87 300E with 131K. At 60mph and up, there is a resonant vibration that I can feel and hear even though its subtle. As speed increases, so does the frequency of the vibration/noise, although not much; i.e. at 80 mph it's a little more frequent than at 60mph. I've talked to two other 300E owners in my area and they have a similar problem, with varying degrees of intensity. Mine is rythmic and I can hear it more than feel it, although it's gotten stronger in the past two weeks. Any diagnostic suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

It's probably tires and/or balance. If you get a resonant vibration that changes with rotational speed, then it's most likely a rotating object out of balance. Just replaced the front tires on my '89 300E and the vibration went with the old tires. May not need alignment unless there is abnormally distributed wear across the tread surface.

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Jeff L
1987 300e
1989 300e
1987 BMW 325

I didn't think it was tires because my experience in the past has been that tires cause a constant vibration at a certain speed, rather than a rythmic one that's on, then off, then on and off, all at the same speed. What do you think?

The 124 is not known for this. The tires will cause this in many cases. I only use the Michelin MXV4 on these when possible.

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Benzmac:
Donnie Drummonds
1992 500E (very soon I hope
1981 280GE SWB
ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN
SERVICE MANAGER FOR 14 BAY FACILITY
MERCEDES SPECIALIST 8 YRS
PARTNER IN MERCEDESSHOP.COM

Same thing is happening on my 300CE.
Will rebalancing the weels help?
I think there is stil enough rubber for at least 10k, so I don't want to replace it just yet.
Thanks

Dmitry

Check the flex disc, it's usually the front that gives the most problem, but check them both. The original ones were good for 50k, the newer ones will last 75-100k.

About the tires,
I had the same problem with my 86 300e. I had new tires put on, and the car ran fine. Then after about 1/2 hour of driving, the vibration started again. I took it back, and they re-balanced the tires. This time, they lasted about 2 days. Then, way out of wack again. The problem was that the clip on weights were flying off at speed! I'm not that crazy of a driver, I guess the Mercedes rims don't like those clip on weights. I told the guys at the Good Year place to get it right! Then they used these stick on ones that go on the inside. No more problems! The vibrations only happened at highway speeds. Around town, vibrations weren't noticeable.
Hope this helps

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Kyle De Priest
1986 300e
1972 BMW R75/5 (Best there is)

About the flex disc. if that's shot the vibration gets increasingly worse as speed increases. On the other hand, an out of balance tire may have 3 or 4 resonance points (depending on speed) when the vibration will be more pronounced. (Compliments of my local friendly Michelin dealer)

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Jeff L
1987 300e
1989 300e
1987 BMW 325

[This message has been edited by jeffsr (edited 04-17-2000).]

Thanks for the help. Sorry to be so ignorant, but what is a flex disc?

DanB,

The flexdisc is a flat, round piece of strong rubber at each end of the driveshaft. It serves to transfer the torque through the driveshaft while arresting any harsh impact.

I have had tires do all sorts of things to my 124 car. You can look at the flexdiscs and see if there is any cracking. But I would cast a very suspicious eye on your tires.

Good luck,


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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles