My 04 S55 has developed a 'shudder' particularly present under load and moderate acceleration. I also developed a low frequency whine that happens directly upon start up and continues as long as the car is in gear.

Any thoughts? I bought this new and was confident in the drivetrain. I am at 18ok or so.

steve

 

Low frequency whine sounds like the ABC pump damper, also check for engine mounts which may cause the shudder. Did I read this correctly that you are at 180K miles? Wow!

 

+1 REALLY 180,000 miles

 

My 04 s55 had a drivetrain vibration between 1500 rpm and about 2500 rpm . I replaced the engine mounts and everything was as new. My car only had 30,000 miles, but the engine had been resting on the same mounts for 7 years.

 

Check the motor mounts, that could be the cause. Did you say 180k miles? !

 

Sorry guys. Life for in the way
Yes. 180k. Actually it is now 213k original engine and tranny. Bought it new. Vibration and rumble. C
Dealer changed out engine mounts. Local guy flushed tranny fluid several times (drain from pan not complete evac). Changed but still shudders.

I've finally the $ to effect repairs. Local guy wants to start with tranny mounts. At this many miles should I spring for a transmission (rebuilt?). Abc fault code (intermittent) and an assortment of other issues but I miss the silky smooth baby I drove off the lot.
Any help is appreciated

Steve
04 S55 stock
Obsidian black
Hit a damn deer last month

 

I haven't encountered this before, but as I'm looking to do my engine mounts soon, I will relay this bit of advice. Everyone I've talked to about it (home dealer plus two trusted indys) say the engine and trans mounts should be done together.

The trans mount is the easiest, and some even say people mis-diagnose a failing trans mount as engine mounts. When you think about that last statement, and realize the extra labor that goes into the engine mount replacement, you begin to understand why. Dealers can get a LOT more for replacing engine mounts than trans mounts. I would start there. I would NOT go for a new trans, unless you've other issues with it. Good luck. Please let us know how it turns out.

I have no vibration, but my guys tell me they are "beginning to show wear" so I'm going to do all three (2 engine mounts + 1 trans mount).

Cheers,

maw

 

If you do all 3 mounts make sure you do the tranny mount last. I did mine first and then tore it when i lifted the engine to do the engine mounts. BTW my car has 155k and drives very well. Good luck with the ABC....i had my pump replaced twice in 3 years and its not cheap

 

My first post, so excuse any errors in protocol:
I am also experiencing the same shudder in my 04 (with $135k) miles and the ABC light came on two days ago. Took it to the dealership yesterday for the ABC and, of course, they diagnosed it as the pump (not providing enough psi). Quote: $3000. They added more Pentosin and it's holding for now. Anyone have any experience with rebuilt ABC pumps from BuyAutoParts?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MERCEDES-ABC-TANDEM-POWER-STEERING-PUMP-S-CL-CLASS-/120627129356?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item1c15efec0c#vi-ilCompAlso had the transmission looked at and dealer thinks it may be the torque converter but also took it to the local "AA__O" and they want to rebuild for $2,000+? Anyone had any experience with the torque converter issue? Debating on whether to invest the money or write the car off, but I do enjoy my S55 though...

 

Ive had exactly the same symptoms, and had it cured as of 2 days ago... Culprit? The rear gearbox mount- £30 later and drives lovely!!

Hope this helps

 

I vote for the transmission mount. Had the same issues a few years ago so I changed the tranny mount and it was all fixed. It was also really cheap considering.

 

Mines also an 04 S55 with 150k on the clock, and i too have had this shuddering/vibrations for the last year or so and cant get to the bottom of it.

Have had new:-

Engine Mounts
Tranny Mount
Propshaft to diff mount
ALL FOUR rear subframe bushes
Rear control arms
Rear strut lower bushes
Front upper wishbones
Front balljoints

But still it shakes like a crackhead under gentle acceleration between 20-40mph and a more refined vibration between 50-60 mph. All seems smooth as silk above 80mph though!!!

Funny thing is, it used to do the vibrations between 30-40 mph and then between 60-80 mph at one point, but since the rear subframe was removed and had the bushes replaced the vibrations have got slightly worse and moved to a different speed range.

Im nearly about to give up on her, but i know i wont get another car like this.

 

Reflecting on this, have any of the owners with shudders ever changed the supercharger oil or looked at the supercharger clutch and related bearings? Since the kompressor is running 100 percent of the time when the car is running, and we (now) know there's no such thing as "lifetime fluid" no matter what Mercedes says, those look like services I would do before rebuilding transmissions or torque converters. I could see "gummy" supercharger oil causing "shudders", particularly at these high miles -- or the supercharger clutch failing to engage properly.

Also, have people had their drive shaft flex discs replaced? Those are also likely culprits and known failure items that also cause "vibration".

But I think we have to draw a distinction between "vibration" and "shudder" in any case.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

maw

 

Iv changed the Supercharger oil in mine, and also the supercharger pulley as well with no positive effects.

Iv had the drive shaft bushes checked several times and been told they are alright.

Vibration or shudder, call it what you like, but either way its very very annoying.

 

I had this problem, changed the tranny mounts and all was good. I changed out the SC oil a while back, just a maintenance thing......there weren't any vibrations.

