2005 E320 Wagon, vibration in gear
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 19
Likes: 4
2011 C300 4matic
2005 E320 Wagon, vibration in gear
Hello everyone,
So i bought a 2005 e320 4matic wagon a few months ago. Im chasing down a vibration i have while in reverse or drive sitting still with my foot on the brake.
When i bought the car it went into limp home mode. I flushed the transmission fluid, replaced the filter, conductor plate and the bushing. Refilled with Shell 134. Then i had to replace both of the ABS rings and sensors on the rear axles. This solved the limp home issues, no other problems in the last 3000 miles.
Maintenance wise i have replaced: coolant, sparkplugs, air filters, valve cover gaskets, breather hoses, engine oil and filter (mobil 0w40), front and rear diff fluid (mercedes fluid), transfercase fluid (Mercedes fluid), engine mounts (lemforder), transmission mount (Mercedes), front and rear flex disc (sachs), crankshaft position sensor, good year tires, main battery and aux battery, maf to airbox seal, maf to throttle body seal, flushed the power steering. Cleaned the maf and the throttle body.
When i come to a stop and the car is vibrating i can roll forward a few inches and it stops completely. The vibration is almost not noticeable in C mode (i guess because of the second gear start) but i mostly drive in S. Super smooth on the highway or after i get going.
Also occasionally if i just barely push the gas the car will sort of stumble, like if you are in a parking lot slowly moving around. Its never stalled though, only does it in S mode. I removed the throttle body and cleaned it and the maf, seemed to help some. Maybe thinking the accelerator pedal?
No active codes that i can see with my icarsoft scanner.
Any ideas?
Super Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 563
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From: The Villages, Florida
2006 E320 CDI
....no other problems in the last 3000 miles.
Maintenance wise i have replaced......engine mounts (lemforder), transmission mount (Mercedes)......
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 2,290
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C320
Since you have the tool one other thing you can check is go to live data under the ECU and check the misfire counters for all 6 cyls. You might have a misfire on one or more cyls.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 2,290
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C320
Does the RPM change as you go between neutral and drive? A bad or dirty throttle body could cause it to idle too low in D. I would reinspect those new mounts.
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Feb 2014
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From: MA
2008 E350 4Matic, 2011 E350 4matic
How about checking the driveshaft support? Also vibrations could be the CV joints, the bad aftermarket ones can sometimes cause a vibration. Not really sure how to check if you have MB ones or aftermarket ones.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 19
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2011 C300 4matic
I wonder if it could be related to being a 4matic, my last newer Mercedes was a 2008 C class 4matic and it vibrated also.
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2019
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08 E350
I agree with "cetialpha5"! I just went through this! I was having strong vibration after replacing my factory Front Drive axles (80k + miles on them) with "new" cheap Chinese ones, because I had a Right CV boot that was ripped, and leaking grease. Immediately, after installation of the cheap Axles, '08 E350 started a strong vibration in Reverse and Drive!
Changed out the Motor and Transmission mounts, vibration reduce a little (maybe 20%). Finally, removed the cheap Axles, and had the original factory Drive Axles rebuilt and reinstalled, the vibration was gone! It's been almost a week - still not vibration!
Changed out the Motor and Transmission mounts, vibration reduce a little (maybe 20%). Finally, removed the cheap Axles, and had the original factory Drive Axles rebuilt and reinstalled, the vibration was gone! It's been almost a week - still not vibration!
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Joined: Feb 2014
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From: MA
2008 E350 4Matic, 2011 E350 4matic
It's a mystery to us too. My guess is that it's not an exact copy so either it's too long or too short or the materials used somehow caused vibrations. I seem to recall somewhere that mentioned that parts of it were hollow and the aftermarket ones were solid. The outer joint itself is actually hollow, you can just take the nut off and pack the joint with grease through that hole, my mechanic mentioned that other CV joints he's seen, they're solid. Anyway, when they sell an aftermarket CV joint brand new for $100 and the OEM MB one is $1000 and even a brand name rebuilt one is over $300, there's some corner cutting somewhere in that $100 joint that causes that vibration.
Member
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 91
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From: Orlando, FL
72 R107, 04 W463, 05 W211
Chasing down similar problem. On third set of engine mounts in two years. Darn things last about 6 months and then the vibration is back. Lenford are most recent purchase.
Re: CV joints, doubt this is the issue as the darn thing is sitting in your driveway - duh!
Note, I replaced flex disks and mid-shaft bearing/hanger recently. Discovered flat spot in u-joint and and it's not replaceable. Got used driveshaft with plan to machine off the two yokes and weld on replacement yokes (ones for which I can replace the u-joints). Car is on lift to measure and ensure driveshaft is same-same (MB in their wisdom dropped part number for whole shaft for 2005 - replaced with separate numbers for each half - grrr). Anyway, presently have vibration under hard acceleration, which wasn't present before replacing rubber disks and mid-shaft bearing. Used drive shaft is #2114100306 if anybody knows for sure if this fits 2005.
Finally, mine is also a 2005, non a 4-matic but otherwise I suspect we're chasing the same problem. And replacing the engine mounts is a pain in the hind end (tranny mount is easy). Grrr!
Anyway, reach out to me if you want to compare notes at 407-302-3361
Re: CV joints, doubt this is the issue as the darn thing is sitting in your driveway - duh!
Note, I replaced flex disks and mid-shaft bearing/hanger recently. Discovered flat spot in u-joint and and it's not replaceable. Got used driveshaft with plan to machine off the two yokes and weld on replacement yokes (ones for which I can replace the u-joints). Car is on lift to measure and ensure driveshaft is same-same (MB in their wisdom dropped part number for whole shaft for 2005 - replaced with separate numbers for each half - grrr). Anyway, presently have vibration under hard acceleration, which wasn't present before replacing rubber disks and mid-shaft bearing. Used drive shaft is #2114100306 if anybody knows for sure if this fits 2005.
Finally, mine is also a 2005, non a 4-matic but otherwise I suspect we're chasing the same problem. And replacing the engine mounts is a pain in the hind end (tranny mount is easy). Grrr!
Anyway, reach out to me if you want to compare notes at 407-302-3361
Last edited by jbeech; Dec 2, 2019 at 11:43 AM. Reason: phone number
