Shuddering on Takeoff

[mbsickness]

My 94 C280 developed a shudder only when accelerating aggressively from a stop either in flat ground or uphill. On the initial pull away is normal but about a second into the acceleration the shudder happens for about 2 seconds. Upon poking around I discovered a broken motor mount and ended up replacing both mounts along with the transmission mount. The car is so smooth now you can barely tell the engine is running…..but the shudder remains. While under the car I also noticed lose exhaust bolts at the catalytic converter to the primary muffler. At first I thought this might be the culprit as there was a rattle in the rear when the shudder happens and I do have a C36 exhaust which is a tight fit. That fixed my ever so slight exhaust leak (although now it is much too quiet)….but as before the shudder remains. I took the car to the transmission shop and they put it up in the air and all the differential mounts from the engine back to the differential looked good…..nothing obvious. So now I have planned to have both front and rear the flex discs changed tomorrow along with a transmission fluid flush and filter. I hope this takes care of the problem as I love driving the car and missed it quite a bit as I have been driving my ML while I waited for parts to arrive.

[ypkx]

I HAD this shudder. for the 'almost' 20k miles ive done in my c180, ive never figured what this was.
After doing a full service i figured it could be the fuel filter, like the fuel not getting to the engine sufficiently? Or it could be the oil not getting around the pistons correctly? Not too sure. But i am sure that the service had ended my shudder!

[mbsickness]

Good news and bad news. The good news is I finally found the source of the shudder. The bad news is I need a new transmission. Now comes the fun part to decide where to go from here. Drop another $2K for a rebuilt transmission (good money after bad comes to mind) or part the car as the sum of the parts is worth more than the complete car in this case. I hate how this car has become somewhat of an addiction.

[nhmercracer]

That's a 722.4 in that particular car, no?

[hvmercy]

How many miles on the car?


Good news and bad news. The good news is I finally found the source of the shudder. The bad news is I need a new transmission. Now comes the fun part to decide where to go from here. Drop another $2K for a rebuilt transmission (good money after bad comes to mind) or part the car as the sum of the parts is worth more than the complete car in this case. I hate how this car has become somewhat of an addiction.

[syncview]

Good news and bad news. The good news is I finally found the source of the shudder. The bad news is I need a new transmission. Now comes the fun part to decide where to go from here. Drop another $2K for a rebuilt transmission (good money after bad comes to mind) or part the car as the sum of the parts is worth more than the complete car in this case. I hate how this car has become somewhat of an addiction.

Why not pull a transmission out of junked car?

[mbsickness]

How many miles on the car?

The car has 135K. I just sank a good amount into the car so I'm just having a cool off period before making the final decision. My knee jerk reaction is to drop another $2K into it but the rational side of me tells me to cut my losses as there will surely be things that will eventually begin to bug me and I will be chasing my tail as the leather on the seats and steering wheel are wearing, liner on the sail panels are pulling, etc...

[W202FTW]

I'd bite the bullet on using a junkyard transmission - you can get them as cheap as $500. Unfortunately you probably won't know how long it'll last =(

[hvmercy]

for $500 you don't know what condition transmission you're getting from a junk yard. That's why they call it junk yard.
And you're definitely right about not knowing how long it will last.


I'd bite the bullet on using a junkyard transmission - you can get them as cheap as $500. Unfortunately you probably won't know how long it'll last =(

[hvmercy]

I hear you there.
I hope you make the best decision given all your circumstances.


The car has 135K. I just sank a good amount into the car so I'm just having a cool off period before making the final decision. My knee jerk reaction is to drop another $2K into it but the rational side of me tells me to cut my losses as there will surely be things that will eventually begin to bug me and I will be chasing my tail as the leather on the seats and steering wheel are wearing, liner on the sail panels are pulling, etc...

[Sulaco]

Not sure if ours are the same, but both my w202's have always had a shudder on hard take-off. It's almost the same on my 94 C280 as it is on my 99 C43. Having driven LOTS of types of cars, I've never worried about it. I always chalked it up to having such a staggeringly high running gear in the rear differential. For that brief instance under those specific circumstances, both cars need just a few more HP to prevent the shudder.