 

Be sure to check the flex discs as well.

 

I will add same feedback ruling out the supercharger oil as any issue.

I'm experiencing same vibration or shudder at 2k and 2.5k rpm, or potentially at shift points from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd.

Supercharger oil, diff oil, engine oil all clean.

Will change ATF and filter/clean out the valve bodies. And then maybe on to engine mounts/tranny mount bushings.

 

 

Have you checked your ABC damper, the one on the drivers side? I recently replaced my engine and trans mounts only to find that the ABC damper was contributing to the vibration I was feeling. MBA has a TSB out on it. I don't recall whether you said you addressed your pump at all in this thread. I think corsa9000 hit that right off. You have to check where the damper is on your car. I think on the '06 it moved to the ABC pump whereas before it was located elsewhere. But because it's driven by the belt, you can remove the drive belts and see if you still get the vibration when revving, or at least that's how mine was successfully diagnosed.

maw

 

Maw - Thanks for the suggestion, but i have had the pulsation damper changed last year. That was giving more of a whine/humming noise rather than a vibration or shudder. It seemed more like a wheel bearing was on its way out when the pulsation damper went.

If your talking about another kind of damper, now that iv read your full thread and see you mention it being driven by a belt, then im afraid im not aware of this part. Any ideas on where its located, what it looks like or how to diagnose it?

Thanks

 

No, I'm stumped. Sorry. You've replaced the damper I was talking about. In MY'06, that damper is located on the ABC pump itself. So when you take the accessory drive belt off, the humming/whining/vibration went away. I'm not sure where it was on '04 cars, and it doesn't matter anyway because you've already replaced it. I'm out of ideas on this one.

maw

 

Yeah on the 04 cars the Pulsation damper is located just behind, and slightly inwards of the drivers front wheel (UK spec cars). If you turn the wheel you can actually see the end of it without having to get under the car.

I think i might show this to one last indy and if they cannot resolve it, then i think it might be time to decide on the cars future.

 

FWIW my car has ABC completely removed and it still shudders...not ABC related.

 

My issue I feel is not tire-related or transmission shift-related. Probably not drive shaft or differential-related. I feel the vibration while testing in PARK.

I will remove the SC belt and Serpentine accessories belt and check how free all my bearings and pulleys spin by hand. Maybe one of them is a bit ragged.

I will also try starting the car with the belts off. For those of you who don't know, you should never run the car this way because the water pump and alternator won't be doing their jobs keeping the electricity and coolant flowing. I will only run it for a minute to try to figure out if the accessories are implicated in the problem. If the vibration is still there, then I can focuses on engine and transmission and mounts.

Can the Airconditioner pump pulley/bearing be removed while on the car?

 

I had doubted the tranny mount would fix this because the vibration was occurring in park. But I did the tranny mount first. That seems to have resolved my shudder at 1.4k and 2.2k RPM.

I tried running the engine with the SC belt removed. And I spun the pulleys and they were all good. So I figured I would try the tranny mount while the weather is beautiful outside and I could go for a spirited test drive. Easy DIY. There are lots of videos on YouTube that apply and threads on this forum.

I wish I had done this swap out months ago. It would have allowed me to stop worrying that there was something else major wrong with the car. No more nightmares about dampeners and pump bearings and pulleys and belts. I highly recommend this swap if your car hasn't had this done in 10 years/75k miles. My old mount looked only slightly compressed, and the cheapskate in me said to put it back in. Glad I didn't. New one made a huge difference.

My DIY:
- Car at max ride height, Front wheels up on ramps, parking brake on. Chocked the wheels.
- removed the rearward part of the front belly pan to expose the whole tranny pan. Got 2"x4" piece of wood for jacking purposes that fit across the pan near the drain plug.
- Removed the two 13mm bolts from the tranny mount at the center of the tranny cross brace.
- jacked up at the tranny pan approx 1/2" just to take weight off the cross brace.
- removed the 6 bolts 16mm that hold the cross brace to the car frame. This allows very easy access to the tranny mount , though many have said they didn't need to remove the cross brace.
- removed the 2 bolts 16mm holding the mount to the tranny frame. A ground wire was under one of them. Note orientation as this central bar is tilted and needs to go back the right way.

(Things shift around a bit when these parts are off, so prepare for some minor finagling and wiggling to get everything back to position)

- Attached the new mount to tranny at correct orientation with 2 bolts16mm, and remember ground wire. Finger tightened about 1/2" to leave some slack to align to the cross brace.
- reattach cross brace loosely to the car frame with one bolt on each end. Get it aligned with the mount and start the two 13mm bolts through the center of the cross brace into the mount base by hand.
- once you are sure everything will align for you, tighten up the two 16mm bolts from the mount to the tranny/ground wire, while you still have good access.
- insert the remaining 4 bolts to hold the cross brace into the frame. Snug all 6 bolts for the cross brace to torque spec (?).
- hand tighten the two small 13mm bolts at the center cross brace into the bottom of the mount. Now lower the jack to drop the tranny/mount into position so that you can torque the 2 bolts 13mm at final resting place.

- check that everything is snug and reattach the belly pan.

It took me longer to 2-finger type this post than to do the actual work on the car. So don't be put off by the verbose description.