SL502

Got a bad vibration/noice in the car,even the needle in the tac react,planing to change motor and gearbox mounts,any big deal?? What`s the best way to go? Doing the work myself. 03,SL55AMG .
Thanks

Welwynnick

Changing the gearbox mount is very easy; the engine mounts are more difficult.

I would do the gearbox first, and see if that makes any difference.

Nick

cal1

Plus one on doing the tranny mount first. You can also inspect the motor mounts for signs of leaking. Leaking is a common sign of bad mounts. Of course the vibration you describe is too.

SL502

I`m not so sure on the gearbox mount looks very fresh but one of the motor mounts do not,you have to rise the motor? How much?

Bjorn.

cal1

I'm quite sure you do have to raise the motor, but don't know how high. Hopefully someone else will provide some better info.

Ttbjr

just had it done, about 50k miles. if some are bad, probably all bad. I replaced all trans and motor mounts. It makes all the difference in the world. rides like a new car now. My guess is if you have not already done it, some of the front ball joints/control arms probably need to be looked at.

SL502

Thanks guys,it sounds so right, mine is near 50K miles as well and I`ll take the ball joint to.
but did you have to change some of the control arms? Why ? Isn`t it firm ruber mount in every end?

Bjorn

Ttbjr

I believe it was the upper control arms as well as upper/lower ball joints that were replaced. While it looks like you should be able to replace just the rubber on the control arms, it's all 1 part. The original systems were noise. It sounded like squeaky noise from shocks/struts. But it was the lower ball joint. While apart, the other joints were looked at and shot as well.

The other issue I had was a feeling the wheels were out of balance... A harmonic vibration at certain speeds. It was the mounts- both trans and engine. They were shot.

At that mileage you should also have your abc flushed. It cleans the block valves extending life, reduces bleed-off when parked as well. I also serviced trans, which oddly enough had never been serviced. It turns out it was in big need of filter and cleaning.

All of this stuff is mainly preventative, but cheaper than replacement for sure. I looked at doing much of this myself, but for much of it the sds system is needed. also, i really wanted it done right. The original dealer I took it to was crap. They simply don't work on these specific cars. I found an indie guy that specializes in these and it made a big difference... And cheaper.

SL502

Thanks,good information Ttbjr.

Ttbjr

just fyi, the front end work, trans work, 4 wheel alignment, mounts, multiple flushings of the ABC .. I think that's it... ran about total of $3k which included tax. But I will say with all of that work, the car really runs like new and strong/smooth. I'm sure it would have been more at a dealer. here is a link to help locating a good service location. www.benzshops.com

SL502

I did the motor mounts + tranny mount today,if you done this under 2 hours I think you have done it before,I used more and was afraid to raise the motor to much.

Ttbjr

well I took the easy way out and had a guy that specializes in SL's do it. So I can't tell you how high he raised it. however, if you did it in under 2 hours, I would say you did a good job. There's not much that can be done on that car under 2 hours I've found. The biggest change I made was tossing out the Command system and installing Alpine's new 8'' nav unit in. There was good and bad about it... but mostly good.