Just bought a S210 320 4-matic wagon from 2000, after my Volvo V90 (I live in Sweden) decided to start a fire under the bonnet.
It has 136.000 Km on it, and is pretty well filled with options.
After 2 weeks of driving pleasure, the car had a problem with a stuck brake caliper on the left front side of the car. At the same time the car started to have a vibration at 60 to 80 Km/h. Under and above that speed, nothing is happening.
Had the brake calipers replaced at the front (both sides to be sure), and the car came back with still those irritating vibrations. My indy had a look at it, and said that it might be the front axle (in between the transfer case and diff). He was not sure though, so I took it to the stealership for a second opinion. While driving to them, I noticed that the vibration was way less then earlier.
Stealership said, after balancing the wheels, that it was de transfer case. I would get my money back if it wasn't that they said, they where very sure. Got it replaced with a 2nd hand one, but the vibration was still there. Another 2nd hand one, still there.
Then they said to me that it was much better now, so I had to pay the full amount and live with the vibration. The only way to get rid of it was to change all the axle's in the car.
You can understand that it was my last visit to them (I refused to pay). They replaced the transfer case back to my original and put new oil in it after a long discussion with the owner of the shop.
Got back to my indy (vibration still there) and had the front axle send away to a specialist who replaced the joint and rebalanced the whole thing. Should be better then new he said.
We installed it, and the car felt good the first days, but then the vibration came back. Now nobody has a clue what it can be, I really hope someone here has some idea's????
Just to be more specific about the vibration: it can be felt in the whole car, even in the seat. Also strange: you can feel it in the steering wheel..... Wheels are balanced and aligned 2 times to be sure, also changed to other rims and tyres but no succes.
And the whole deal just between 60 and 80 km/h.
Please help me, thanks in advance! Would really like to keep the Merc, but after 2 months of vibrations that stay and stay, I'm not sure what to do...
Some of the veterans here would probably chime in on this and would have a better opinion. With that said, my 2¢'s; probably a motor mount. I had the same problem with a different car ( honda civic), wheels checked out, axles, bushings etc. vibrations were only around 60-80 mph, more noticeable when accelerating. From what i have seen in these forums, motor mounts are an issue with w210's and are in need of replacement every 100k miles.
reinout,
Couple questions that will help in diagnosis:
Is vibration present in any gear?
Is vibration present in neutral at speed?
Is vibration under load and/or coasting?
Does it vary when turning slightly, again at speed? (Changing lanes, for instance).
Is tire wear the same on all wheels? (That is, no cupping or one-sided wear)
With all of the work that has been done, can we assume the flex discs and rear driveshaft bearing checked out OK?
As suggested, the motor mounts and transmission mount might be at a point requiring replacement if they are original, but the 4matics respond differently to old mounts than the 2WD, I think.
60 to 80.... most likely it's because of the tire. Try to replace all the tires and wheels and see if the vibration goes away or not.
Besides, if the indy doesn't use a special tool to precisely inspect the shape correctness of the front drive axle, then the vibiration could be come from there.
Well... I just came out of vibration situation for about a week ago and the vibration continued for almost a year.(50,000km), first it's because of the tire, after the tire replacement, vibration is still there, but it's weaker. Not until two weeks ago I pumped the air pressure from 20psi to 40 psi to the front passenger side tire, I discovered that the vibration gets much stronger. So... in that case, I replaced the rim and the vibration went away permanently.
Dragonvoi:
I don't think that the motor mounts could be the cause, because it is not every time I drive that the vibration is present.
SkippyJasper:
Vibration is present in any gear.
Did not check if it is present in neutral though when driving at 70 kmh. Will do that soon.
Vibration is present under load and coasting, does not matter if I floor it or do not push the gas pedal at all.
The vibration does not vary by steering at speed.
Tire wear is the same on all wheels.
Flex discs I checked myself but driveshaft bearing has not been checked by me. Is that the bearing in the shaft between the transfer case and differential in the back that you mean by that?
KarlBenzSF:
Tires have been checked, and i replaced all 4 rims and gave them 4 brand new top quality tyres. It is therefore... well never say never, but almost impossible that the tyres are a cause.
The thing is guy's, I get the feeling that the vibration is gone when I didn't drive my car for like a week, but when I drive it frequently it is almost permanent that it vibrates. Here comes a funny description of a non-specialist:
It is like oil with metal parts in it, that only circulate in the oil when the oil is moving around a lot and which sinks to the bottom when standing still for a few days.
This description is also the reason that I don't think that flexdiscs, motormounts or driveshafts can be the problem. In that case they would be pretty constant would't they??
Januari 2nd my care will be on the lift at the indy, will check some other things with him and replace the, what is it called in the US, steering joints? (the one's that are near the front wheels)
Don't think that it will help, but they where a little bit worn out so they needed replacement.
Gave my Mercedes a new original cup holder for Christmas, hope that he will appreciate it and release the secret of his vibrations!!!
Thanks for all the help, hopefully someone has an idea what it can be!!!
I have a wagon and was concerned when I put new tires on. I was freaking out. Mercedes owners do that. I found out that it was actually a section of road that was poor. It looked good but heavy shipping trucks have damaged the surface. The vibration was the same when I drove the road in the landcruiser and my wifes shit box.
Does this happen on all roads? Just a shot in the dark. Good luck!
I came across this thread that thought it might help you, even though it appears that the poster's car is not a 4Matic, his solution to the issue makes a lot of sense.
Have been silent for a while due to my health condition (nothing to serious, got Crohn disease).
Thanks so far for your reply's, but I just can't understand my vibration. Sometimes it is there, sometimes not. Sometimes heavy vibrations (give's the feeling that you should not continue driving), sometimes minor vibrations. Sometimes between 60 and 80 Kmh, sometimes 60 and above. When the vibration is there, I can feel it in my steering wheel. Sometimes it sounds rattling round about 50 kmh, sound disappears under and above this speed. It never rattle's without vibrating, but it can vibrate without the rattle sound.
Can't be the wheels or alignment checked that multiple time's, engine mounts seem in great shape.
Driveshafts seem to be ok, although they have minor play in the differential. My indy say's though that it needs to be that way. But then again, how can a driveshaft give a vibration that sometimes is present and sometimes not.
Seems to me though that is must me something with the front axle. Otherwise I wouldn't feel it in the steering wheel, right?
Really, what a annoying problem. I need to fix it but have no clue what to do... neither does Mercedes or my indy.
Sounds like your mercedes master tech checked it out and couldn't figure it out? The indy as well?
At this point, I would take off your rims and tires and have them checked for balance and bends. If they are bent, get rid of them and put new ones on. A harmonic vibration that you describe happens at certain revolutions per minute and make bad roads even worse. Did you inspect them with your eyes or did you put them individually on a machine that revs them up to speed and can sense offsets of less than one gram? You can't eyeball a bad rim unless it's damage is severe.
What have you replaced so far? What have you examined.
Do you have factory rims on your car?
Last edited by magna steyr 210.282; 02-28-2013 at 07:30 AM.
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