Hey everybody! I've been reading this forum for a while and have used some of the invaluable info on here, so thanks in advance! I have a few questions for anyone that has time. (BTW - I've searched the forum for answers, and found some that might relate, so pardon if I'm asking again - I'm a new Benz owner and the car's "M.O." is still new to me.)

I have a "new" used 97 C280 with about 43K. After the car has warmed up and in gear, there's an annoying vibration that goes throughout the car - it's bad enough that it shakes the headrest and the steering wheel. I just had a new fuel pump installed after the car slowly over time became harder to start, then not at all. Looking on this forum I found a few areas which I thought might be related: Engine mounts bad; idle not set right; valves need adjusting; misfiring (?); etc.

Whether in gear or in neutral or park, it's there. With the A/C off it's not as bad, but noticable. Don't get me wrong, the car doesn't shake, but there's a low freq vibration that rattles my teeth. It goes away when I rev the engine or accelerate from a stop. Is this normal? I thought a Benz should "purr" when sitting at a stoplight, not vibrate my spine. A friend siad it might be the transmission.

Any thoughts? And thank goodness for this site! It helped me make a wise decision when purchasing a used C280.

Thanks!

Mark E. Ft. Lauderale

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Mark E.
Miami, FL
2 X 1997 C280

Welcome to the Mercedesshop, You mention that you had a hard starting problem.Change your oil maybe your its been sitting for a while before you bought it ,replace the plugs,check the distributor and rotor or it might be the OVP.Do a seach It will help you alot.I don't think it the engine mount your car has only 43k miles.

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96' E320

Is the vibration there when you're driving? Or is it just when the car is stopped (like at idle)?

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2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

This car is DI, Distributorless Ignition, so disregard the comment about distributor cap and rotor. The sparkplugs are a possibility though, be sure to use only the approved Bosch sparkplug, F8DC4 gapped at .032", torque to 29nm. I would go along with the motor mount theory as well. Check the plugs first, then have the motor mounts inspected, there is a gap than can be measured between the mount and subframe to tell if they are worn out or not.
Don't worry about the OVP, I'm not 100% sure this car has one, and if it did I've never heard of it causing a complaint like this.
Gilly

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The virbration is only there at idle, goes away when I step on the gas. In park or neutral it's not bad at all, but when I put the car in gear it gets pretty bad. I've read on hear about the flex disc - whaddya think? I've also noticed when I'm decelerating (usually into [ I think ] 2nd or 1st gear) there's a kick in the transmission - like it's shifting down hard. I thought I've already trained the adaptive transmission to my driving habits (like a grandma), but it's downshifting pretty hard. As to the plugs, I'll have my indepedent check it out when I can get in. Any more ideas guys? TIA!

Mark E.

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Mark E.
Miami, FL
2 X 1997 C280

Well, it's been a few months - but to let anyone reading this thread, it was the engine mounts causing the problem. New mounts = vibration gone. Thanks for all your posts guys!

Mark

Ft. Lauderdale

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Mark E.
Miami, FL
2 X 1997 C280

No problem Mark, glad to help. Don't hesitate to ask if you have any other questions.
Gilly

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Click here to see the items I have up for auction at EBay

Click here to see a photo album of my '62 Sprite Project Moneypit (Now Sold)

Hey,

You mentioned a "kick" when downshifting in your 97 c280. This is equipped with the 722.6 tranny and if the car is still covered under factory warrenty I'd schedule a appointment, complain about the 2-1 downshift and tell them to fix it. :-)

The .6 is a damn good tranny but, the early ones have some issues with clutch pack clearances, input shaft bushings, front and rear "freewheel units" (spags to the rest of us) and some very early production ones have no covers on the solinoids which can allow normal debris to collect on the contacts and short them out.

The "kick" is normally the byproduct of 2 things, early freewheel units that will "miss" when locking up and ECT programming. There are a bunch of DTB's on these and depending on the wear of the bushings replacement is oftem the cheapest route out and always replace that ETC.6 control unit as they have to match the valve body for proper performance.

This is also a good time to bring up another point, this unit has no dipstick and uses synthetic fluid that is kinda hard on the skin. The only other weird thing I've seen with the .6 is the electrical connector will leak internally and "wick" atf into the harness all the way to the control unit. Regardless of the recomended spec's I'd service this unit every 60k and be prepared for a shock when it comes to fluid costs.

BTW, I've seen a few sets of collasped motor mounts on 202's and 210's at a early age.

Joe

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Project Smoker, '87 603 powered wagon
Hauler, 96 CTD can you say torque?
Toy 73 Cougar xr7 convertible
Acme Automotive Inc.
Raleigh NC
919-881-0364

THanks! I've taken the car to the local Benz dealership and complained about the herd downshifting - they won't touch it. Well, they say there's nothing wrong with it. I had an independent change the tranny fluid for my though. Everyone has helped me out telling me what to look for and ask the dealership what to do, but I keep getting stonewalled. I've got a great aftermarket extended warranty that the dealerships LOVE around here. They've sucked 4K out of it so far, but still won't get near the transmission. Donno what to do now. I'm trying to get an actual diagnosis from an independent shop that's sophisticated enough to work on the tranny, but none so far. Thanks for all your suggestions - I do appreciate them!

Mark

Ft. Lauderdale

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Mark E.
Miami, FL
2 X 1997 C280

This is going to sound bad but, drive it to Raleigh and I'll fix it.



Joe

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Project Smoker, '87 603 powered wagon
Hauler, 96 CTD can you say torque?
Toy 73 Cougar xr7 convertible
Acme Automotive Inc.
Raleigh NC
919-881-0364

ok, got that out of my system. Heres the deal, ask them what the adaptation for the 2-1 downshift looks like, anything over 150 indicates your approaching the limits. Also ask them what the k1 and k2 fill times look like, if you see exactly backwards of what would be expected, theres the "missing" rear freewheel.

the tranny tries to compensate for the "miss" by dropping the fill times into negative numbers and the pack adaptation will show a loose pack.



Joe

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Project Smoker, '87 603 powered wagon
Hauler, 96 CTD can you say torque?
Toy 73 Cougar xr7 convertible
Acme Automotive Inc.
Raleigh NC
919-881-0364

Thanks for the reply, but I have to admit you lost me... The problem is intermittent. I've found a great shop, but everywhere I've been they've told me they still can't find the problem. Could you simplify what I should be asking for them to look at? I just might drive the car to North Carolina!

Thanks

Mark Evans

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Mark E.
Miami, FL
2 X 1997 C280