wayneskid
New member
My 2008 Sprinter 3500 was purchased new in 2010 as an Airstream Interstate and currently has almost 28K miles on the ODO. About 3K miles ago, I noticed what can best be described as a tinny squeak/scritch kind of sound. It reminded me of a small stone stuck in a brake caliper shield. It was highly intermittent; I could drive for days and hundreds of miles without hearing the noise at all. Then it would come back. To shorten a long story, it turned out to be what first came to my mind when I initially heard the noise; a failing drive shaft center support bearing. The seals in both bearings were rotating within the housing and one of them was causing the squeak.
A couple of days and about 1K miles ago, I had both center support bearings replaced by a MB Sprinter shop in Santa Rosa, CA. They also performed my first B service and replaced my windshield. Everything about this shop impressed me; they really seemed to have their act together on the Sprinter service side of the business. They even gave me a free loaner for the 2 days they had my van; a low-mileage C350.
The tech completed the road test and proclaimed everything OK and handed over the van. Shortly after getting back on the highway I thought I noticed a “new” vibration but the pavement was pretty rough in the area so I didn’t think much about it initially. Once I got to some nice smooth pavement, it became clear that something was different.
The vibration is:
• Based on frequency more suggestive of drive shaft rotation than wheel rotation
• Quite subtle, never harsh at any speed
• Always present at speeds above 30 mph
• Most noticeable at about 55 mph
• Much less noticeable at 65-70 mph
• Not felt as steering wheel wobble
• Felt mainly in the seat of the pants
My conclusion was that the driveline work had introduced the issue so I contacted the shop that did the work. After some checking the service advisor got back to me and confirmed that the tech had followed their common practice and marked all parts before disassembly so everything could be reinstalled as it was before. He claimed that they had done many of these repairs and only had vibration issues in one case. With that one they rotate the drive line 180 deg. and the problem was resolved. I expressed my concern about driving the vehicle and the advisor said it should be fine for moderate speeds and limited miles. A subsequent conversation with the knowledgeable folks at Upscale Auto/The Sprinter Store supported this view of things.
So here I am about 1K miles from the dealer that did the work; I find myself wondering:
•What is the best way to solve this problem? Let’s assume that the shaft was in fact reinstalled the same way it came out. To find the vibration-free orientation of all parts of a 3-piece driveline by trial and error could take a lot of tries. And then you would have it to a point where it SEEMED to be good. So should I push for a full dynamic balance of the entire shaft?
•Should I drive the van the 1K miles back to the dealer that did the work? They have said that is their preferred approach. They also said if I took it to another dealer it should be and warranty repair and if there were $$ involved they would reimburse me.
•By driving the van as is, is this vibration possibly causing reduced lifetime of the new bearings or other driveline components?
So, what do you Sprinter wizards think?
Oh, I’m happy to report the good news from this experience:
•As I mentioned the folks at MB Santa Rosa seem to be great, at least on the Sprinter service side. They have 4 Sprinter capable lifts and 4 fully trained techs.
•For the windshield I elected to go with aftermarket glass (by PPG) rather than OEM glass at twice the cost. And it ended up costing $60 less than the estimate. Other than the markings in the lower corner, I can’t tell the difference. And the installer did a perfect job from what I can see.
•Both support bearings were replaced with the newer (improved?) versions. The work would have cost about $1K but was fully covered under the ELW I purchased last year.
•The C350 is a nice car! I just wish they had been able to loan me the SL65 AMG I requested
A couple of days and about 1K miles ago, I had both center support bearings replaced by a MB Sprinter shop in Santa Rosa, CA. They also performed my first B service and replaced my windshield. Everything about this shop impressed me; they really seemed to have their act together on the Sprinter service side of the business. They even gave me a free loaner for the 2 days they had my van; a low-mileage C350.
The tech completed the road test and proclaimed everything OK and handed over the van. Shortly after getting back on the highway I thought I noticed a “new” vibration but the pavement was pretty rough in the area so I didn’t think much about it initially. Once I got to some nice smooth pavement, it became clear that something was different.
The vibration is:
• Based on frequency more suggestive of drive shaft rotation than wheel rotation
• Quite subtle, never harsh at any speed
• Always present at speeds above 30 mph
• Most noticeable at about 55 mph
• Much less noticeable at 65-70 mph
• Not felt as steering wheel wobble
• Felt mainly in the seat of the pants
My conclusion was that the driveline work had introduced the issue so I contacted the shop that did the work. After some checking the service advisor got back to me and confirmed that the tech had followed their common practice and marked all parts before disassembly so everything could be reinstalled as it was before. He claimed that they had done many of these repairs and only had vibration issues in one case. With that one they rotate the drive line 180 deg. and the problem was resolved. I expressed my concern about driving the vehicle and the advisor said it should be fine for moderate speeds and limited miles. A subsequent conversation with the knowledgeable folks at Upscale Auto/The Sprinter Store supported this view of things.
So here I am about 1K miles from the dealer that did the work; I find myself wondering:
•What is the best way to solve this problem? Let’s assume that the shaft was in fact reinstalled the same way it came out. To find the vibration-free orientation of all parts of a 3-piece driveline by trial and error could take a lot of tries. And then you would have it to a point where it SEEMED to be good. So should I push for a full dynamic balance of the entire shaft?
•Should I drive the van the 1K miles back to the dealer that did the work? They have said that is their preferred approach. They also said if I took it to another dealer it should be and warranty repair and if there were $$ involved they would reimburse me.
•By driving the van as is, is this vibration possibly causing reduced lifetime of the new bearings or other driveline components?
So, what do you Sprinter wizards think?
Oh, I’m happy to report the good news from this experience:
•As I mentioned the folks at MB Santa Rosa seem to be great, at least on the Sprinter service side. They have 4 Sprinter capable lifts and 4 fully trained techs.
•For the windshield I elected to go with aftermarket glass (by PPG) rather than OEM glass at twice the cost. And it ended up costing $60 less than the estimate. Other than the markings in the lower corner, I can’t tell the difference. And the installer did a perfect job from what I can see.
•Both support bearings were replaced with the newer (improved?) versions. The work would have cost about $1K but was fully covered under the ELW I purchased last year.
•The C350 is a nice car! I just wish they had been able to loan me the SL65 AMG I requested