Rascally Wabbit

Our 2010 GLK350 was in for its 60K mile service at the dealership. Surprised when the service advisor called & said the engine & trans. had collapsed & in need of replacement. IMO this is premature failure on a vehicle, purchased as CPO & driven gently. Are other owners experiencing mount failure at this low mileage? Anyone tackle the replacement themselves? Looks like a special wrench is needed for the bolts too.

lyonkster

Ours had this done at about 70K, so it sounds about right. The dealer took over three days to do the job (which probably means that it sat around more than it was worked on), but the advisor told me the techs said it's an awful job, exhaust needs to come out, a bunch of other stuff does too. Given that they forgot to put the axle back in after this job, I assume the axle has to come out too. Mine was done under warranty, so I didn't investigate doing it myself.

Edited to Add: I can't vouch that the GLK actually needed to have the mounts done. I took it in because I felt an increased vibration at idle, and they said it needs new motor mounts. But I don't think it really fixed the vibration, so who knows.

Rascally Wabbit

"Forgot" to reinstall the axle? OMG! Certainly glad it was under warranty. This says that yours is 4WD which mine is not. Yes, exhaust has to be dropped & a special tool is needed for the mount bolts. The mounts are filled with fluid (hydraulic mounts?) & I will surmise that the tech noticed the mounts were leaking. No bad vibration at idle yet. Found a video which makes it appear doable. Wish I had a lift but have been getting by for decades without it. Will wait until September when the weather is cooler.

lyonkster

Yeah, that whole story of my dealer's incompetent service department is detailed elsewhere on this forum. Given the incompetence that I saw, I really don't know how much to believe them when they said that it's a gawd-awful job. All I know is that at about the same time as the GLK motor mounts, I had to replace the flexplate on my FWD minivan, which involved pulling the axles, dropping the transmission, undoing all the mounts, etc - basically the same job as the MB guys were doing on my GLK - and that took me a full weekend (in the driveway on my back, no lift). I'd assume the GLK mounts are doable (everything is, right?), just a big PITA.

Rascally Wabbit

Your flex plate job takes me back to the days when I did clutch jobs on FWD Chrysler products, in the driveway as you did. On the GLK, especially with only 2WD, the job is certainly doable by us shade trees. I have had the rear section of the exhaust off so I have some idea of what is involved. Yes, it will be a big PITA but this vehicle has never seen snow & almost no rain. No rusted hardware or bolts. Yippee!

lyonkster

Perfect, sounds like some quality time with you and your GLK coming up . One thing that bothers me with the GLK is the total lack of shop manuals (not counting the insanely expensive online access) or other how-to sources. For my Chrysler and Lexus, I have shop manuals that tell you how to disassemble and reassemble things, how to make adjustments, torque values, etc. I have no idea how to find similar info for the Benz. Have you been able to find anything useful in this regard?

Rascally Wabbit

The on-line access is the only thing I have found beside the MB forums. No Bentley etc. On-line parts catalogs are a help as are the various videos out there. Our Z3 & the Jeep Cherokee XJ which I recently refurbished have a wonderful array of information. Evidently MB sells many cars to professional people (doctors, lawyers etc.) who do not want to get their fingers dirty or perhaps do not have time or interest.

lyonkster

Yup, that's what been keeping me from messing with the GLK. I am fearless with repairs when I have some kind of a guide, but I am hesitant to tear things apart if I am not sure where the hidden clips are, what torque values to use, etc. I did find some useful videos on youtube, but torque values seem to be hard to come by. I agree, it seems that most newer MB owners care more about gadgets than DIY instructions (this is not criticism, just an observation).

bop11

Are you sure you want to do this? You seem surprised that anything was wrong. At 60K miles the car would be a good candidate for a trade, maybe not at MB, but it still has value. You also might try an independent for a second opinion. Motor mounts have not been a big generator of posts on this board.

lyonkster

I agree, I'd want some concrete evidence that the motor mounts are bad before tackling a replacement.

