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I bought a 2003 E320 in unknown condition, no service records. It is RWD not 4 Matic. When I first got into drive the car it would shudder and it didn't want to move. Checked transmission fluid and there barely was any. The harness plug was also leaking. So I added Valvoline Max Life fluid and got a new plug and replaced that so no more leaking. I did a quick search and people said the Valvoline was acceptable but with more reading other people are saying it's not good?
Problem: Car still shakes and shudders under acceleration or at high RPMs. First I was thinking it was a transmission problem but the car accelerates from 0-high speeds just fine and it shifts fine too. It just shakes violently at high rpms ESPECIALLY if I'm at high RPMs and I let off the gas. So I was thinking it might be mounts? I have attached a picture of the transmission control box no oil in there.
I've attached a video of me holding the brakes and pressing the gas. Is this much movement indicative of bad engine mounts? Do you guys think that is the problem?
Jouist the engine side to side by grabbing the oil filter housing. If the whole car shakes mounts are bad, if the engine wiggles on the mounts and the car movement is minimal then your mounts are fine. If bad i would replace trans mount as well.
I would do a full pan drain/clean and get proper fluid in the transmission. Look for Shell 134ATF many shell distributors carry it for the sprinters and it is approved for both the 5 speed in your car as well as the 722.9 7 speed.
How many miles are on the car and how well taken care of does the car seem?
I would recommend that you get the car checked out by either a Mercedes dealer or an independent mech (you may find some service records if the vehicle was previously serviced at a Mercedes dealer). This would give you a list of things to consider repairing and you can prioritize according to your skill set and budget. The AC issue in your other post and the rough idle maybe the tip of the iceberg...
pretty much with all W211. First things to do.
change Engine mount and Tranny mount.
Crank Positioning sensor... on e320 and e500
This will make a HUGE difference in the way the car feels.
Hi. I've developed a similar issue. There's a knocking/loud ticking similar to that of a bad idler pulley emanating from the passenger side of the engine compartment. It's intermittent maybe 30-40% of the time at idle and picks up pace with acceleration. Otherwise the car runs well and there are no fault codes.
Mechanic #1 said it may be a mis-fire that's sounding off in the cat, but again, no code.
Mechanic #2 wants to pull the valve covers, says it's likely a bad lifter or maybe a piston rod sleeve bushing.
I read on here it can also be a rocker, but most likely the engine mounts, which mech #2 discounts.
The link to the engine mount thread is no longer live that I can see.
Are the issues, knocks, ticks and noise resulting from a bad mount that significant and widespread?
The fuel tank, sender, filter and pump were recently replaced. Could this be a cause?
My issue was resolved, thanks for all the help. It ended up being mounts, I changed both engine and transmission and the car is very smooth now.
The low transmission fluid was definitely an issue initially but changing the plug and adding fluid seems to have fixed it. It shifts great and runs really well with lots of power. I will still be putting in shell fluid and changing the filter shortly.
Reason we thought it was mounts more than transmission was that the car shifted well and had power, it was just shaking. I also grabbed the engine and shook it by the oil filter housing and it shook the whole car rather than just the engine. So the poster above might try doing that and also brake hard and press the gas and see how much the engine lifts.
Hi. I've developed a similar issue. There's a knocking/loud ticking similar to that of a bad idler pulley emanating from the passenger side of the engine compartment. It's intermittent maybe 30-40% of the time at idle and picks up pace with acceleration. Otherwise the car runs well and there are no fault codes.
Mechanic #1 said it may be a mis-fire that's sounding off in the cat, but again, no code.
Mechanic #2 wants to pull the valve covers, says it's likely a bad lifter or maybe a piston rod sleeve bushing.
I read on here it can also be a rocker, but most likely the engine mounts, which mech #2 discounts.
The link to the engine mount thread is no longer live that I can see.
Are the issues, knocks, ticks and noise resulting from a bad mount that significant and widespread?
The fuel tank, sender, filter and pump were recently replaced. Could this be a cause?
I'll appreciate any and all recommendations.
It's fixed. Alternator. Now I'll really appreciate engine and trans mounts.
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