Been reading up this morning on diff slack; can't work out why my car ('90 190 16v 5-speed) is hard to drive smoothly. Jerks when you come on/off the throttle and when you change gears, and makes quite a bad clunky sound while it does it.

Here's a pic of the diff:





Which would seem to be leaking a bit...

Also some pics of the subframe bushings which look okay:



And here's a short recording of the diff play present:

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=2371554832629103608

Not too bad, bit worse than my 190 2.0. So what gives? Front prop coupling looks quite new. Can't see centre of prop it's covered by an exhaust shield, but I tested for slack there and it seems solid.
Car does also vibrate at speed - maintain constant speed and vibration comes and goes like an oscillating wave.

__________________
190E's:
2.5-16v 1990 90,000m Astral Silver
2.0E 8v 1986 107,000m Black 2nd owner
http://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall.jpghttp://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall2.jpg

That's not too bad of play, probably more than when new though. My dad's differential has about 4x that much play.... Its being swapped out soon. It also emits metal shavings into the gear oil when changed, and whirs....so its near death.

__________________
-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)

Okay, well that's what I thought. So what else should I check? Where are the diff bushings?

__________________
190E's:
2.5-16v 1990 90,000m Astral Silver
2.0E 8v 1986 107,000m Black 2nd owner
http://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall.jpghttp://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall2.jpg

It looks like on the 190 the bushings are probably between that rear-support and the diff itself, where those 4 bolts go through. There is probably a rubber piece in there that's worn out and could cause a shifting/bumping noise if the diff moves a little....

__________________
-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)

The 190 club told me the diff is solid mounted to the subframe with those four bolts so there goes that suggestion.
So what next- engine mounts, gearbox mounts, how do i test them?
Should i remove heat shield to check u joint in centre of prop shaft? What too look for or what to test or try there? New area for me all this big mechanical stuff?
Thanks!

__________________
190E's:
2.5-16v 1990 90,000m Astral Silver
2.0E 8v 1986 107,000m Black 2nd owner
http://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall.jpghttp://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall2.jpg

Anybody?

Going to make the effort to lift the car and check the prop shaft now; see what I can see.

__________________
190E's:
2.5-16v 1990 90,000m Astral Silver
2.0E 8v 1986 107,000m Black 2nd owner
http://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall.jpghttp://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall2.jpg

Front flex disc: Bit of cracking? Separate problem or related to my vibration/clunking?

__________________
190E's:
2.5-16v 1990 90,000m Astral Silver
2.0E 8v 1986 107,000m Black 2nd owner
http://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall.jpghttp://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall2.jpg