[billclemons]

hello everyone, my name is bill and i'm a mercedesholic.
not really but i have owned a few just to give my vw's a sense of their place in the natural order of things. anyway, i'm looking at trading for an 85 190e and it has a few problems that i need to get a handle on before i make the deal. i'm a vw mechanic by trade but i dabble in porsches and mercedes (mainly my own but some for customers too). the 190 is a new experience for me though as my other benz's were older 450's, 250's, and deisels.
the 190 has a pronounced motor vibration when it is put in gear. it idles smooth in park (800 rpm by the tach but it sounds more like 500) but when put in gear at idle it vibrates and growls something fierce. if i hold the brake and increase rpms it will start to smooth out at about 1k rpms.
the other concern i have is that when shifted into drive or reverse there is a loud clunk and jerk from the rear end. the subframe mounts appear to be in good shape, there is a very small amount of play in one inner cv, flex plate and carrier bearing are good and although there is slack in the diff it doesn't really seem excessive. don't know about the trans mount though as i couldn't get up under it to check it.
what should i be looking for? does the 190 series have any idiosyncracies that can cause these symptoms?
sorry for the long first post but i'd hate to buy this car without knowing more about what i might be getting into.
thanks[]

 

[spanners]

Vibration and Clunk

bill

A common problem for the engine vibration is the engine mountings. They are gas filled and when they lose their pressure, it causes bad vibration at low revs. You should be able to tell by looking at them and seeing how low they are sitting.
The clunk could be a number of things, but here are the common faults;
The bushes in each of the three trailing arms on each side. The front two bushes in the rear sub frame. And the propshaft couplings, usualy the one at the gearbox end. Grab the prop shaft and turn it back and forth whilst watching the coupling, if there is play, the coupling is knackered, if the coupling turns as soon as you turn the shaft, it's O.K.

 

[scorchie]

Very good list spanners... I would also add to check the flex disc and its bolts.

Very good list spanners... I would also add to check the flex disc bolts, sometimes the flex disc can look good but have a loose bolt.

-s-