Quiet12

Rascally Wabbit

I just ordered the engine mounts for my GLK as well as the transmission mount - figured I should go ahead and do it at the same time while I am under there. You mentioned a video - can you send me the link the video you watched. I have watched several different ones on youtube and while it does seem doable it will take a day to complete as I don't do this often and quite frankly don't want to spend the 1800 that the european repair shop wants. I can't imagine what the dealership would charge. Knowledge is power, so if you have any additional info I would really appreciate it. I will try to take video/pictures and provide feedback to you all.

Thanks

LesF

I've had a number of failures with motor and tranny mounts in Mercedes e-class' that I've owned. The mounts fail due to the hydraulic fluid leaking out which is a common problem with mounts of this type.

Wendal

I had rough idle pop up seemingly overnight and looked for any solution besides replacing the mounts, not wanting to spend the $$$. Unfortunately, it was the mounts (after hoping it was a low/incorrect power steering issue) so I started researching ways to do it myself.

An amazing user on this forum, Sam.P, mentioned that he had done the work himself and typed me up a detailed step by step. After reading it, I realized that I wouldn't be able to do it on my own and took it to the dealer. They charge 8 hours of labor (my dealer in North Jersey gets $140/hr) for the work and a couple hundo for the parts. My supplemental insurance paid around a thousand and I paid around $600. I'll paste Sam.P's instructions below, if you want to take a stab at it.

Hi,

I will definitely be posting a complete DIY guide on the forums. I'll have to go take some pictures to make it easier to understand.

I'll start off by listing the required tools for the job. The links I put for the tools are simply for reference, you might find cheaper elsewhere...

Engine mounts : A 204 24 020 17

I bought the Lemförder 3637601 mounts.

Kit of external Torx sockets. E10, E12, E18, E24 are the ones that comes to mind. E24 is only required for the 4Matic model. (Front CV Axle bolt)
E10 and E12 wrench
Mercedes 16mm mount wrench. I highly recommend buying the right tool, you will save a lot of trouble / time. I've been successful with a 16mm stubby flex-head wrench.
Slide hammer puller. You'll need this to pop the axles out.
Many ratchet extensions, jack stands, a decent car jack.

I think that covers most of the job-specific tools.


Let's start working !


Leave the car in neutral, parking brake on. Wheel chocks behind rear wheels. Pop the hood, lift it at the 2nd position so it's vertical.

*4Matic* First thing I would do is remove both center wheel cap so you have access to the CV Axle bolt. Grab the longest breaker bar you got and loosen the CV axle bolt on each side (E24 socket).

Lift the front end, remove both wheels (17mm) and the under carriage panels (8mm).

Unplug battery ground cable (10mm). In my case, I left the battery unplugged 3 days and it had NO effects on my memory settings ( seats, radio, etc. ). There is a chance you might lose your settings.


Pulling out the CV axles *4Matic*

Start by taking out the sensors (black cables) from the knuckle (10mm or 12mm bolts) and unclip the cables from the strut assembly.

Take out the CV axle bolt.

Remove the sway bar link top end nut from the strut. (18mm wrench and T40 socket if I remember correctly)

Unscrew the two bolts (E18, nuts are 21mm) attaching the strut to the steering knuckle. At this point, put a jack stand under the knuckle so it doesn't hang down by itself for hours. Take out the 3 last bolts (E10/E12) holding the strut. Put the struts aside.

Push the CV axle out of the wheel hub, it should slide out quite easily. Make sure the splines are perfectly clean before putting it back in. Ideally, you should never pull on a CV axle while holding it between the two rubber boots, so be careful with that.

To pull out the other end of the axle out of the transfer case (passenger side), I tied a steel cable around the solid part of the CV axle (close to the TC) and attached the other end of the cable to my slide-hammer. Make sure you're as straight as possible and it should pop right out. Same principle to take out the driver side axle ( this side was actually harder to take out, there was some surface rust on the spines which probably didn't help ).


Getting to the mounts

Take out the front engine cover.
Unclip the 2 air ducts from the front.
Push the metal clip holding the air filter assembly at the back of the engine, and simply lift the entire air filter assembly.

Click the image to open in full size.

Locate the belt tensioner and with a 17mm socket turn it counter-clockwise, it will give enough slack to remove the belt from the alternator pulley (pass. side) and/or the A/C compressor (driver side).

