Driveshaft or something else icing up?

occurs_to_me

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Not sure where to post this, as it’s a bit of an oddity.
2009 E220 diesel auto, had been lying up for about 3 weeks.
About 5 days into the cold snap, (below -1 consistently for 5 days), I decided to turn the car over to check the battery was ok.
It fired up straight away, but there was a small thud, and then considerable vibrations / thumping coming from underneath, in neutral.
I drove about 20” forward - vibrations gone.
Reversed back 20” - vibrations were worse.
So I just parked it up until temperatures were back above 0.
Started it yesterday, took it for a drive and normal service has resumed.
Only thing I can think of is that a block of ice had formed around the driveshaft (or somewhere else), but not sure how or why.
Any other explanations?


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LostKiwi

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Won't be a driveshaft as they only rotate during forward or reverse motion.
 
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O

occurs_to_me

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Yeah, that had crossed my mind.
Just reading other posts now, I’m wondering if a frozen shut egr valve would give same symptoms. No lights came on dash though.


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ajlsl600

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Not sure where to post this, as it’s a bit of an oddity.
2009 E220 diesel auto, had been lying up for about 3 weeks.
About 5 days into the cold snap, (below -1 consistently for 5 days), I decided to turn the car over to check the battery was ok.
It fired up straight away, but there was a small thud, and then considerable vibrations / thumping coming from underneath, in neutral.
I drove about 20” forward - vibrations gone.
Reversed back 20” - vibrations were worse.
So I just parked it up until temperatures were back above 0.
Started it yesterday, took it for a drive and normal service has resumed.
Only thing I can think of is that a block of ice had formed around the driveshaft (or somewhere else), but not sure how or why.
Any other explanations?


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Vib damper?
 
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O

occurs_to_me

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Vib damper?

Im not sure. I don’t know what that is
Ok, the name gives it away a bit, but where is this located?


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occurs_to_me

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Vib damper?

Ahh, if you mean gearbox or engine mount, that’s what I thought at first. But now that the temperature is higher, and normal service has resumed, I’m kinda ruling those out.


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Wighty

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Engine mounts/gearbox mounts. Their behaviour changes with temperature quite dramatically.
Good call. I noticed a shudder on start up at -6 the other morning . Totally gone now .
Mounts we’re all changed a couple of years ago .
 
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occurs_to_me

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Engine mounts/gearbox mounts. Their behaviour changes with temperature quite dramatically.

Thanks for that bit of info.
I did have a gearbox mount changed during the summer, just because the Indy I was using (for something unrelated) suggested it. He said the old mount hadn’t failed or anything and a new one wasn’t required, but it would make a difference to driving (comfort?), can’t really remember .
As far as I know, I’m on original mounts for the rest.
Might be something for me to look into in more detail.
Have 100k on the clock. Is there a rule of thumb when they should be replaced, or is it just when noticeable vibrations appear?


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mioba

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Mounts need changing when like all damping components. No interval.


As to the OP - could well just be a bit of rust on the pads causing pad stick. Nothing to worry about if so.
 

A.J.

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As mioba my first thought was a bit of rust on on the brake disc's. I've had that before after washing the wheels :rolleyes:
 
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