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I'm about to have the engine and transmission mounts done on my 07 SL550. I've looked around, and it appears that Corteco and Lemfoerder are the 2 most commonly used aftermarket "OE" replacements. How are they compared to the genuine MB, especially considering that a set of these mounts (2 + 1) cost about $159, compared to the Mercedes which would set me back $500.
I believe Corteco are certianly one of the OE suppliers. Ive fitted lemforder to my e320 CDi and they are fine. Id have no issue with either but would probably chose Corteco myself as they also make accumulators and other items. Lemforder seems to be well regarded as far as I can tell also
I'm about to have the engine and transmission mounts done on my 07 SL550. I've looked around, and it appears that Corteco and Lemfoerder are the 2 most commonly used aftermarket "OE" replacements. How are they compared to the genuine MB, especially considering that a set of these mounts (2 + 1) cost about $159, compared to the Mercedes which would set me back $500.
I'm about to have the engine and transmission mounts done on my 07 SL550. I've looked around, and it appears that Corteco and Lemfoerder are the 2 most commonly used aftermarket "OE" replacements. How are they compared to the genuine MB, especially considering that a set of these mounts (2 + 1) cost about $159, compared to the Mercedes which would set me back $500.
Bought them already. I should have them by the end of next week, and will get them installed the week after.
I read as you are going to do it as a DIY job.
A friendly word of advise.
Get one of these, it is nearly impossible to do the job without it.
When I did it, I took down the exhaust system, and you will have to have a device to lift up the engine, while exchanging the mounts.
When you fit the new ones, be totally sure that the pin is in the notch when you tighten the bolt, or the mounts will mis align.
Happy wrenching.
I read as you are going to do it as a DIY job.
A friendly word of advise.
Get one of these, it is nearly impossible to do the job without it.
When I did it, I took down the exhaust system, and you will have to have a device to lift up the engine, while exchanging the mounts.
When you fit the new ones, be totally sure that the pin is in the notch when you tighten the bolt, or the mounts will mis align.
Happy wrenching.
Thanks for the advice. However, I don't plan to do this myself. I just bought the parts, and I'm having a local shop do the installation. I was quoted 7.5hours for the job.
Thanks for the advice. However, I don't plan to do this myself. I just bought the parts, and I'm having a local shop do the installation. I was quoted 7.5hours for the job.
7.5 hours is on the safe side. It took me 4 hours, incl. tranny mount.
Update:
This past Monday I had the mounts installed. I had originally been quoted $900 for the labor (7.5 hours @ $120/hr). When I took the car in, I also asked for an oil chnage since it was due for one. When I picked up the car, the bill ended up being $900 still. It turns out they only needed a little over 6 hours to do the job, so they included the oil change in the original quote.
Anyway, what a world of difference. The car now feels like it gliding, no more straining or vibrations under acceleration. Before it felt like it was hesitating or straining when you pressed the gas, now it feels like it wants to take off on its own. Love it.
I just replaced my engine mounts with Lemforder this morning. Took a solid 3 hours, including the time to move the SLK350 out and shuffle the SL550 into position in the center of the garage, and a quick MB World search for a safe location to put the jack to lift the engine (under the oil pan with blocks of wood). To be fair to the shop providing an estimate of more man-hours, I did leave the bottom covers off because I will be replacing the transmission mount when it arrives from Amazon in a few days.
The drivers side was totally trashed. Oil leaking everywhere. I discovered this when I turned it sideways to remove it from below and oil poured down my arm. No, I didn't remove the exhaust, A/C compressor or anything else surrounding the mount. Just moved one hydraulic line aside slightly per Tavarish's video. I assume y'all know which one I'm referring to. If not, search YouTube for "Tavarish cheap SL $1000".
All in all, there was only a couple of times I wished I'd taken it to the indy shop to have the job done. Mostly because of the tight quarters for getting that special 16 mm wrench onto the top bolt. By the time I was finished, it didn't seem like such a difficult job to do. The drivers side is definitely the tough one. Took half as long to R/R the passenger side. Interestingly, it wasn't nearly as beat up as the drivers side. I assume it has to do with the direction of rotation when the engine is revved causing the left side to raise and pulling the mount apart. Yes, that is a 2" long chunk of rubber that fell out and I placed it back on the mount for the photo.
I took it out for a quick test drive and was amazed at how smooth the car is. Gone is the annoying rumble that was happening every time I turned a corner. I surmise it was caused by the engine effectively sitting on the chassis with no hydraulic dampening. Gone is the big clunk that happened whenever I put my right foot down. It's almost like driving a totally different car!
If you have any thought that your engine mounts are bad, just replace them. It's well worth the cost, time and effort.
Driver side (L) on the left. Passenger side (R) on the right.
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