190e too noisy? - exhaust, diff etc. on 1991 190e 2.0 petrol

[Martyn Evans]

I've had my J reg 190E 2.0 petrol auto for about four months and generally like it. However, above 50 mph it's definitely noisier than I'd have expected a Mercedes to be, even at 107k miles. (Never had a Mercedes before so no experience to go on.)
 Leaving aside road and wind noise, there seems to be a combination of diff. whine and exhaust noise which is intrusive - a constant 'roar', not knocking or thumping, rising with both road speed and engine speed. (Though I don't think it's coming from the engine.) I had to replace the rear silencer, and a Walker unit was fitted last month; but I presume that quieter units are available for more money. I understand there is also a forward or mid-section silencer; it's not actually blowing but it could be the source of some noise.
 Any opinions on what typically makes a 10 year old 190 noisy would be gratefully appreciated. The car's general condition, appearance, steering and road manners are nice enough to make me want to keep it and spend a bit of money on it if it would make a real difference.
 Can someone advise a newcomer to the sport? Greatly appreciated if so.

 

[Arnie]

190e too noisy?

Unfortunately, from experience, any economy on exhaust boxes is most usually a false one. I have used Walker in the past and on many third party units have only got 12 -18 months before they disintegrated. Merc exhausts usually last a good seven years by comparison.
Try an original exhaust and the resonance should go. Original exhausts are also surprisingly, not that expensive. Only trouble is getting them fitted outside of a mercedes dealership, as places such as KwikFit will only fit their own brands.

 

[white190]

190e too noisy?

Hi Martyn

I know Andy's gona cringe at this but ...
If you are having problems with rear diff noise try draining the oil and replacing it....
BUT  replace some of the oil with "molyslip" rear diff treatment (it an aditive that conatains molybedlium Disulphate (not sure if I spelt that right) )  , I have personnaly used this treatment on loads of older rear drive fords , It usually helps to quieten the diff and only costs just over a fiver.

Please note It is not recomended that you use it if your car is fitted with a Limited slip diff (unlikley on a 2 liter 190)

If this dosen't help it maybe that your rear diff is too worn...


If the exhuast is in good condition it is unlikley that the roaring noise is related to that....

have you checked the air filter and air intake pipes ... have they been modified or are any parts missing....
(just wondering if the noise is induction roar)

Also it might be worth checking that all the noise insulation is still in place under the carpet and behind the dash in the footwells.... Also check to see if the sound insulation is still in place underneath and behind the rear seat (its realy easy to remove the rear seats) If any is missing you should be able to source some from a breakers yard....

If it is all still in place there are several products available for sound deadening in cars...
One good one is "dynomatt" which are self adhesive pannels of sound deadening material that stick to the inside of your car pannels eg- under the floor well carpets / behind the dash and under the boot floor carpet...... this is not cheap though....

You can buy sound deadening sprays that spray a thin layer of sound deadening material over the inside of the car pannels ..... this is cheaper but doesn't work nearly as well...



If all that fails you may want to try replaing the centre box after all....


Good luck..... and dont give up I've found my 190E auto a lovely car to drive..... Despite the 2nd gear pull away..

 

[Matt Crooke]

190e too noisy?

Just to reiterate whites comments there, ive got 150k on mine now, and i do get a very slight back axle whine if travelling at speed and i lift off the throttle. I havent tried changing the oil yet, but i plan to do that pretty soon. As for the exhaust noise, fortunatly mine has got a genuine MB exhaust right the way through (not fitted by me!) and i dont get any noise from it at all. The only noise above the usual road noise i get is if i have the centre vents open while driving i get a very slight tick tick sound come through from the engine bay, close the vents and the noise is no more. It is very hard to try and pinpoint noises when you cant actually hear them for yourself, but do check that all the necessary sound deadening is in place (and there is quite a lot) as a 190 should be quite a bit quiter than other cars of its size. I was travelling in a brand new Golf 1.6 at the weekend, with standard wheels, and i was surpirsed at the level of noise that came through to the car.

 

[sunil sood]

190e too noisy?

mine is a 190e-1.8 on a kreg with 108k on the clock,i only expreience very little noise-slight ticking from the engine like matt's car-recently replaced the rear exhaust section-bought it from german and swedish-top quality for 45+vat,i am sure the likes of euro car parts also do similar systems at a competitive price of top quality-agree that it is afalse economy to go for a cheap exhaust-it changes the whole enjoyment by making it noisy and only last a yr. the trick would be to buy it from euro or german and swedish and get a friendly mot station man to charge labour for fitting it-paid £25 for mine--also experience a slight diff whine but can live with it.
hope this helps

 

[sunil sood]

190e too noisy?

also make sure the exhaust is secure and  not touching the bodywork under the car and all clamps,rubber bushings and supports which hold the exhaust are in place and not actually missing !!

