1999 E430 sport - ticking sound from under the car? Not the engine

Sep 7, 2019 | 05:10 PM

Agmana8808

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1999 E430 sport

1999 E430 sport - ticking sound from under the car? Not the engine

128,000 miles. You can hear it best under acceleration and it is in sequence with Rpms. It seems to be coming from somewhere under the driver's side of the car, it doesn't do it when I rev in park. The engine has no loss in power and is mechanically sound. The ticking sounds like a baseball card hitting a bike tire spoke as it goes, and gets faster with Rpms, not tire rotation. Any direction on what this could be would be appreciated! My initial thought was maybe the cat, but this sounds like an actual gear of some sort

Sep 7, 2019 | 07:24 PM

fabbrisd1

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A gaggle of MB's

there is a driveshaft "center support bearing" that can cause that sound...

there is failing transmission that can make that sound...

take your pick

Sep 13, 2019 | 07:13 PM

Agmana8808

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1999 E430 sport

Quote:

Originally Posted by fabbrisd1

Well - sound like time to get it up on a lift..

there is a alloy/metal insulation above the driveshaft to reduce noise/heat to the cabin - if this gets dislodged/bent - then that can be one source for the "clicking"

there are "flex discs" at both ends of the driveshaft - that "sometimes" can make that noise... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i1eN_5GdKM

there is a driveshaft "center support bearing" that can cause that sound...

there is failing transmission that can make that sound...

take your pick

If the transmission were failing, what other symptoms might it have? It does shift hard, but I already know the flex disc needs to be replaced, and I'm pretty certain that will fix the hard shift. This ticking/clicking sounds just like a film projector that is in sequence with the rpms... I will check the support bearing this weekend. If this were a pulley noise just bouncing off the splash guard, it would do it in park, right?

Sep 13, 2019 | 07:16 PM

Agmana8808

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1999 E430 sport

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plutoe

Put the car on a lift and do an inspection under the conditions so stated------wada you hear and from where

It doesn't make the noise in park or neutral, only when it's accelerating. I'll try jacking it up and spinning the driveshaft to see if it makes any weird noises though

Sep 18, 2019 | 03:50 PM

Agmana8808

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1999 E430 sport

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plutoe

Sidewalks and lawns and jacks are unsafe and wont work. Ask you mom for thirty bucks and go to a garage.

Ugh, not sure what my mom has to do with any of this, I am 32. But whatever floats your boat, do you have any useful input?

Last edited by Agmana8808; Sep 18, 2019 at 03:52 PM.

Oct 25, 2019 | 09:59 PM

MBkid30

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From: Northern IL

1998 MB E430

Are you sure it's one of the secondary cats knocking? My 98 was doing that at idle and in gear. Removed the cats and installed an X pipe in its place. No more knock.

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