One question, do you have a heavy vibration while at a stop and in gear? If so, next time you are at a stop, shift to neutral. If the vibration gets calmer, it is your engine mounts. There is a very detailed DIY sticky on the forum regarding engine mount replacement. Check it out. If you are going to get them done professionally, I did, my cost was $316 for labor and $238 for parts. They did the engine mounts and tranny mount.

 

It is the motor mounts for sure. It looks as though the engine wants to jump out of the engine bay when you blip the throttle.

I have not been able to find the DIY on engine mount replacement. Any pointers or links?

 

Interesting

I've been having these symptoms too (rough idle when stationary in gear but not in neutral). I guess I should have my mounts replaced too. I'm not sure this is a DIY unless you have a winch handy. According to MB's W163 service manual you need to lift up the engine. If you PM me, I will email you a PDF from the manual describing how to change the mounts.

In short they state:
1. disconnect battery
2. remove inner fender, engine trim panel, air cleaner housing, viscous fan and heat shield of relay and module box.
3. remove engine mount screws
4. fit engine on supporting frame
5. unscrew nut from engine mount at engine support
6. remove shields of engine mount
7. lift engine by front lifting eye
8. replace engine mounts

Dwayne

 

Finished

After looking at the WIS I figured I'd take a look and see if this could be a DIY. 6 Hours later - all done.

 

Did you end up following the WIS? Did this fix your rough idle problem?

 

approx. what mileage

At approx. what mileage can the motor mounts be expected to fail. Just curious, as i am reaching the 100k mark.

thanks
ccorley

 

At approx. what mileage can the motor mounts be expected to fail. Just curious, as i am reaching the 100k mark.

thanks
ccorley

Age and climate are both factors ==you are probably due for new mounts now.

Put the car in gear and hold the brake while stepping on the gas. If the driver's side of the engne lifts up more than a 1/4", the mount has failed. My 98 ML320 also made a clunking noise as the car started out then the engine settled back into it's mount

I used a bottle jack under the edge of the pan and did one side at a time. Make sure the shift linkage is in neutral so it can move with the engine. If it is locked in park you will bend a lever. Also, the mounts are polarized and must be installed with the arrow pointing forward. You will sense that it is easier to install them backwards as the holes seem to naturally line up easier that way, but don't go for that. Also, you may need to loosen the exhaust at the header flanges as there is litle clearance available when lifting the engine enough to clear the bolts on the mounts.

Lifting with an engine crane would be much easier, safer, and why the hell didn't I think of that!

Well, have fun,

Jim in Phoenix

 

I had changed my motor mounts and the transmission mount on my 2002 ML320 and I think I bent a lever. The shift is different going into park, how can I check this, please help.

 

Would it be the same procedure for a w201?

 

The ML has bad quality motor mounts, they can fail anytime before and/or after 50,000 miles, as many owners have found out. It does not matter what, or how, you use your ML for, they can just fail. I was surprised when mine failed, too, and I am just using my 2005 ML 500 to go to work and come back.. No towing and no off-roading...

The dealer will recommend changing the engine and transmission mounts all together.. $700.00 dollars last time I had the dealer replace them..

AC

 

Anybody know of any better aftermarket motor mounts? About to replace them for the second time on my '98 ML320 with 167k miles, all running fine except the awful motor mounts, are there any better out there than OEM krap?

 

Replaced my '98 ML' s motor mounts at 127K...now in the shop at 167K for another set...stock MB mounts are liquid..nice for isolation, but die quickly in the AZ desert and my heavy foot...couldn't find any better aftermarket urethane/delrin replacement..another set of MB silly putty mounts! Blah!!!!