 

[white190]

190e too noisy?

Very good point sunil

Well worth checking

I too had a little dif whine when  got mine (only very slight though) after treating with "molyslip" it has gone..

Trust me its well worth a go at only a fiver

 

[Andy]

190e too noisy?

Hi all,

Most of exhaust noises come from fitting cheap front pipes. Usually Boasal. If you don't fit a MB front pipe then the exhaust will always be noisy. No getting away with it. Cheap rear boxes don't seem to cause a problem. Except when they fall off after 13months when the gurantee has expired.

Ignore at you peril. Or your ears.


Regards

Andy  @ www.mercedesservicing.com

 

[sunil sood]

190e too noisy?

agree with andy about the front pipes.
euro car parts and german and swedish outlets usually do cheap and a more expensive top quality exhaust part which in my experience equals what you get from merc stealerships but at a premium compared to euro and gsf.
also may try molyslip in my diff in future as per white's experience.

 

[phil barker]

190e too noisy?

I agee Martyn,M-B suffer from road noise and tyre roar, and as far as I'm concerned, more than A*** & B** as I have previously owned both.

It was interesting to hear about sound deadening materials that can be fitted and applied but I feel M-B should "design- in" more sound proofing.

 

[13022]

190e too noisy?

107,000 miles? It'll probably quieten down a bit when you have it run-in!

 

[Matt Crooke]

190e too noisy?

Philb

i dont know if you have ever had the chance to take apart an older ('84 thru '92) merc, i.e pre C class etc, but the amount of sound deadening used in these models is amazing. There is a 12.5 tog duvet inder the rear seats!!!!!! to stop road noise, several layers between the footwells and the the bottom on the car....the list goes on. i cant comment on newer models but like every industry these days, cutting costs is paramount, so it wouldnt surprise me if details like sound proofing, quality of trim and plastics etc etc had diminished.

 

[Matt Crooke]

190e too noisy?

Sorry to change the subject here ever so slightly, but in my travels ive seen a few 190's that have a single back box with 2 tail pipes coming out if it, rather than the 1 that i have....is this a standard thing on later exhausts or for Diesel models or something?

cheers

 

[sunil sood]

190e too noisy?

matt,

mine has a single tail pipe 93 ,on a kreg,1.8litre,-the twin pipe version may be:

1.--2.6 litre-16valve- 190es.

2.sports box aftermarket fitting.

3.i thought the later model 190e-2 litre models with catalytic converter had twin tail pipes.

 

[Anonymous]

190e too noisy?

I goto Agree with Matt here about the amout of sound deadening in mercs....
BUT if an after market stereo system or car Phone has been fitted at some point it is not unusual to find bits of the material missing...

on another point My 190 had a Bosal rear box on it when a bought it ..... not good ...I realy don't like them....cheap and nasty... they're not good on any car let alone a merc...
First thing I did to the car was to get out the Welder and pipe former and make a stainless rear box and link pipe....
I'll do the same when the centre box goes...

If you cant do it your self I know of several places that will make and fit a stainless steel exhuast system (cat back) for less than 700 quid on a 190... alot of money ... but life time guarantee..

 

[gareth]

190e too noisy?

So Bosal exhausts are nasty cheap things, are they? I wonder if that would explain why the one on my Morris fell off after a year and a half....?

 

[sunil sood]

190e too noisy?

they usually fit bosal at kwikfit

 

[sunil sood]

190e too noisy?

they usually fit bosal at kwikfit

 

[Jules190]

190e too noisy?

Hi Martyn - I have just had my 190E2.6 serviced at 102k pointing out a whining, droning noise whilst decelerating between 40-30 mph coming from the rear off side.  The local M-B garage diagnosed it as coming from the diff but nothing serious.  I know exactly what you mean though, it is intrusive.  But other than that she is just a dream to own and drive.

 

[Martyn Evans]

190e too noisy?

Many thanks to all who have replied. It seems like I have two problems - worn differential and also substandard silencing. I'll try and take all the advice offered, though I'll have to spread the payments a bit... Many thanks for an excellent service - at last, something the Internet is really useful for. Any further advice/experience will still be greatly appreciated.