So, I just bought a 13' E550 and am loving it so far. I was wondering if anyone could give any suggestion on if theres any common problems or things to look out for on this vehicle. It has 96k on it so far and has been regularly serviced at a Mercedes dealer. After that I was also wondering if anyone has any ideas for a better performing strut and shock set up? I know Bilstien makes a kit but that will lower the vehicle and I dont really want to lower it as it sits nice already and I live in MN so potholes and snow are an issue, Also I need to replace the brakes soon as the rotors are warped, I've heard of people using an AMG maybe an E63 or C63? rear brakes? Could anyone confirm that for me? I'd like to have the rear rotors match the front, it looks a little silly having bigger drilled front rotors and some blanks small rear rotors.

 

I would keep an eye on the engine mounts which is well known, and the front drive shaft.. I just changed mine after getting vibrations had a look and saw that it was ready to part.

 

Interesting, I might have to look into that. I get a small vibration around highway speeds even after balancing my tires. Could be one of those or both. Wonder if its easy enough to do myself. I'll have to look into it. Thanks!

 

If balancing doesn't fix it, it's also possible that the rim might be bent or cracked. But you would think that the shop that did the balancing would tell you, but sometimes they don't.

The motor mounts aren't that easy, but there are several DIY threads about that on this forum, just search the old threads. They are well known to go bad because MB uses hydraulic mounts and those tend to fail and the fluid leaks out, smooth ride when it's working though. Drive shaft is also a possibility, there are some parts associated with it that also go, but not as common.

 

Awesome thanks, I balanced the tires myself. I work as a mechanic at a Chrysler dealer. Didnt look like my wheels were damaged or bent and our machine usually measures the wheels for runout and what not. I may have to spend the money to have it looked over at the Mercedes dealer since I am not super familiar with European cars.

 

I forget on the driveline, it's not that common but I think there's a flex disc and a support that might go bad, haven't had to do it to my two cars yet. The other source of vibration for me was an aftermarket CV joint. I suppose you could check the CV boots for rips and check the obvious stuff first before thinking maybe one of the CV joints is causing the vibration. Vibrations have many causes and if you search the threads, there's lots of possibilities. The transmission mount is easy, but the motor mounts are hard. I'd get the parts from FCPEuro, they have a lifetime warranty on all the parts they sell and I had one set of motor mounts go at 60k so it's possible they could go again during your ownership depending on how long you own it.