bzliteyear

hi all,

testing out my mother in law's 1999 C280 and noticed that the car vibrates when i go from PARK to DRIVE (while brake is depressed). the car's 11 yrs old and has 98k miles. is that mainly the engine mount(indy mechanic quoting $120 labor plus $230 for parts), or could that be more likely "transmission mount?"

also, what's going rate for A service? indy quoting $135 and i told him many MB dealers have specials for less than $100, he said they pay lots more for the synthetic oil.

any thots?

thx in advance.

Patrick

zmatt

I have the same issue. Gos away when the motor warms up. I need to check the mounts. Replacing the mount on your own is cake. Don't get fleeced by some mechanic.

eundaddy

engine mount replacement isnt as easy as you may think. $120 is a steal.

zmatt

Define "easy" To me it's pretty simple, then again I have pulled engines more than once. As described I think I could manage swapping a mount in 20 minutes.

eundaddy

well if it takes you 20 minutes, would you do two mounts for $66?

zmatt

lol no I'm not a mechanic, I just like wrenching my own cars. If you are trying to make a point about the pricing IMO if you have the tools or have a friend who has said tools and a free Saturday I say do it yourself. working on cars isn't nearly as daunting or scary as most people think and doing things on your own is very rewarding.

eundaddy

well, if you can do an engine mount in 20 minutes, you are faster than most mb mechanics even with their endless access to specialized tools.

here's an excellent diy compiled by G-AMG from benzworld. please feel free to follow his instructions. but for me, i'd gladly pay someone $120 to do both mounts.

zmatt

Thanks for the guide, there is an extra step or two that nobody mentioned in the guide and actually one that I think for my car is missing. Wouldn't you want to disconnect the intake from the intercooler piping as it is rigid and probably wont like being moved a few inches in a 230k?