There is 4 bolts (E12) holding the alternator to the engine block. You must also disconnect the connector behind the alternator.

As for the compressor, I believe there's 3 bolts (E12). You won't be able to use a socket for all the bolts here, you'll need a E12 wrench. There is also a connector that you should disconnect.

At this point, the engine mounts are ready to be unbolted and replaced. You have to start by removing the two E10 torx bolt holding the heat shield slightly above the mounts. The rear bolts holding the heat shield are quite a pain in the ***, notably the passenger side one. I had to go under the car with long extensions to take them out on both sides.
After taking out the heat shield, you can unbolt the mount itself from the frame ( two 14mm bolts on each mount ).


Replacing the mounts


You're now ready to position your car jack under the oil pan. Put a good piece of wood between your jack and the pan so you don't damage it. Lift it a bit so you can loosen the top engine mount bolt (16mm). This is where you really want the Mercedes engine mount tool. Once the mount is not touching the frame anymore you can remove the bolts left and keep lifting until you can take out the mounts. They will both come out by the front of the car. The driver side can be quite frustrating due to the refrigerant lines still connected to the A/C compressor, but it can be done !

DIY X204 engine mount rough draft. Let me know if there is something unclear or if you have any questions. I'll work on the formatting / content along the week...

Have a good day,

Sam

fhlh

2011 GLK, 47K on the clock. In for dealer maintenance and they are recommending motor mounts for our "formatic" (as he wrote it) at 2155.00 installed. Told him to take a hike as 1, we don't own a 4matic and if we did, you can still take a hike.

I agree... really premature.

Quiet12

Weather has been crappy here to do the work. In my case I think I only need the transmission mount. I won't change the front two unless I absolutely have to. I have 125k on my 2011 GLK.

The tran mount seems to be the easiest to replace. I figure I will do that one and sell the car. Its a bout time for me to get out of it anyway.

There was a great Youtube video posted on replacing the mounts on a GLK the guy made it look easy but did not have to remove the front CV axles. Not sure if this is a 4matic thing or not.

best of luck if you replace them yourself.

Rascally Wabbit

Wife finally put her foot down & wanted the work finished. Went with a reputable private shop that did a great job. Shop rate there was $101.00 per hour so saved over the dealership. Remarkable how smooth it is again! Certainly would have preferred tackling the job myself, especially after a couple of guys working together reportedly did the job in a couple of hours. Having the special MB tool or an equivalent is the key to success.

MERC233

ABSOLUTELY NOT!! THE EXHAUST AND NONE OF THAT STUFF NEEDS TO COME OUT. THE TOOL WHICH IS REALLY JUST A LOW SOCKET IS READILY AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR LIKE 20 DLLS. ALL YOU DO IS PUSH THE ENGINE WITH A JACK FROM THE BOTTOM AS HIGH AS YOU CAN. THE TOUGHEST SIDE IS THE PASSENGER SIDE. I DID THEM MYSELF.

calder-cay

First off, *why* are you responding to a thread from **2016** (yes, eight years ago) ??

And second of all, STOP YELLING !

habbyguy

He's obviously got a RWD version, too. They're fiddly but nothing remotely close to the same as a 4Matic. And yes, if you do have a 4Matic, the exhaust and axles have to come out.

MERC233

LOL. IM NOT YELLING!! I HAVE A BUSINESS IN HEALTHCARE AND EVERYTHING WE DO IS TYPED IN CAPS. LOL.

Bill F

Very bad taste to use all capitals, I am an administrator on 2 car forums and the post would be deleted. Hate to use anything in your business if you can't follow normal manners. Never mind responding to an eight year old post and criticizing.

Silver Shadow

Mental health care?

MERC233

It's not bad taste. Take that crap to health and human services if you don't like it. I don't make the rules.

MERC233

It's for the electronic medical records. We leave the caps on as everything is written that way. It's for Hospice, skilled nursing and therapy. Also when we communicate thru messages other than emails the caps are used. It's just easier for everybody as well.

John CC

This is none of those. All caps is hard to read. If you want free help, it's a good idea to make it as easy as practical for those who might help you. That, and, in this contest, it means you're shouting.