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Steering rack is off, engine mount bolts are off but I'm struggling to see how to jack up the engine to get the old mount out. The sump is plastic so I can't jack there. The flywheel housing is metal but if I jack up there then the whole car just lifts (it's on its wheels on ramps). I think maybe I need to loosen the other mount as well.
Can you not hire an engine hoist?
Back all the mounts off... inc the gearbox ones.
Just after I posted that J realised that the reason the suspension was going up was because I was taking the weight of the engine off it! Kept jacking and it it popped up as predicted.
The old mount is 4mm shorter than the new one and it has noticeably more lateral play.
Now I have a different problem though. The two new mounts look identical but they have different part numbers. I need to play spot the difference.
Can you not hire an engine hoist?
The drive slopes, but as above not necessary.
Ah bollocks. I found them on the website, and it says left and right, with different part numbers. The part numbers are on the boxes, but they are not on the mounts themselves, and I have taken them both out of the boxes!
There is a number on the mount but it doesn't corroborate to anything on the box or the website. They appear to be identical. Is it possible they are identical and simply kept as different lines by the manufacturer? There might be some internal difference i.e. a different rubber pattern inside or something.
Oh bollocks! Do they look identical?! If so, I reckon it's safe to assume that they are.
As you say, the part numbers are probably just for stock control.
Do you have a set of calipers to measure them up and see if there is any dimensional differences?
Have you stuck the number on the mount into Google?
Order another pair from the same place, fit them (paying attention to left & right), put first pair in boxes and return them as if they are recent order #2.
Yeah I'll measure them up properly tomorrow.
Good idea googling the part number on the mount. I get some odd results. A Lituanian scrappy with a picture of a used mount bearing the part number that matches the right hand mount but with the word 'kaire' written on it which is Lithuanian for left-hand side.
Order another pair from the same place, fit them (paying attention to left & right), put first pair in boxes and return them as if they are recent order #2.
Clever.
Being helpful in atonement for the ribbing!
I won't do it though, that'd take another 10 days and I am impetuous 🙂
They even weigh the same to within 1g.
If you fit them, taking a punt on LHS/ RHS any odd vibrations you’ll be wondering if you had them the right way
Any taper or casting Mark's on the lugs?
You only need order 1 though
In fact, just ring the supplier or another uk factor and get the code off one side, the other one fits the other side
Any numbers on the parts that are different?
They could be the manufacturer production batch codes.
They could be the same size and weight but have different properties (different youngs modulus).
Any numbers on the parts that are different?
There's a sticker underneath. Googling it as above provides results, but not particularly good ones.
The Lemförder part number for left is 35573 01 and for right is 35574 01. The stickers on the mounts themselves are F036072523D and F036072422D. I think 2522 is the left.
The outer casing on both sides has MLM 3618 647 on it but I think this refers to the casting since the other metal insert has 3618 648.
Can you get on lemforder website is there a pdf catalogue anywhere. Or a euro car parts open as alot of the parts systems have part number comparison functions.
Though I'd go
523d left
ECP didn't have them listed not sure if they'd do that for me.
In reading about this it seems that Lemförder and others can buy parts in from elsewhere andthr quality might not be good. So I've no way of knowing what I actually have here. Arse.
I have found the parts listed on breaker websites with the F number under both left and right.
There's a forum post asking if left and right are the same on this car and someone says yes but doesn't offer evidence. The right one has a heat shield, it may be that it has in the past come with the heat shield although mine does not. Which isn't an issue as I can re use the existing one.
Using https://www.bestpartstore.co.uk/1273493-lemforder-engine-mounting then clicking on the oem part number link comes up as left side.
Going back to the link one of their photos is of the label showing number F036072422N.
Good enough for me to say you are right about which side is which. Bloody lazy design not to cast in a detail making it impossible to fit in the wrong position.
Good luck, and I presume you were chasing a rainwater leak in that Passat photo? My mk1 Kuga has looked similar, I ended up driving it round with only the drivers seat in whilst the carpets dried out and I was sealing it, testing it, sealing up a bit more, testing it... difference is I do it out of the public eye, credit to you for providing entertainment 🙂
Thanks oldnick 🙂
Yeah the leak, I think it was coming in via the replacement windscreen. It was a rainy spell of weather that prompted that effort and it rained hard whilst I had all that stuff out so I could see the water was dribbling in from the interior box section under the windscreen. So I filled it with expanding foam! It's been fine since. Fortunately I didn't need the car at the time.
