rattle / grinding noise?
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From: NY/CT
CLK 320
rattle / grinding noise?
Hello everyone...
I left my CLK ('02) sitting for a week while I was out of town, and now it started making a rather funky almost-grinding / sort-of rattle noise at low speeds. I think it's there at higher speeds too, but road noise covers it.
I'm about to take it in to the dealership to have it looked at, and I dread to think what they're gonna say, seeing how the car is out of warranty already.
Anybody have any ideas what it could be or how much this is gonna hurt?
-- edit --
A few more details that I forgot...
I did have the transmission serviced a while back at the dealership, when the car crossed the 50k mile marker.
The noise happens almost all the time... even at idle. Like I said it probably happens all the way to 4th, but at those speeds I probably just can't hear it...
It speeds up and slows down based on how much throttle you apply, like the noise that a card makes on the spokes of a bike. The more gas, the higher the frequency -- which is what scares me, because it makes me think it's something with the transmission...
It is definitely coming from somewhere under the car, not the engine bay. I can't pinpoint if it's front/rear or what side, but with the driver-side door open and the hood up, you hear it more as to being under rather than in front.
That's all I can think of for now...
I left my CLK ('02) sitting for a week while I was out of town, and now it started making a rather funky almost-grinding / sort-of rattle noise at low speeds. I think it's there at higher speeds too, but road noise covers it.
I'm about to take it in to the dealership to have it looked at, and I dread to think what they're gonna say, seeing how the car is out of warranty already.
Anybody have any ideas what it could be or how much this is gonna hurt?
-- edit --
A few more details that I forgot...
I did have the transmission serviced a while back at the dealership, when the car crossed the 50k mile marker.
The noise happens almost all the time... even at idle. Like I said it probably happens all the way to 4th, but at those speeds I probably just can't hear it...
It speeds up and slows down based on how much throttle you apply, like the noise that a card makes on the spokes of a bike. The more gas, the higher the frequency -- which is what scares me, because it makes me think it's something with the transmission...
It is definitely coming from somewhere under the car, not the engine bay. I can't pinpoint if it's front/rear or what side, but with the driver-side door open and the hood up, you hear it more as to being under rather than in front.
That's all I can think of for now...
Last edited by viguera; Sep 24, 2004 at 12:24 PM.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Aug 2003
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From: NY/CT
CLK 320
Well I took it in and the service guy gave it a quick once-over, and the story looks like this:
There's a ton of construction around my house now, and they have brought out the "street chewer upper" and taken off a lot of asphalt off the street. Apparently I hit something that bumped one of the cats upwards slightly.
The service guys says that they usually can push back the cat, but that generally weakens the weld, and that the way to go (even if eventually) would be to replace it altogether.
Any ideas what the parts/labor on that is going to be? He told me they couldn't do anything because it was Saturday, but to expect a bill for at least $1,200. I know they usually over-shoot on the price to be safe, but that seems kind of high (as always when dealing with MB)
I've looked around online at different places, and I've found all kinds of different prices... If anybody has any ideas what the going rate for a catalytic converter for the '02 CLK 320, I'm all ears.
Thanks
There's a ton of construction around my house now, and they have brought out the "street chewer upper" and taken off a lot of asphalt off the street. Apparently I hit something that bumped one of the cats upwards slightly.
The service guys says that they usually can push back the cat, but that generally weakens the weld, and that the way to go (even if eventually) would be to replace it altogether.
Any ideas what the parts/labor on that is going to be? He told me they couldn't do anything because it was Saturday, but to expect a bill for at least $1,200. I know they usually over-shoot on the price to be safe, but that seems kind of high (as always when dealing with MB
)I've looked around online at different places, and I've found all kinds of different prices... If anybody has any ideas what the going rate for a catalytic converter for the '02 CLK 320, I'm all ears.
Thanks
Thread Starter
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 268
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From: NY/CT
CLK 320
Originally Posted by proform
I have a pry bar and a floor jack and I will fix it for only $600.00
A couple of issues with that:
* I don't know if you're serious or not, and I don't know you from a can of paint. Not that it matters in the end if it's gonna save me $600 and it's guaranteed...
* You're in California. It's gonna cost me twice as much to fix the car here as it would to get it out there -- or get you here to fix it
Seriously though, is this something I can call the dealer and ask how much the part is, then have a mechanic do? I REALLY don't feel like paying the $95/hour that they're asking for in labor...
Thread Starter
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From: NY/CT
CLK 320
Originally Posted by SpeedLimits?
just give that fawker a yank to get it away from the body...then get new hiflo cats if those shat themselves.
Any idea on a good place to pick up the replacements, just in case?
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From: Gulf Coast
2006 E55 & 2009 Audi S5
That would qualify as a comprehensive claim on your insurance since it happened because of something other that a wreck. I just had the front of my wife's 5 series repainted because of rocks. The good thing about a comp claim is it doesn't cause your insurance to go up.
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Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 268
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From: NY/CT
CLK 320
In case anybody's following this...
