Go Terps

I heard from my stealer yesterday that I need to have my engine mounts replaced... 04 CLK 320 - 74k miles...

they are saying $900... sounds high from my searching...

can anyone who has done this chime in on what is reasonable / what they paid...

also, anyone know of a good non stealer shop in DC / MD / VA?

blackieclk550

The mounts alone are $400( atleast it was for my CLK550 ) it takes about 1-2 hours to install so i say around $700 look for someone else who could install them 900 is way 2 high.

togaclk55

2 x Engine Mounts =$144
1 x Tranny Mount = $30
Labor= around $200

KhansAutoNYC

as togaclk55 said engine mounts is $114 with 2.1 hours to change both (mfg warr time). part # 2032411113. no more than 325.00 including tax.

Clkboi

+1 On this it should not cost more than $400 to change them.

The stealer is putting gold ones maybe thats why it's costing you so much. IMO it's not worth the extra 10hp.

Rudeney

Just the replacement of the mounts is 34WUs (@5min, about 3 hours). However, WIS instructs them to remove the exhaust system for clearance when lifting the engine. That adds 23WUs (another 2 hours). So total job should be around 5 hours.

mis3

To the OP, do you see any symptoms from the worn engine mounts?

I have the same car as you but with 160k miles. My engine mounts and transmission mount were never changed. Since I do not feel any excessive vibrations, I am not sure if I should change them any time soon.

For what I can read from this forum, changing them is not difficult. You probably can go to your local indie to save on cost.

MarcusF

Changing engine mounts sounds a lot more difficult than it really is. Yes the engine must be lifted. No, you can’t see the entire top of the bolt and will have to “feel it” to remove it. Someone could pull the exhaust so they could see the top bolt, but that’s a lot more work for very little benefit. The only real benefit in pulling the exhaust manifolds is to run up the bill.

OE engine mounts cost $80 per side at AutohausAZ and the last time I did mine it took two hours (and I work slowly). Dealer list is about double that for the same parts, so $900 is way out of line (unless they're charging to pull the exhaust manifolds).

An Indy will mark up the parts to about $250 for the pair and charge 2 hours. You only have to change the transmission mount ($15 at Autohaus) if it is torn. The transmission mount only tears when someone ignores the worn out engine mounts.

It’s easy to tell if the engine mounts are worn – the driver’s side mount will have oil stains from where it has leaked. Alternatively, someone could put the car in gear while stepping on the brakes and give it a little gas. While doing this, someone else can watch the engine and see if it lifts at all.

Motor mounts are normal wear parts, so if you’re over 75K miles, you can plan on having this done at some point. If you like drag racing, they’ll be due much sooner.

Rudeney

WIS states to pull the exhaust system, and it's not to see the bolt, it's for clearance when lifting the engine. Any procedure that requires lifting the engine, such as R&R the motor mounts or the oil pan, will also include removing the exhaust. The reason is, if you don't remove it, you risk damaging something. Having said that, the motor mounts can be replaced with minimal lift of the engine and it's "probably" OK to do that without removing the exhaust. Unfortunately, dealer shops have their hands tied - if they get caught doing something against policy, they risk repercussions from MBUSA.

MarcusF

That may be present in some version of the WIS. I have the 01/2012 version. The 2012 WIS doesn't say anything about removing the exhaust. I checked the procedure for the W208 CLK430, W208 CLK55, W209 CLK500, W209 CLK55, and the W209 CLK550. I didn't check the CLK63, BS, CLK320, or CLK350.

Having personally performed this procedure, I can state the exhaust does not have to be removed. To each their own though. If someone feels safer pulling their exhuast to remove the motor mounts, they should follow whatever procedure they feel works best.

Rudeney

My WIS is the 2010 (MY2011) version. I checked and both the M112/M113 and M272/M273 engine instructions. Both include steps for removing the exhaust system:

http://benzbits.com/W203/EngineMount.pdf
http://benzbits.com/W209/EngineMount.pdf

But like you said, it doesn't have to be done in practice (unless you are an official MBZ dealer/service center).

waveterrorist

I went with the E55amg mounts as suggested in some forums.

With the trans mount the pieces were about 245.

I am miles from my garage so I had to pay someone to do the work.
No one was willing to do it for actual time, just "book time" of 3.8 hours.
So labor came to 355.

The difference is so overwhelming it is hard to believe.

$600 is what it cost me.........