SL-Class (R230) 2003 -- 2012: Discussion on the SL500, SL550, SL600

SL/R230: Feel engine running through steering wheel

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Old 11-29-2018, 07:33 PM
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2005 SL500
Feel engine running through steering wheel

Hi,
just a small issue I have 2007 SL500 Australian model.
When I am stopped at lights etc, I can feel the engine running through my steering wheel. When I turn the wheel a bit sometimes the pitch of the noise will change. It's more a noise than a vibration. Has anyone had this and any solutions.
I was thinking a dampener in the engine ??
Also I keep getting the error 'You are 70 days over service A' can I get rid of this myself. I didn't do that service because I had only driven 1300km since the previous service.
Thanks.
Old 11-29-2018, 08:19 PM
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2004 (MY05) SL55
I would have initially said engine mounts, however I guess it could be the pulsation dampener on the pump if you're only hearing a noise and not feeling vibration.

Here's a guide showing how to reset the service reminder.
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Old 11-29-2018, 08:48 PM
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Thanks Mate.
You guys in this forum are great. Always the first place I go to with a problem.
Will keep the pulsation dampener in mind.
thanks again
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Old 11-30-2018, 02:51 PM
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When my pulsation dampener failed, I could really feel the vibration through the steering wheel.
Old 11-30-2018, 03:55 PM
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Rudeness,
thanks mate. Sounds like that's the problem.
Old 11-30-2018, 04:55 PM
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2008 SL550 R230, 2004 E320 W211
I had similar symptoms and had my pulsation dampener replaced (the one on the pump) and the noise/vibration disappeared (2008 SL550).

However, I can sometimes still feel a little vibration in the steering wheel (and a little noise) when cornering and the engine is not warm (seems worse turning left?); I'm wondering if one or more of the dampeners at each wheel is bad or going bad? This goes away once I have driven for a minute or two.

Lee
Old 11-30-2018, 08:02 PM
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Thanks Lee. It sounds like that's my problem.
Old 11-30-2018, 10:04 PM
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Even with a new pulsation dampener, there is some vibration in the steering wheel from the ABC pump. This was one of the first things I noticed when I moved from my CLK550 to the SL550 - same engine and transmissions, but I could feel the vibration in the SL's steering wheel.
Old 01-30-2019, 12:01 PM
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Update, replacing my pulsation dampener on the pump greatly reduced vibration in steering wheel (as well as whine noise) as mentioned above, however I could still feel some vibration in steering wheel as @Rudeney also mentions.

However, I also replaced my motor mounts recently as suggested orginally by @Nosmo SL55 (front Lemforder mounts and rear (transmission) mount Genuine Mercedes) and there is again a big improvement in the way the steering feels and any vibration is almost undetectable. My motor mounts must have been completely shot. It feels like a different car.

I shopped around for best pricing on mounts and then had a local independent shop do the install (DIY looks doable, but it was more than I wanted to tackle right now). The local indy shop dropped the sub frame to install (which I believe is un-necessary and added to the labor costs), but I am happy with the job they did and I have a good relationship with them.

Point being that I have had both issues (pulsation dampener and motor mounts) and BOTH affected vibration in steering...

@hydrogen, did you ever get yours sorted?

Lee
2008 SL550
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Old 01-31-2019, 07:02 AM
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'01 CLK 430 cab, '04 SL500 (200K miles)
I shopped around for best pricing on mounts and then had a local independent shop do the install (DIY looks doable, but it was more than I wanted to tackle right now). The local indy shop dropped the sub frame to install (which I believe is un-necessary and added to the labor costs), but I am happy with the job they did and I have a good relationship with them.
Just curious, how much did they charge you for the job?
Old 01-31-2019, 10:04 AM
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2008 SL550 R230, 2004 E320 W211
Originally Posted by marko69
Just curious, how much did they charge you for the job?
I bought my own parts:
Front motor mounts (Lemforder) from Rock Auto $ 70 each (they didn't list them for SL550, but I searched by part number)
Rear transmission mount (genuine MB) from Amazon $ 100

Labor from local indy shop $ 600
Like I said, I think the shop did the job the most labor intensive way, and I paid too much. However, it is really the only shop in town I would use and I do trust them to do things right even if it is more expensive (plus they have helped me out in other situations with little to no charge).

Others have said that it is not to hard to DIY (there is some info here, and probably more info on this forum), but it was more than I wanted to get into.

I would be curious on what others have paid (or maybe I don't want to know since I overpaid), but I am happy with the results.

Lee

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