 

Motor mounts

Please take the time to look at this attachment

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w163-m-class/1684592-w163-parts-pictures-38.html Go to # 373

You will see the OE motor mounts are NOT Fluid / Gel filled . And to the best of my knowledge , never were. ( Many of the newer MB cars are Gel fill ) I'm guessing you did not personally change the motor mounts in your ML. The repair person mislead you . So I would have you look for a new indy shop whom is more familiar with ML's . If you look at the pictures on the above link , you will see the improvements made to the Mount and help you understand better why you indy mechanic was wrong in his description . There now is several very good DIY's on replacing your mounts. Do them all ! One failed mount will put undo stress on the other , even the trans mount too. Cheers _PTEngineering

 

Please take the time to look at this attachment

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w163-m-class/1684592-w163-parts-pictures-38.html Go to # 373

You will see the OE motor mounts are NOT Fluid / Gel filled . And to the best of my knowledge , never were. ( Many of the newer MB cars are Gel fill ) I'm guessing you did not personally change the motor mounts in your ML. The repair person mislead you . So I would have you look for a new indy shop whom is more familiar with ML's . If you look at the pictures on the above link , you will see the improvements made to the Mount and help you understand better why you indy mechanic was wrong in his description . There now is several very good DIY's on replacing your mounts. Do them all ! One failed mount will put undo stress on the other , even the trans mount too. Cheers _PTEngineering

Agreed, I have a set of motor mounts for my 99 waiting to be installed. They have no liquid and are a metal and heavy rubber material. Are you sure you don't have another issue? If you installed them yourself and they were parts that contained liquid, the reason they failed so prematurely is because you installed the wrong ones!

 

Would that be number 6, number 26, or the main unit?

 

In the illustration it clearly states that #6 is the bushing.

 

I meant "Rod" number 26?

 

The bushing goes into the opening of the shifter lever and then the shift rod (26) is inserted into the shifter lever.

 

It was the shifter itself that was bent (#5).

 

Wow, you must have really yanked on that engine to bend that. I have never seen one bent before.

 

Double check the correct side of the mounts. Be careful with wrong "front" marks!

Could you believe that I got a pair of mounts recently and one of these was marked "front" at the WRONG side!

A friend of mine got similar mounts where the manufacturer obviously had corrected wrong markings just scraping these "front" marks at the wrong side and stamping new marks at the the correct side.

Well, to make this short, I have changed engine mounts for a long time and I know the smaller side is always the front side, for sure.
So, depending on where you get your mounts, do not believe blindly on the marks. :nono:

Installing it incorrectly will reduce the life span of the mounts and will put stress on the transmission mount and even on the driveshafts.
To dismiss any doubts, check the image attached.
Best regards!

 

Barijan, thanks very much for your info on the ML engine mounts. I posted earlier to
day regarding this very issue. And now I'm totally confused. I have two new mounts for my 2004 ML500. One has FRONT stamped on the taller side, the other on the shorter side. I called the dealer from whom I purchased the mounts for assistance. The parts person asked a technician who said the shorter side always goes to the rear. Great!

 

Asking the forum here.
When you replaced your motor mounts, did the engine rest back in the
original mounting holes? I'm asking if the engine was slightly askew or did
the nuts tighten up the exact same spot?
Mine did not line up exactly where the old ones were.
I did use aftermarket mounts.

 

Mine went back on the same holes, but some rocking may be needed.
How much deviation from the holes you got?
About half inch is pretty normal, because depending on how you raised the engine you may have also moved it horizontaly a bit too, specially if your transmission mount is bad, since normally this will mantain the engine somewhat close to its correct alignment during this procedure.

When I did it I raised it from below, using a floor jack and a wood block.
Maybe you could use the position of the old mounts as reference, but just if you're sure the old mounts had been installed correctly too.

Be sure you are installing the mounts on the correct direction. They have a correct side to be installed. May I'm sounding repetitive, but because it's important.
Do not believe blindly on the "FRONT" mark on the mounts if they are aftermarket. I have seen mounts with the mark on the wong side!
Check its base, one of the seating points is shorter and this is the actual front side.
See the images attached for reference.

 

I made darn sure I installed them with correct orientation.
They were off less than 1/2 inch from factory.
Guess I'm ok

 

1/2 inch is pretty normal. Some wiggling is needed and that's it.
Watch your hands. You may loose a finger if engine drops suddenly.