I've been going back and forth between MB and Geico... MB says it's definitely the cat, so they have to torch off the whole thing and put in a new one... bill for the parts alone (no labor) is $1300. That's for the cat (208-490-31-19), the couplings, nuts and screws... *******s...
Geico says the exhaust is a wear item, so it's not covered under comp. Excellent... better yet, even if I had the extended warranty, being a wear item it STILL wouldn't be covered by MB... It didn't just fall apart of its own, so it's not mechanical breakdown, so it's being written off as collision damage.
Took the car to the adjustor and (obviously) he didn't see any damage... now it's off to the MB service people again to have them put the thing on the lift, so the insurance guy can SEE what they're talking about.
At this point I almost feel like it'd be better to go out of pocket, but it doesn't make any sense considering the prices. The MB service guys say that it's gonna take at least an hour to torch off the old cat, so I'm looking at 2-3 hours labor at $95/hour. Damn, I'm in the wrong business...
I guess if nothing else it makes me feel good that I didn't get the extended warranty for this car, since all of the stuff that I've had to fix so far is either cosmetic or wear.
I've been going back and forth between MB and Geico... MB says it's definitely the cat, so they have to torch off the whole thing and put in a new one... bill for the parts alone (no labor) is $1300. That's for the cat (208-490-31-19), the couplings, nuts and screws... *******s...
Geico says the exhaust is a wear item, so it's not covered under comp. Excellent... better yet, even if I had the extended warranty, being a wear item it STILL wouldn't be covered by MB...
It didn't just fall apart of its own, so it's not mechanical breakdown, so it's being written off as collision damage. Took the car to the adjustor and (obviously) he didn't see any damage... now it's off to the MB service people again to have them put the thing on the lift, so the insurance guy can SEE what they're talking about.
At this point I almost feel like it'd be better to go out of pocket, but it doesn't make any sense considering the prices. The MB service guys say that it's gonna take at least an hour to torch off the old cat, so I'm looking at 2-3 hours labor at $95/hour. Damn, I'm in the wrong business...
I guess if nothing else it makes me feel good that I didn't get the extended warranty for this car, since all of the stuff that I've had to fix so far is either cosmetic or wear.
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From: Gulf Coast
2006 E55 & 2009 Audi S5
That is crazy, but it doesn't suprise me with some of the insurance companies out there--not saying Geico is bad in all cases.
I'd call another insurance company under the pretext of changing insurances, which may be your best option for the future, and explain what happened and see what type of claim it would be under if you had their insurance and the same thing happened again.
If they say a comp. claim then I'd consider switching and I'd tell Geico that you intend to obtain a lawyer if they don't cover it as a comp claim or contact the Dept. of Insurance for your state.
It could be that it isn't a comp claim but I would have bet money it would have been based on my past experiences.
If an object falls from another vehicle and damages your vehicle, like the rocks that hit my wife's car, then according to my agent, it's a comp claim. As I mentioned previously, we just got ost of her car repainted for that reason.
Hope you get it resolved to your satisfaction and good luck.
I'd call another insurance company under the pretext of changing insurances, which may be your best option for the future, and explain what happened and see what type of claim it would be under if you had their insurance and the same thing happened again.
If they say a comp. claim then I'd consider switching and I'd tell Geico that you intend to obtain a lawyer if they don't cover it as a comp claim or contact the Dept. of Insurance for your state.
It could be that it isn't a comp claim but I would have bet money it would have been based on my past experiences.
If an object falls from another vehicle and damages your vehicle, like the rocks that hit my wife's car, then according to my agent, it's a comp claim. As I mentioned previously, we just got ost of her car repainted for that reason.
Hope you get it resolved to your satisfaction and good luck.
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why do they need to torch off the cat?? this is mounted in 2 places with screws, no torching required... had this confirmed by 3 muffler shops...
also, you only need the right piece of the cat... they sell it separately in two pieces, the actual cat converter underneath your car is part of the right piece... dont let them sell you both, you dont need it... the left piece connects to the right and funnels the smoke to the cats... i have a diagram from MB that shows the 2 parts
lastly, this is a one-2 hour job at most... unscrew old cats, put on new ones... dont let them scam you on this job... book probably says 3-4 hours but thats crap designed to fatten their pockets...
and i know this cause im driving around now with a bad cat and ive done my homework... confirmed with tech that you can replace the right peice of the cat without touching the left...
also, you only need the right piece of the cat... they sell it separately in two pieces, the actual cat converter underneath your car is part of the right piece... dont let them sell you both, you dont need it... the left piece connects to the right and funnels the smoke to the cats... i have a diagram from MB that shows the 2 parts
lastly, this is a one-2 hour job at most... unscrew old cats, put on new ones... dont let them scam you on this job... book probably says 3-4 hours but thats crap designed to fatten their pockets...
and i know this cause im driving around now with a bad cat and ive done my homework... confirmed with tech that you can replace the right peice of the cat without touching the left...
