try disconnecting the MAF and reconnecting (with the engine off), a poor contact/connection can alter the MAF signal by a few mV and fools the engine about air mass but may not trigger a CEL. A lean/rich code can also come from a compromised contact at the MAF connector. Many MAF sensors are condemned when in fact it's just the contact that gets "fixed" when you swap in a new one.
Good luck.

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1972 450SL
1982 300D Turbo