Lot's of threads here concerning motor and transmission mounts. I've searched most of these and can't find an answer.

So, the question is... Has anyone found an aftermarket brand of replacement mounts that will hold up better?

 

I would say Yes since Pelican Parts carries both Lemforder as well as Mercedes mounts with the former being about $60 cheaper. I've used Lemforder suspension parts before and they were of great quality.

 

KEIN have told me that they will be building a set for the w212 550 4matic very soon. They make quality parts. You can contact them via eBay @keinfab

 

Lemforder undoubtedly makes the Mercedes mounts, and ones sold under their own brand name are likely identical to the ones with the tristar on them.

 

My friend ordered the Lemforder for his '14, they had the Tristar ground off, but were identical. I think BMW36 ran into the same thing,

 

I ordered Corteco for '11 E350 4M wagon, as the only other option as Genuine Mercedes (OE). Apparently Lemforder makes a mount, but it doesn't seem to be carried by any parts houses here in the states. For the '11 E550 4M sedan, the only option was Genuine Mercedes (OE). Corteco or Lemforder didn't offer a mount.

I didn't see a stamped star on the E350 mounts and looking at the replacement E550 mounts (OE) there isn't one either. The only star is on a label, stuck to the underside of the mount. Unfortunately I tossed the E350 mounts, but I also recall similar stampings on the aluminum base. Though that might only indicate they get the base from the same supplier, if they don't make it in-house. They appeared identical, down to the blue paint strip on top.

I'm doing the E550 mounts shortly, so I'll take a better look. My understanding is Lemforder does make OE parts (as witness when certain parts have their "star" ground off), whereas Corteco makes high-quality OEM replacement parts for many euros.

 

Given the effort and cost of installation I got the OEM mounts.

 

Well, the mounts on my (almost) 20 year-old C320 are the original mounts, so something has changed that makes the mounts on the W212-W213s give up the ghost in 1/4 of the time. (The transmission mount on my E350 was changed after 4 years, 27,000 miles.)

Changing motor/transmission mounts every 3-4 years holds zero appeal to me. If someone has tried an aftermarket solution that lasts longer, I would certainly consider them.

 

I dunno, but the E350 has half again more HP of my 25 year old E320 (305 vs 220)

 

I thought the W212's mounts were hydraulic? I don't recall that being the case for my W203 which never needed engine mounts in 150,000 miles but did need a transmission mount.

 

Texas is overrun with pick-em-up trucks... any one of them has more HP than my W212 E350. I've never heard of any of them with failed motor/tranny mounts.

Plain old solid rubber works for me. Think about the millions upon millions of vehicles on the planet with solid rubber mounts that never fail... Your average Cadillac land barge wallows around on motor mounts made of Jello, but I've never heard of those going bad, either.

 

Tranny mounts are consumable for me, they are nice n soft and dont last long for the way I drive ( gear change )
So easy to replace DIY, cost me US$130 parts only.

From my log book...........



Left one is 1st time change at 10,773KM when at 24,000KM or 13,227KM old. Right one is the new one zero KM.

Since the transmission is supported by a wooden block and a jack when trans-mount removed, placing a new one will show, how much sagging occurred on the old one.


Below showed when old trans-mount installed and the new one installed. See the top air gap distance, that also showed how sagged the old mount was.


The above trans mount change is part of my current investigation on some minor unique vibration (not tire out of balance type vibration ) I am having at the moment at 160KM/H.

What triggered me to change it is this video :


Left image is the video and right image is my 1st time trans mount change in 2018.




Looking at the size of the rubber molded on this trans-mount, that is a comfort mount and not a longevity one and I agree with Left Coast Greek, the more powerful your engine is ( and kick down itchy right leg forcing into 1st gear often), the faster the mount should sag.
Overall I am happy to discover that after a mere 13,227KM of which 20 laps of track use in those mileage, my trans-mount sagged approx 4mm.

Now I know 17,000 - 20,000KM and of zero track use would be my suitable change interval to enjoy the mount.
Actually 17-20K KM is the same life as one of my long time ago small Toyota front wheel drive hatchback I drove very rough from day 1 to sold date,
but at those mileage the trans + engine mounts ( all 3, I think it was 3 and not 4 ) already made the typical "clunk noise" when doing sudden high RPM down shift.
Clutch push/release bearing gone too at every 20K KM , so I replaced complete clutch set per 20K KM

 

I forgot to add.
Did the trans mount change solved my minor vibration issue ? NOPE. Helps a tiny bit but it was not the REAL culprit.

 

An over-engineered FAIL to be sure. Mercedes-Benz should be ashamed.

 

Must be really hard on the car to get that kind of wear on the transmission mount?

 

I would say the average based on feedback on the forum is at least double that 6-10 years. While I agree, it would be nice if they lasted longer... they don't and there don't appear to be aftermarket mounts available. The only one, might be the KEIN Fab mentioned by @E550Amg . Looking at their [KEIN Fab] various mounts, they appear to use the same cylindrical rubber isolator adapted to various mountings. To me, its more a "performance" mount and likely way stiffer than OE. There's no 1 size fits all isolator for various engines (HP and weight). I will reserve judgement, as its certainly possible they selected isolators of the same form-factor with different properties. My day job is as a vibrations engineer for helicopter manufactorer.

 

First owner of the car was a girl in FL.

Me? I've used "S" mode maybe five times in the nearly 3 years I've owned the car. So, no...

The dealer replaced it without any complaint from me. Maybe they just needed to bill MBUSA for a warranty claim.

 

Oh I was talking to @S-Prihadi in terms of excess wear to the mounts.

 

, my roads are bad too here in Jakarta, so double suffering for any shock/vibration absorbing devices in the car.

 

i remember for a few years my 89 jetta went through its front main engine mount annually. about 40k miles of hard driving. the large complex fluid filled mount wasn't that cheap but it was easy to replace.

 

East Coast Euro make Billet Al/Poly mounts for the 4matic v8 cars...they might fit the V6 as well??? They ain't cheap though,that's for sure!

 

those sound like they'd transfer a lot more engine vibrations to the chassis.

 

I cut open the OE mount off a '11 E550... definitely full of oil that spilled just as I finished cutting it open. I didn't expect to see a valving inside (last two images). Interesting design and I can see two failure modes. First, a rupture of the rubber diaphragm at the bottom (black rubber disk) that would lead to fluid leaking out. Second, sagging of main rubber element which "grounds" out the mount and transmits more vibration into chassis.

In my case, there was no visible fluid loss and the mount I cut open had plenty. What was evident, the mount was close to being fully collapsed and I guarantee the engine weight surely did...

 

BMW,
Sweet, thank you for doing this. A good database to have for us .... awesome....

 

The kind of expertise I need input from .... soon, in a different post yah