Engine Shock Absorbers

[Jenno1981]

Hi Guys,

Does the 1979 450SEL have engine shock absorbers / Dampeners?

If so, location please? And is it possible they have been removed and not replaced (my engine has quiet a bit of movement at idle).

Cheers,
Jenno

[ptashek]

Does this help?

[UTn_boy]

Yes, all of the V8 engines had these, and the picture Lucas shows is where they go.  Bear in mind these are torque dampeners.....to prevent the engine from twisting too much when accelerating in forward or reverse.  These also keep the motor mounts from collapsing prematurely.  They may offer a small amount of vibration absorption, but even without the dampeners or with bad ones the engine should idle smoothly on its own. 

[andrewk]

Sure does. Which engine do you have?

If the engine is running poorly (vibration etc), misfiring at idle then you're going to have to isolate and find the problem.
Likely causes:
- bad spark to one or more cylinders (check plugs, wires, distributor contact corresponding to that cylinder/s)
- poor injector spray pattern (replace all 8 injectors, available from HSY Autoparts, genuine Bosch)
- injector leaking fuel into cylinder (can cause a much larger series of problems as a consequence of oil dilution)
- wrong amount of fuel metered from fuel distributor. Do you have the alloy or cast Iron version?
- Ignition timing wrong
- Vacuum / air leak

Suggest checking the plugs for fouling (insert them through a piece of cardboard marked with cylinder number so you remember which cylinder it came from), check for Carbon deposits (indicates incomplete/poor combustion).

If you find one or several plugs is fouled you will have a starting point for further investigation. Don't replace parts until you figure out what is causing the problem. Reinsert the plug by hand starting of thread only (no ratchet!), use a torque wrench to tighten. Alloy head stripped is a bad time.


Of course, this is after checking the engine mounts - the dampeners are unlikely to be the cause - especially not at idle.

[Jenno1981]

Thankyou guys for the informative replies. I had a misunderstanding of the dampeners function so Andrew you're right, need to look elsewhere for the reasons why I get that shake at idle. Thanks for the list to check off, some of those items could definitely be an issue, got a couple of starting points.

I was assuming referencing the engine mounts (as per diagram above) I would be able to spot the dampeners... which I'm battling with. If anyone has an image of there's in the engine bay that would be great.

Lastly, I think my engine mounts look in pretty good shape. Absolutely no idea when they had been changed but not in the last 5 years, maybe even 10. Is there a function test?

Cheers,
Jenno

[ptashek]

I was assuming referencing the engine mounts (as per diagram above) I would be able to spot the dampeners... which I'm battling with. If anyone has an image of there's in the engine bay that would be great.

I have one with the engine out.
The dampeners (2) are fixed to just beside the top of the engine mount (1) as marked. Very easy to spot looking at the engine from the back, underneath the car.

[Jenno1981]

Found them! Thankyou so much for your help. Given its not going to help my idle shake and my mounts look in good shape I'll pack the parts away for another day.

For future readers reference, the top of the shock mounts into the bottom of the engine mount bracket (I thought they were side by side looking at the manual).

Now, back to the timing chain! (New post if anyone can help).

Cheers,
Jenno