kid-jensen
Senior Member
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2002
- Messages
- 942
- Reaction score
- 188
- Location
- Epsom Downs, Surrey
- Your Mercedes
- Ml320CDI 2007
Spike,
Yes, you can drive yourself mad looking for rattles from loose trim etc.
I think you have to adopt the attitude that it's just another facet of car maintenance, you have to keep on top of it or it becomes insurmountable.
The main culprit in the Coupe is the suspension which is too ****** hard. That being said, I'm not prepared to put softer springs on and ruin the handling.
When I analyse the cause of rattles on most of the cars I have owned, it normally comes down to something that I (or a previous owner) have taken off and not put back with sufficient care. Parts fitted by the manufacturers are generally rattle-free for the life of the car (note the word "generally").
Now when I take any part of the interior apart, I always examine it for ways that could cause rattles when it goes back. I have a roll of self-adhesive foam draught excluder handy and apply it anywhere that hard parts attach to other hard parts. You can bet that if they are given any opportunity whatsoever to rattle, they will.
Big blob of blu-tack is also useful (obviously used out-of-sight) for attaching rattly cableforms, plastic pieces and the like.
I can't say that I'm on top of it yet, but for a 9 year old car, it's ****** good. Passengers regularly comment on how rattle-free it is, even some owners of new cars...........I guess Mercedes know what they're doing after all.
So my advice FWIW is take the offending part off, work out what part is touching where it shouldn't be, and put it back at least as well as Mercedes do........ chances are a ham-fisted alarm-fitter or mechanic-in-a-hurry has been there before you.
Regrds to ex-Autobahnstormer DaveK (320 CE is a good Autobahnstormer too!)
Yes, you can drive yourself mad looking for rattles from loose trim etc.
I think you have to adopt the attitude that it's just another facet of car maintenance, you have to keep on top of it or it becomes insurmountable.
The main culprit in the Coupe is the suspension which is too ****** hard. That being said, I'm not prepared to put softer springs on and ruin the handling.
When I analyse the cause of rattles on most of the cars I have owned, it normally comes down to something that I (or a previous owner) have taken off and not put back with sufficient care. Parts fitted by the manufacturers are generally rattle-free for the life of the car (note the word "generally").
Now when I take any part of the interior apart, I always examine it for ways that could cause rattles when it goes back. I have a roll of self-adhesive foam draught excluder handy and apply it anywhere that hard parts attach to other hard parts. You can bet that if they are given any opportunity whatsoever to rattle, they will.
Big blob of blu-tack is also useful (obviously used out-of-sight) for attaching rattly cableforms, plastic pieces and the like.
I can't say that I'm on top of it yet, but for a 9 year old car, it's ****** good. Passengers regularly comment on how rattle-free it is, even some owners of new cars...........I guess Mercedes know what they're doing after all.
So my advice FWIW is take the offending part off, work out what part is touching where it shouldn't be, and put it back at least as well as Mercedes do........ chances are a ham-fisted alarm-fitter or mechanic-in-a-hurry has been there before you.
Regrds to ex-Autobahnstormer DaveK (320 CE is a good Autobahnstormer too!)