They're both in place, they both fit. The engine is as expected a few mm higher. When looking for rattles earlier I noticed that the plastic strut that hold up the I take pipe was resting on the fan cowl and rattling, and I couldn't understand why it was just resting there and there wasn't a fixing. Well now the strut clears the fan cowl. It's fascinating how these tiny little things all contribute to the general condition and age of a car.
Having given the engine a wagfle it feels a bit more mobile than it was. Will be interesting to see what difference it has made.
Having given the engine a wagfle it feels a bit more mobile than it was
I assume at that point you’ve double/tripled checked all the bolts are done up properly…
Good luck Molly, hope it works.
Any pics? 😃
Pics of what exactly? A Merc with the bonnet up? It's nothing dramatic.
Well done Molgrips, how does it drive now?
Pics of what exactly? A Merc with the bonnet up? It’s nothing dramatic.
Well you do have history with amazing pictures! And as mundane as is to someone competent with the spanners, it's also genuinely interesting to people like me that wouldn't dare tackle a job that involves such possibilities as 'jacking up the engine'.
I really hope you've sorted it.
Ah sorry, I'd have taken pictures if I'd realised you were interested in the mundane 🙂
Anyway, it's done. There's good news and bad news.
The good news: All the issues I identified and took to TCW are gone. Barely any vibration at idle, the hard shift into D and R has gone, there's no rattle when the engine stops or you slow to a near stop, and best of all the shifting is absolutely mint now. You can (or I can!) feel the tiniest sensation when it shifts at certain loads but otherwise it's invisible, double cream all the way. This is what many people have said on forums - the mounts generally only last 80-100k miles, they don't fail the car just gets worse but you don't necessarily realise it until you have them changed and it's loads better.
The bad news: I've buggered up the steering and the ESP somehow. When I start it up, the car wants to go left, Then when I turn the wheel more than a slight right turn it meets resistance; push past that with a clunk and it's ok. After this happens once or twice the ESP gives up and disables itself, at which point the steering moves lock to lock freely. Sometimes the ABS will grab the offside wheel just before throwing in the towel. Stopping and starting resets the process.
There are two possibilities I'm thinking of.
1. I bent the steering column when I removed the rack - stupidly I didn't realise you could disconnect it and push it clear before lowering the rack, so it was a bit of a thrutch. But after the ESP goes off it seems ok generally.
2. The most likely one is that I inadvertently span the steering wheel one complete revolution to the left before reassembling it. So when I drive straight it thinks I am turning right, and when do turn to the right it thinks I've gone all the way to the lock and stops assisting. And when I push past that, it realises something's wrong and stops. The ABS activating might be because my direction of travel doesn't match what it thinks the wheels are doing so it thinks I'm sliding.
Most likely it’s a steering angle / rack position sensor issue
Yeah I was right, the wheel was 360 to the right. Spun it back, it appears to be fine on a short trip. Almost reversed over the undertrays that I'd pushed under the car though whilst testing it. Balls.
If anyone tells you Mercedes quality isn't what it was - the rear undertray is gold plated on the inside.
Nice one.
Lucky you didn't damage the squib drive.
But fair play. Nice job
Thanks, yeah I was lucky it didn't break when going lock to lock.
Pretty pleased though, normally I do this kind of job to try and improve perceived problems and it makes no difference. And all in all wasn't that hard, the big job was figuring out how to undo the top bolt on the one side. After that it was easy really.
Happy endings all round hazaar!
Give yourself a pat on the back 🙂
My wife told me the other day after a glass of wine that she didn't really like the car, it was too uncomfortable and this bothers me because it's meant to be a family car. Today, after basking in the glow of my mechanical success I realised I could get an E-Class estate for what I could sell this for.
Someone please shoot me, or at least take my driving license off me.
Maybe she's just jealous of having to compete to be the object of your affections? 😉
Maybe she’s just jealous of having to compete to be the object of your
affectionsafflictions
Fixed that for you 😉
Boblo nails it.
Noooo, not when we've got so much emotional investment in Marvin!
I had the clock spring / steering rack issue when I had my Volvo in a million bits recently. Lots of careful measuring and gentle lock to lock of the wheel to find straight ahead on both components before rejoining the steering column.
I could get an E-Class estate
yeah!!! watch out Brexit and Trump threads - Molgrips Merc postcount ain't finished yet!
Clearly cause for a new thread.
"So I've got this other Mercedes and I have more questions"
So, the choices are:
Stick with this car my wife doesn't like
Get an E class estate same miles and age
Get a Passat, a bit newer and lower mileage. They are available on Autotrader for much less than locally.
Good god man! Someone shoot him.
Does she not like driving it or just being driven in it? Don't you have the electric car for day to day use?
Come on, this is STW, you forgot the patio option