mbhackie

Hello all, this is my first post but I've been reading the forums frequently to familiarize myself with the 2002 c240 I bought a couple weeks ago.

Anyway, today I went for a drive and I heard a loud scraping/whining/rotational noise from what sounded like it was coming from under the center console area. If I accelerated the noise became audible, when I let off the accelerator the noise went away, I got the same noise in all gears.

The scraping noise would increase as the driveshaft spun faster and decrease as it slowed. Could this be some kind of driveshaft support bearing or transmission tail shaft bearing? Also, after I drove for 5 miles or so and it heated up the noise went away.

I did a search and found service bulletin P-88_30-36 OCT 04 Body - Scraping Noise from Transmission Tunnel Area could this be related? I only found the title of the bulletin but not the bulletin itself. Could some body tell me what this is about?

Thanks

SeaCoupe

Whoa, a noise like that would make me REALLY nervous! Have you checked your tranny fluid level? You'll need the service dipstick for that. Just a hunch, but perhaps you have a leak, and the fluid is low? Ever see any puddles under your car overnite?

Whatever the remedy is, please do post it.

Good luck with this one.

E

mleskovar

I read a post where someone had a 'flapping' sound coming from the same area and found a wire tie that was either on the drive shaft or being hit by the u joint.

aolsen

I read this:

"if the sound gets louder and ticks faster as you accelerate then it could be the infamous piece of insulation material that rubs on the driveshaft."


from this thread here

06c230hwd

heard the same exact thing. (not the noise i meant i read the post .. lol)

mbhackie

Yea, it’s definitely not the climate damper motor noise thing, its coming from the drive shaft area. Im going to bring it into my shop this Saturday so I can put it up on the rack and check around the shaft area for rub marks and such.
I'll report back when I figure this out.

06c230hwd

i'm on the edge of my seat... no but seriously post pics of it in the lift if you can i'm not sure if this happens too often and im sure people would appreciate a picture pointing them in the right direction to the noisy insulation strip or whatever it may be! Good luck!

mbhackie

Well, I had a chance to look at it. I couldnt find any rub marks or anything contacting down there. I'm thinking it could of been the center bearing starting to fail but, its been over a week now and it hasnt made the noise again. I guess I just wait for it to get worst. Its also not 0-5 degrees outside so I'm thinking that had something to do with it.

LILBENZ230

Sorry to resurrect.. but my car is doing this, and my warranty expires this month (26th). I take my car to the dealership tomorrow, armed with the TSB on scraping from tunnel.. but my car was produced in January of 05 according to the dealership records, which would mean it would be after the Oct. 2004 TSB.

My car makes this scraping/droning/rotational-rubbing noise really bad when it is cold if the suspension has to deal with any irregularities in the pavement. Even when the car is warm, though, the noise will resurface if I hit a bump AT THE SAME TIME I am accelerating. If I am not pressing on the accelerator, the noise is never present.

I am very worried this is going to be one of those "Cannot Duplicate" issues.

Glyn M Ruck

Please keep us all informed of what is found. The only problem I know of is a piece of heatshield touching & this can happen under torque because the propshaft winds up slightly & moves location. The only other problem I know of is rare donut failure but I would expect propshaft vibration were this to happen.

You are still under warrantee - just get it all reported and documented before the 26th. Then if the car does the toothache number & the dealer suffers selective hearing loss they can't walk away - Don't take any crap - make them record your complaint properly on the job card & get a copy of that job card for your own convenient filing. Then you are covered

LILBENZ230

It's at the dealership now. I've complained loudly about this issue. I will let you know how it works out.

LILBENZ230

Okay the dealership called me with a diagnosis. They said that the scraping noise is the front sway bar, and they are replacing it. This doesn't make sense to me given that it only happens under engine load and seems to be more sensitive to what the BACK of the car is doing instead of the front. Any opinions?

Glyn M Ruck

Front sway bar bushes & links can certainly make a noise but not what you described They can creek, groan & knock.

LILBENZ230

I haven't noticed any noises from the front of the car. I'm not sure we're hearing the same thing. Mine is obnoxiously noticeable, and it clearly is coming from the rear and only during acceleration.

Glyn M Ruck

I think they have misdiagnosed the problem but wait & see. Sorting the sway bar is a quick job. Ask them to call you as soon as it's done & take the car for a drive with a Tech. I'm pretty sure the noise will still be there. Refuse to pay for the misdiagnosed work & tell them to sort it out. Alternative - Get another opinion.

LILBENZ230

Seeing as how the car is still covered under factory warranty, they better not dare ask me to pay. Once I got to thinking about it, I did get an occasional knock noise over sharp bumps at low speed, maybe that was the swaybar. It's nice to have that out of the way, but I don't think that will ultimately fix this other issue. They're 90 miles away and I work until 5 (they close at 6, so they are always locking my key up and I'm doing a night drop with this loaner). It's hard to ride with a tech and very inconvenient for me. But this will get taken care of, I won't back down.

Glyn M Ruck

Good man - sorry - of course you are under warrantee - I'm corresponding with 3 X 240 owners at the moment & getting confused. 2 of you are almost out of warrantee.

LILBENZ230

Yeah. I am almost out of it myself. I haven't heard back yet but I did contact the SA and advise that while I think the swaybar probably does have an issue that it isn't likely to be the real culprit behind this noise. I will update this thread tomorrow. Thank you so much for your help!

LILBENZ230

The swaybar has been replaced. Apparently they're sticking with this for now. It has to have the cam sensors replaced tomorrow then I'll go pick it up. I'm sure I'll have heard the noise well before I have made the 90 mile journey home. I told the SA today that I wanted this WELL documented because I was almost completely sure that this did not fix it and that I will be down there every week until it is fixed.

Glyn M Ruck

Make sure they fit the pigtales if they are doing the cam sensors.

LILBENZ230

I asked the SA to do the pigtails, and I was told they are replacing internal cam sensors and not the ones bolted to the front of the engine. She insists those are not leaking. I know for a fact that the left cam sensor has an oil leak, I checked it myself. I have more or less demanded the pigtails but they're refusing, so I think I will just have to buy them and put them on myself. It was a painless process to check them.

Glyn M Ruck

I'm with you. Pigtales appear to be cheap now in the US. At one time I saw people posting on the forum at 58 US$ - now I see 18US$ Take the knock yourself. It can save you a lot of money & heartache down the pike.

LILBENZ230

Oddly enough, I have my car back and everything appears repaired. I haven't heard the noise again, the car runs quieter on cold starts, and I'll soon be buying the pigtails.

Glyn M Ruck

Be happy!!! - Maybe the rest of us were not fully understanding your noise.

LILBENZ230

Oh I am thrilled! Thrilled with the repair, and thrilled that the HIDs I put in work flawlessly without any errors or flickering. You see, I come from a long line of Honda and Acura products. Mercedes service may not be anything to write home about, but the service I received with those cars was a nightmare. They never knew what to do, they always said it was normal (even if something was falling apart). So I have a severe distrust of service departments thanks to that history. My Mercedes dealer has always seemed to try to get stuff right.

I guess I wasn't fully understanding the noise either. It sure did sound like it was coming from the back of the car, and I know for a fact it only made the noise during acceleration. I guess weird things cause weird problems in a car as complicated as a Mercedes.

Thanks for your help, Glyn!

-Matt