Get in a weak car/truck with a manual and try to make it start off in 2nd gear. Is that the same kind of shudder you're experiencing?

[anf6789]

my shudder/slipping first/reverse just fixed itself today. i posted up about it a couple days ago. well see how long this lasts. my car might be magical or insane

http://www.club202.com/forums/showthread.php?16714-I-broke-something-in-the-transmission

[mbsickness]

Not sure if ours are the same, but both my w202's have always had a shudder on hard take-off.

This car and my C36 have always had a very positive and smooth takeoff. I just know something is not right and brings into question the reliability of the car. Occasionally carting my family in it as well as driving 100 miles a day makes this an important item.

[mbsickness]

my shudder/slipping first/reverse just fixed itself today. i posted up about it a couple days ago. well see how long this lasts. my car might be magical or insane

http://www.club202.com/forums/showthread.php?16714-I-broke-something-in-the-transmission

I actually thought of your post when my failure happened. Please keep me posted. I'm tempted to do the "hail Mary" and drain the pan and torque converter as it now has a 50/50 mix of standard Dexron and Mercedes' newest fluid. Wondering if the mix is making havoc with the clutches. If anything I did get my C36 roadworthy so some good has come out of this.

[Christopher]

im convinced c36 has a mind of its own

[Christopher]

202's have minds of there own**

[Sulaco]

The 4 speed mechanical gearbox only uses dexron. I forget if its three or six. I do know i never question the reliability of either of my two o twos. Drove the same one a qauter million miles for thirteen years and only got stranded twice. Once for driveshaft bearing and once for steering lock.

[mbsickness]

The 4 speed mechanical gearbox only uses dexron. I forget if its three or six. I do know i never question the reliability of either of my two o twos. Drove the same one a qauter million miles for thirteen years and only got stranded twice. Once for driveshaft bearing and once for steering lock.

The last time I had the fluid changed it was at the dealer and based on the invoice they used the new fill which is supposed to be backwards compatible. In anycase the car is really worth nothing as it sits and I'm not in the mood to strip all the added items (C36 brakes, exhaust, OEM xenons, etc.) so the decision has been made to rebuild the transmission. Once this is done then I can decide if it will soldier or move on.

[anf6789]

Also throw in a bottle of Lucas Trans fix (i believe thats what its called) i put it in mine yesterday, couldnt hurt right? It might smoke for a little, as itll push some extra fluid out, but it stops eventually

[mbsickness]

It will be interesting to see how things turn out for your car with the addition of the Lucas Trans Fix. I have already delivered the car to the transmission shop (authorized ZF dealer) so I'm getting the full rebuild along with new flex discs and driveshaft support bearing. I needed to have the confidence in the car as I drive 100 miles a day and if I sell it I also need to know it is a solid car in the event a friend or family member buys it.

[michael6129]

car won't let you down in future there ain't many things that can go wrong m104 engines are good to last a loooooongg time !

[siC36 AMG]

Subscribed
Im having similar issue , I replaced the support bearing and both flex disc and its a lot better but still slight shudder. I am debating going to a ujoint conversion with custom driveahaft to elimanate the flex disc

[mbsickness]

Just brought the car home tonight and it feels like a different car altogether. Pulls hard and strong and the shifts are butter smooth. Something tells me now that it was gradually failing but since it was over time I did not take notice. I had the flex discs changed as well as the center support bearing. I was painfull swiping the credit card to pay for the repair but when I drove it tonight I was reassured that I made the right decision. According to the mechanic there was an issue with the 1st gear band. Anyway now that this chapter is behind me I can focus on more important things......I wonder if I should get a C36 instrument cluster....

[siC36 AMG]

Glad to hear it bud.

[Christopher]

Wow I'm very happy for you. Hopefully I could post a happy ending to my cars problem soon