When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
As Dolucasi predicted the aftermarket Ansa resonator or/and muffler seem to be creating an annoyng "clunk" sound when driving over road imperfections. If you have discovered a remedy please post it here. Thanks, Laura
Thank you for the ebay link and the photos.The car has been running so nicely all summer except for the "clunk". I no longer have the mobility to get up off the garage floor without a lot of difficulty so I haven't been under to look. If I bounce the rear end hard I can hear and feel the suspension rub against something so I suspect a suspension component is hitting the muffler or resonator. Would this be correct? I can live with it if it isn't doing any damage.
I spent so much on the new Ansa parts I wish I had worked harder at finding genuine MB parts.
The Ebay resonator looks what I need but the shipping quote is $109 US or about $130 our money in Canada.
I guess when I am in town next I will go back to the muffler shop and see if they can adjust something to get a better fit. Not long ag I could have been under the car myself but no longer.
I hear you on parts costs Laura. However, I think the problem that Dolucasi is pointing to is that the Ansa being larger than the MB resonator means that there's less room for it so the least little road imperfection has the chance to be "heard". Maybe the muffler shop can tighten it enough to make it quieter? I'm also not sure that there's any padding available anywhere that might also help to quiet the "clunking" that could withstand the heat. My hunch is that the MB resonator on Ebay will sell quickly too. I guess you're between a rock and a hard place. If it's any consolation, my garage prima dona likes to do little things every once in a while just to annoy the ______out of me.
190E 2.6L 1989, 190E 2.6L 1988, BMW 535dXdrive 2014, BMW 428i 2015
Next time you take it to the muffler shop Laura perhaps have the shop owner lift the car and have a look.
The problem with the Ansa is that not only is it an inch wider but it also does not have the cutout to allow more room for the rear flex disk.
Since your muffler person adjusted your Ansa, he might have shortened it to allow more room for the flex disk. If not the resonator would even hit the flex disk with sharp left turns at high speed. That is a different clunk since the resonator hits something that is rotating, so it is more like rat-tat-tat. And the muffler hitting the flex disk is flat out dangerous and will shorten it's life. You do not seem to have that, so kudos to your muffler shop.
In your case like 190Efan mentioned tighter hanging rubber at the muffler may help since it inhibits the sideways and up and down motion of the exhaust.
Last edited by dolucasi; Sep 30, 2024 at 11:32 AM.
Thank you both for your advice and suggestions. My feeling is that the resonator or muffler is banging into something like the floor . I will take it back to the shop and ask about installing new and hangers. I didn't realize the Ansa was so much larger than OEM. You would think!
I do not get any noise like you describe when driving the car only a "clunk" sound and it takes a good push on the rear of the car to get that. It is curious that the noise only starts or at least increases in noise level after the car has been warmed up and driven a few miles. I also sometime get a loud "click" from the front when hitting a pothole and also when turning the steering wheel. Not always and usually when the car has ben rdiven and engine warm .It is a mystery what is going on under the old
190E 2.6L 1989, 190E 2.6L 1988, BMW 535dXdrive 2014, BMW 428i 2015
Giving this some more thought I have never experienced the exhaust system clunking with a bounce test. Usually suspension components are not that near the exhaust.
Do let us know what you find out at the muffler shop.
The muffler might be expanding a little bit after the car has been driven a bit due to some heat build up is what it sounds like to me which might be causing some of the "clunking". It's also possible that an entirely separate suspension issue is happening that maybe having the Ansa muffler might also be masking. I'll be curious to hear what you find once you get your car on a lift at the muffler shop and can walk under the car to see what's going on.
190E 2.6L 1989, 190E 2.6L 1988, BMW 535dXdrive 2014, BMW 428i 2015
I ended up buying this Ebersprecher resonator Laura since you did not want it. I will need it for my impala brown sooner or later. And this part is going extinct fast.
This ebay seller must be liquidating a muffler shop as he has Ebersprecher exhaust parts for our cars.
Cheaper than the crappy ANSA ones.
I can say that the one I received was well wrapped and in good shape. So if there is anyone looking for muffler or resonators, I would recommend this seller.
I would probably bought that resonator if the Canadian $ was worth more than $0.72 and shipping wasn't $100US. On another happy note the noise in the back seems to be gone. I can't hear anything with a bounce test. I cleaned and rearranged the trunck and maybe the spare tire lockdown screw was loose enough to let the tire thump. It may have been something in the trunk? Time will tell.
I would probably bought that resonator if the Canadian $ was worth more than $0.72 and shipping wasn't $100US. On another happy note the noise in the back seems to be gone. I can't hear anything with a bounce test. I cleaned and rearranged the trunck and maybe the spare tire lockdown screw was loose enough to let the tire thump. It may have been something in the trunk? Time will tell.
I have driven the 190E for the past week over some pretty bad roads and so far the noise at the rear hasn't returned. Loose spare tire is what I am guesing. I have a metalic rap sound in the front like something is loose especially when braking. I suspect maybe a brake pad ? It usually is just one rap and not when I hit bumps. It usually happens when I apply or release the brakes. The steering is good and doesn't happen with a bounce test. A bit of a mystery. I will have to get it up on a hoist and have a look.
I have driven the 190E for the past week over some pretty bad roads and so far the noise at the rear hasn't returned. Loose spare tire is what I am guesing. I have a metalic rap sound in the front like something is loose especially when braking. I suspect maybe a brake pad ? It usually is just one rap and not when I hit bumps. It usually happens when I apply or release the brakes. The steering is good and doesn't happen with a bounce test. A bit of a mystery. I will have to get it up on a hoist and have a look.
It sounds to me like you have a metal on metal situation which is likely due to worn out brake pads. I would highly recommend that you get your car up on a lift and have a look at your front brakes sooner rather than later. If you've got worn brake pads, metal on metal can damage your brake rotors which will make the repair more time consuming and costly. Based on my own experience, W201 brake pads aren't the longest lasting brake pads.
I have heard brake pads worn to the metal and they make a grinding noise as brakes on applied when the pad contacts a spinning rotor. It definitely isn't that. It's just a short sharp metal rap that comes and goes aas odd times . It definitely needs to be up on a hoist however to determine the cause. Thanks for your advice.
190E 2.6L 1989, 190E 2.6L 1988, BMW 535dXdrive 2014, BMW 428i 2015
I doubt it is your pads. It could be a loose caliper that needs tightening. You can check this in your garage by just jacking up the side that the noise is coming from and spinning the wheel manually and applying the brake by a second person. If you can not replicate the sound spinning forward and backwards and applying brakes the problem must be elsewhere like LCA, etc.
I have heard brake pads worn to the metal and they make a grinding noise as brakes on applied when the pad contacts a spinning rotor. It definitely isn't that. It's just a short sharp metal rap that comes and goes aas odd times . It definitely needs to be up on a hoist however to determine the cause. Thanks for your advice.
I agree that you should get it up on a lift sooner rather than later because we're just speculating. It's hard to know for sure at this point.
I doubt it is your pads. It could be a loose caliper that needs tightening. You can check this in your garage by just jacking up the side that the noise is coming from and spinning the wheel manually and applying the brake by a second person. If you can not replicate the sound spinning forward and backwards and applying brakes the problem must be elsewhere like LCA, etc.
All possibilities. It's hard to even speculate without hearing the noise. A good lift inspection will hopefully help to identify the problem.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
