W124 diff mount rubbers - one looks a bit warn...

[maxypriest]

While checking my exhaust on the E300 ‘606 I noted…

At the back of my diff there appears to be two round rubber mounts (in the diff carrier) that face the back of the car. One of these appears to have sunk a little, ie it looks like the centre has dropped towards the outer. The other is fine.

Is this a problem that I must fix ASAP or can I live with it for a while? Is it an easy job?

There are no clunks from the rear at the moment.

 

[Bolide]

I'd live with it for now but do the front prop doughnut, diff bushes & diff input seal all at the same time. Engine mounts are more important - check those instead!

Replacing diff mounts is a swine of a job, evidently

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[maxypriest]

Thanks for that Nick,

I had a look at the doughnuts when i was under the car and visually they looked fine... dunno if that is a good enough assessment of there condition though!

Now - when looking at the engine mounts - what shall i look out for?

(PS when driving there is no knocking from the engine/transmission whatsoever. Which is nice…)

Thanks!

Max

 

[Bolide]

The sign of failed engine mounts is that the car shakes when you start & stop the engine

Think of how a horse shakes its head - to one side, then the other. That's how I imagine the engine rocks when the mounts are bad. It's quite a sharp vibration

You might be able to detect it by measuring the height of the mount - on my car the engine was over an inch higher with the new mounts

One of the mounts for the E300 Diesel is unique to that engine. It's a big, heavy old b8gger!

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[roadhog]

I recently replaced the engine mounts on mine and it's made a huge difference. Most noticeable when starting up or turning the engine off. MB ones aren't cheap at £75 each so be warned!

One downside since changing them is that now I can feel the gearchanges much more, I guess the diff mounts will be next, together with the prop shaft doughnuts (I can feel a very faint rhythmic rocking motion when idling, as if the shaft was out of balance). I didn't notice any of that before the engine mounts. I guess having tightened the front up it shows the rest up a bit more.
The diff is also weeping from the output shafts so I'll have to drop it some day.

All that's got to wait though, I've been meaning to do my tappets for some time and every time something else gets in the way.

As a matter of interest Nick, would you recommend replacing the cam chain while I'm doing the tappets or should I save my money? The car's done 190K
Slightly off topic sorry.